Let this be the last execution. Ever.

In the fall of 1998 I served on a Federal Grand Jury at the U.S. Courthouse in Greenbelt, Maryland. I would drive up every other Monday for over three months and during that time a very serious case was presented to us. While I have been called for jury service multiple times, this was the only time I was called to a courtroom for service.

Early this morning one of the young men indicted by that grand jury in 1998 was executed in Terre Haute, Indiana because Donald Trump is a horrible destructive bigoted human being.

I am in shock. Not that Donald Trump is a monster — we already know that. I am in shock because today’s action and the others leading up to this execution and a despicable string of others, have been an indication of the unequal justice in our country. This time because of the misguided actions of Donald Trump and his political henchmen, another Black man is dead.

Since writing an editorial for a Civics class in ninth grade, I have opposed the death penalty but unlike some other issues, it was not one for which I have been a strong advocate. I have throughout my life been worried about the one person that was wrongly accused and convicted. You can’t take a life back once it is gone. My faith tradition has taught me the value of every life.

Today was not a story of a mistaken identity. Dustin Higgs was definitely there. His altercation with the victim was clear. He was one of the people responsible for the deaths of three women. There was never any confusion about those facts. Yet, he did not pull the trigger. He did not personally shoot the gun that killed the women. He sat in the van as it was happening. There was no confusion about that either. An accomplice’s version of the sequence of the events was not in question.

I did not sit on the jury that eventually convicted him and two others for the heinous crime. Over the last 22 years, I actually have rarely thought about the crisp morning when we were advised by the Judge and Assistant U.S. Attorney to immediately leave the courtroom because the indictments once unsealed would be announced in a press conference later that morning. I remember the satellite trucks lining up outside as I walked briskly to my car. I remember how deeply disturbing the whole case had been.

I didn’t follow the defendants through the many twists and turns of their cases after they were found guilty and incarcerated.

I never expected to read on another brisk morning that one had been executed overnight.

I am horrified. Our criminal justice system is unequal and has been biased for generations and Donald Trump has lit yet one more flame this week. I am here to say loud and clear — the death penalty should be abolished. It is time.