Demagogue

I wrote about the pending execution of Michael Ross the other day, and it looks like at least one of the obstacles blocking his execution has been removed by the Supreme Court.

There is still a restraining order in place that resulted from a lawsuit filed by Ross's father. The Second Circuit is scheduled to hold a hearing at that today.

For a quick recap, Ross raped and killed 8 women and now wants to stop fighting his scheduled execution and be put to death. Public defenders say he is depressed and suicidal as a result of years on death row and is therefore incapable of making a rational decision.

Anyway, I wonder how this will relate to the fate of Juan Manuel Alvarez. Alvarez is the man who parked his car on the tracks and caused the deadly train derailment in California that killed 11 people. Alvarez was apparently suicidal but jumped from his car moments before impact.

He has now been charged with murder, and as the AP headline point out

Suspect Could Face Death Penalty in Deadly Train Wreck

Will California ever be able to execute a suicidal man? Is that not assisted suicide, which is prohibited by law? Will they have to provide Alvarez with counseling to alleviate his suicidal desires in order to render him mentally fit for execution?

Nothing is ever easy.