Finally, Clifford Olson is dead.
Those with short memories or so-far short lives might not know that Olson’s case was the original “deal with the devil”. His wife was paid $10,000 each for 10 of the children he murdered in order to get a confession. Authorities wanted closure for the victims’ families and were willing to pay cash for it. He threw details about the 11th murder in as a freebie – his words. He continued to taunt and attempt to harass the families of his victims over the years. Clifford Olson is what capital punishment is for, when there’s no shadow of a doubt. The torturous murders he carried out actually led to better rights for families of victims and more red tape for the worst offenders who try to get out of prison. But he doesn’t get the credit for that. If it hadn’t been his case that inspired change, it would have eventually been that of another monster, maybe Bernardo.
Texas is finally ending the practice of giving death row inmates the last meal of their choosing. White supremacist Lawrence Russell Brewer was put to death last week for the horrible murder in 1998 of a black man whom Brewer dragged behind a truck. I remember that case very well. Before his execution Brewer ordered a triple-meat bacon cheeseburger, a meat-lover’s pizza, a big bowl of okra with ketchup, a pound of barbecued meat, half a loaf of bread, peanut butter fudge, a pint of ice cream and two chicken-fried steaks. When the food arrived, complete and cooked to order, he said he wasn’t hungry. Enough already, said a Senator, who announced that if the prison system didn’t voluntarily end the fancy meals, he would draft legislation and make it law. Prison officials agreed and stopped immediately. Now those scheduled for execution in the Lonestar State will eat or refuse what everybody else gets served that night.
The banana-tossing man has been found, has confessed and has been charged with a non-criminal act under provincial trespassing laws. Can we move on now, please? Not to excuse the racist overtones of tossing a banana onto the ice in front of a black NHL player, but he didn’t kill anyone, he didn’t beat anyone up, he didn’t yell racial epithets. Bananas were the only fruit for sale at the JLC. The 26 year old appears to be a woefully ignorant man who claims to not have known the implications of his actions. He says he only wanted to stop a goal. He has acted like a jerk, like those yahoos who fire off air horns every time there’s a break in the momentum, but he’s not a white supremacist, he has written letters of apology and the entire world has risen up against what he did. Isn’t that proof enough that he’s more of an anomaly than part of a status quo in our city? Can we please turn our attention to something more important like the Principal at a Catholic school here who was replaced without a word being spoken about the allegations against him? Were children at risk? What is going on THERE besides an administration that’s clapping its hands with glee that we’ve all been too distracted by a thrown banana to find out?
Yay! Clifford’s finally gone! Every day he spent above ground was one too many. However, your blog has raised another question that has bothered me for a long time: what exactly is chicken-fried steak?
You know how you dip or roll chicken in a coating and then fry it? That’s done with the steak. I’m guessing it’s done with a rather tough steak because otherwise, why would you want to do that? It’s much like they do with a veal cutlet. Bread crumbs, egg, flour, etc. I’ll pass, thank you.