Today is a rather infamous if not controversial anniversary. 40 years ago, prisoner Gary Gilmore was executed by firing squad. His death is notable as his was the first execution after a 10-year ban in the US.
I really struggled with this article. I want my review of my favorite year to be light and peppy. But as a history major and someone who teaches food history, I feel that it's ethically wrong to gloss over the negative parts of history. How can I say 1977 is my favorite year if I don't acknowledge the plane crashes, discovery of new disease, and coup attempts that occurred? (By the way all 3 things also happened on this date in '77 history.)
One thing about A Madman Turns 40 is looking at how 1977 impacted my life. Upon researching the Gary Gilmore case a little deeper, I learned that the reason the US had a moratorium on the death penalty was because of a series of Supreme Court cases that argued as to whether the death penalty was cruel and unusual punishment. For 10 years, the death penalty was declared unconstitutional. But then in 1976 another landmark court case resulted in the first ruling being overturned.
I decided that I won't gloss over the bad and only reflect on the good of my favorite year. But I will allow myself to not be bound to having defend or attack any position covered in my year-long review if I don't want to. Thus I don't have to disclose whether I am pro or anti-death penalty. What I will do is mention how history seems to be repeating itself.
See in 1976, the reason the death penalty was granted to be constitutional again was because of judicial appointments. With someone who was anti-death penalty dying, it allowed President Gerald Ford to appoint a pro-death penalty judge onto the Supreme Court and something to this affect is going to happen in the next few weeks.
See last year, the conservative Judge Antonin Scalia died of a heart-attack. The House and the Senate refused to allow Barack Obama to appoint a new justice onto the court. So when Donald Trump gets sworn in next week as POTUS, he'll be appointing the replacement. Over the next 4 years, Trump will have sway over who becomes a judge in the highest court in the land. Should he replace liberal justices with conservative ones, it's possible to see several landmark decisions reversed such as Roe V Wade.
It's been 40 years and yet the more things change, the more it seems that things keep staying the same. But only time will actually tell...
Up next: something cherry, I HOPE!
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