Life Without Possibility

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In the future, 'Ultimate Punishment' takes on new meaning.
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It did not seem incongruous to me that an event as momentous as this would be taking place in an undistinguished courtroom, in a nondescript county building, in a bland rural county, in the midst of a featureless Midwest State.

As a child, I always thought that history's major events occurred on a grand stage. I knew that ordinary events happened in small places like in the kitchen at home, in the classroom at school, or that tiny cubicle that my dad called his "office". But things like assassinations, battles, and peace treaties occurred in big spaces.

But, after traveling as an adult, I found out how small Dealy Plaza in Dallas is; how compact Chamberlain's position at Little Round Top was, and how tiny the spot on the deck of the battleship Missouri was where Japan signed its surrender. Yes, Dallas is a big city, the Gettysburg battlefield covers many square miles, and The Missouri is a huge ship. But the events that defined those locations were confined to a few square yards, at most, a few hundred square yards. This did not seem enough space to contain the significance of the events that defined these places.

Therefore, this little courtroom in which I was sitting did not seem out of place. True, this had been a mass murder case that captured headlines throughout the world; true, the culprit was a person who was known countrywide before the crimes and worldwide thereafter; and true, the number and brutality of the crimes shocked the conscience of the world. But it was ordinary, unspectacular, and methodical judicial process that brought the defendant to justice.

The jurors were unexceptional, an assortment of men and women you might meet any day of the week around this small city. One woman was a cook at the high school cafeteria, another woman worked in the local thrift shop, a third woman was retired and lived alone near the edge of town, and a fourth cleaned houses for a living. The eight men included highway worker, a machinist, a hardware store clerk, a retired insurance salesman, a college mathematics professor, a hospital orderly, and the manager of the local supermarket who was the foreman. There wasn't one of them that would have stood out in a crowd but here they were deciding this monumental case.

Two days ago, the verdicts had been read: "On count one: Guilty! On count two: Guilty! On count three: Guilty!" and so on, until verdicts on all one hundred fourteen counts had been recorded. Guilty—on all counts!

Yesterday, the jury heard testimony in the penalty phase of the trial and received the judge's instructions. The judge enumerated the options available to the jury in exacting punishment on the convict. These were two: one, "Ultimate Punishment" or, two "Specific Imprisonment". "Ultimate Punishment" was defined as death by lethal injection, lethal gas, or hanging; or solitary imprisonment for life without possibility of parole. "Specific Imprisonment" was defined as incarceration in the general prison population for a period of not less than 20 years and not more than 35 years, subject to the laws and regulations governing the State's penal and correctional system. . The judge further explained to the jury that if the jury selected "Ultimate Punishment" as the sentence, the defendant would decide the mode of the "Ultimate Punishment" at a later date! The defendant would be allowed to decide whether he spent the rest of his life in prison or accepted a swift death.

This was the first case tired under the new law that allowed for "Ultimate Punishment" as defined by the judge. This law came about as an amendment to the State Constitution and was approved by the voters in a statewide election. This was done to appease both the law and order bloc and the condemned rights groups.

Law and Order groups were tired of a death sentence that had no teeth. As soon as one was handed down, an almost endless review and appeal process would begin that would delay execution of the sentence indefinitely. In many cases, the result was a reduction of the sentence to life imprisonment—though not without possibility of parole. In some cases, the condemned person died of natural causes long before an execution could take place.

The condemned rights groups decried the indiscriminate dishing out of death sentences that they said allowed for no margin of error. Once a condemned man was executed, there was no way to change the sentence in the event exculpating evidence, mitigating evidence, or judicial error was to be discovered.

The public sought what they saw as fairness, hence, the Constitutional Amendment. The law defined cases of "special circumstance", a narrow and specific enumeration of crimes such as assassination of an elected official, murder committed during the commission of a rape, murder of a police officer, murder of a child which involved torture or sexual assault, serial murder, or mass murder. It allowed "Ultimate Punishment" of those convicted of those crimes.

