Everyone has their moments, to be sure. I’m a fairly laid back dude. (I sometimes refer to myself as the calm, cool center of the universe when people around me are losing it.) So my outbursts have been few and far between. I remember throwing a spelling book at the wall in my room when I was 7 out of frustration over an answer that was printed incorrectly. That’s about the worst of it, so maybe I can’t relate.

It’s one thing to damage some property, but the crime of murder is truly unique. When discussing these temporary outbursts, and even giving medical definition (and I fear, medical cover) to something like this, it’s important to remember the kind of person and personality it takes to even attempt to take another person’s life. Throwing something valuable, or even running a car into something, can’t compare with the act of pointing a gun and pulling the trigger. There is only one particular and terrible purpose.

I know we have a reputation here in Alabama regarding guns, but I think most people down here also have a tremendous respect for them. A faculty meeting is not the place or time to carry, even if you have a license to do so. Something is terribly wrong with this woman, and I think it’s highly likely we’ll be reading about her execution 20 years from now.