Sandra Ibo takes a deep breath. Her throat is dry and her knees are trembling underneath her crisp pantsuit. This is the defining moment of her academic career. The finest minds of Harvard Law have gathered in the auditorium to hear her eloquent defense of the Death Penalty. Her first argument had gone well, great in fact, but her opponent had just delivered an impassioned call for the abolition of the practice.
His argument culminated with the story of Death Row inmate and co-founder of the Crips, Tookie Williams, who was executed even after he had turned his life around and advocated against gangs. He claimed Tookie proved that every human has the capacity to change and derided the Death Penalty as barbaric and unnecessary. The audience had been impressed and Sandra had the unenviable task of delivering a rebuttal.
She clears her throat, “Ladies and Gentlemen of the Harvard Law Society, my opponent has developed a convincing argument, and many of you may be inclined to agree with him, but I must disagree with his assertions.”
Murmurs shot through the audience.
“In the case of Mr. Williams, the death penalty may not have been warranted, but there are people who deserve it. People like Hitler, Hussein, and Ghaddafi who through their very existence are a threat to corrupt the essence of humanity. The death penalty should not be abolished, but instead saved for the worst amongst us, who have committed such atrocities against their fellow man that they have forfeited their right to live.”
Brows furrowed, chins were stroked, and eyes flickered with the final stages of agreement. Sandra felt adrenaline coursing up her spine. She had spent countless hours rehearsing for this moment in her studio apartment crowded with leather bound law texts that she had plunged into debt to purchase. But, it had all been worth it as the greatest law minds in the country nodded with favor.
She could hear the glasses tinkling and taste the champagne toasted in her honor, but first, she had to conclude strong. She gazed out confidently into the audience as she stood on the precipice of the rest of her life.
“I quote the great criminologist, Earl Joseph Smith the Third, when I say that when it comes to the Death Penalty, it ‘depends on what they did! But I’m all for it!’ Thank you.”
A solitary clap was heard, not from the audience, but her opponent. Then another from the back, and another in the third row and as if the Hoover Dam had burst a thunderous wave of applause surged through the auditorium. The moderator, a white haired professor who had argued during Brown vs. the Board of Education, did not bother to hold a vote as the debate had been unanimously decided by the audience’s overwhelming approval. He walked in his careful, ancient steps and placed the Debate Champion medal around Sandra’s neck, as the audience’s roars grew stronger.
Her idol looked deep into her eyes and said, “You’re going places, kiddo.”
Sandra took in the moment, and thanked God that she had consulted the wisdom of J.R. Smith.
*this is not intended to communicate my opinions on the death penalty, only J.R. Smith’s.
Legends of the Ball 