BLACK LIVES MATTER

Tonight there is a mural being painted to honor Patrick Kimmons.

I believe his case is a good example of when people pick and choose who they think should die or who deserves empathy when they are killed by police.

Another recent example of the same problem is the police killing of Michael Reinoehl.

Because the police chose to kill these men on site, they never got to explain their actions. We will never know their side of the story - so we will never know the whole truth.

I do not believe in the death penalty. If we set a standard that killing each other is wrong - it must always be wrong. If we designed a tranquilizer gun then police might still run the risk of killing a subject or having them drowsy and armed (which could pose a risk), but we would no longer have a guaranteed death. 

Maybe that's not the answer, but an outright refusal to even consider alternatives leads me to think there's a desire to dispose of anyone deemed a threat and the goal is not to really help anyone, but instead get rid of the disobedient. To them, you seem like you're in the wrong, and they feel justified in ending your life.

The fact that this kind of execution by police is disproportionately happening to the black population (particularly those suffering from mental illness, though not always ) and regardless of "guilt" - too often when they did NOTHING WRONG much less anything that would mean they DESERVED TO DIE - is the whole point behind BLACK LIVES MATTER.