I couldn't have said it better myself

I'm glad I have Hendrik Hertzberg to articulate the vague thoughts in my head:

"A criminal may deserve to die, may deserve even to die in terror and agony; but no civil servant deserves to be made to participate in the premeditated killing of a person who, however wicked, is on the day of execution a helpless and frightened human being."

("Comment: Sentenced," The New Yorker, May 15, 2006.) You may (and you should) read the entire essay on the New Yorker site.

I'm all for honoring dead politicians...

...but Scoop Jackson's legacy really scares me, and his head is so very big...