When formulating the amendment, the framers sought support in public opinion polls. One area that surprised them was that a large majority of the public expressed the sentiment that simple incarceration for life was hardly a sufficient punishment for the heinous crimes enumerated. When questioned about what penalty less than death would be an appropriate punishment, the people given the survey said irreversible life imprisonment with irrevocable solitary confinement.

The civil libertarians cried, "Cruel and Unusual Punishment!" when they heard about the solitary confinement aspect of the new law. Though it did not satisfy them completely, these people were somewhat assuaged when the proposed law was modified to allow the defendant to elect which mode of punishment he would receive—death or solitary confinement. They reasoned that as long as the convict was alive, something could happen to free him or her. In addition, they felt some comfort in the fact that there were only a small number of crimes that would trigger the "Ultimate Punishment".

And so, after the passage of the amendment by the electorate, after numerous preliminary judicial challenges, and after two test cases that resolved the major legal issues, the law began to be used by judges without fear of reversal.

There was little doubt that this case fell under the "special circumstance" provision of the law. The defendant was both a mass murderer and a serial killer known as "The Incinerator".

"The Incinerator" had started out as a volunteer fire fighter in a small farming town. It wasn't so much that he loved beating down fires; he loved fires. He applied himself to his avocation and soon secured a full time firefighter's position in a small city. From there he worked his way to city fire chief, then to county fire marshal, and eventually occupied the position of Chairman of the National Fire Safety Counsel. He was a nationally known figure in the fire suppression business. He had even been summoned by the President of the United States to dispense advice in his area of expertise.

He didn't become "The Incinerator" until he was in his 30's, well after his hands-on firefighting had ceased. He just loved to be at blazes. One particular incident changed his life—he witnessed a gasoline tanker truck overturn burning up several people. He was present for the entire event. He was eventually called to take charge of part of the investigation that included unfettered access to the film footage of the disaster. These films had an almost pornographic effect on him. They changed his psyche and set him on the path of destruction for his own gratification.

"The Incinerator" was a mass murderer because he set fire to automobiles, busses, and houses containing many people, most of whom succumbed to the blaze. He would capture these ghastly incidents on concealed video cameras and he would obtain every bit of news footage of the conflagrations that he could. He would view all of the videotapes again and again for his own gratification.

He was a serial killer because he did this time and time again. The total of his victims was over 200—206 by one count to as high as 231 in another. He was only charged with 114 counts because of the ironclad evidence present in those cases linking the defendant to the crimes. Whether 231 dead or 114 dead, this man still qualified as both a mass murderer and as a serial murderer.

And this speaks nothing of the scores and scores of people who sustained serious burns and other injuries. The pain, suffering, and permanent disfigurement of these people were beyond calculation in any monetary sense. In addition to the injuries received by these people themselves, many of them also lost loved ones in the fires set by The Incinerator.

If anyone qualified for the "Ultimate Punishment", The Incinerator did. He added new definition to the word "monster"! The world press had been captivated by the story. It was bigger than any celebrity murder trial had ever been. Some aspect of it was daily front-page news; every television newscast began with developments in the "Incinerator" trial; other than the weather, the case was the major topic of office conversation.

It was not a surprise when the jury foreman announced the sentence: Ultimate Punishment!

I was curious about how this punishment would be administered. The capital measures were no mystery. If the Incinerator decided to die, he could elect lethal injection, lethal gas, or hanging. But how would the system execute the punishment of perpetual solitary confinement?

Solitary confinement was anathema to civil libertarians. They felt it was cruel and unusual punishment. They had a pretty good argument for this, considering the horrors of the classic "hole" where there was no illumination, inadequate ventilation, primitive sanitation, marginal nutrition, and concrete lined cells. It was only second on their list of unacceptable punishments, death being the first.

Solitary confinement came to be called "isolation". This gave it a somehow more dignified, solicitous sound. Certainly it could be argued that welfare of the other inmates was furthered by the removal of a troublesome or dangerous prisoner from their midst. It could, in fact, work to promote the well being of the prisoner himself, keeping him away from the hazards of being included in the general prison population. And, as a punishment in itself, isolation did work to make some obstinate prisoners tractable.

What was needed to be done with solitary confinement to make it even close to acceptable, or at least not objectionable, to the penal system reformers was to construct an isolated environment that physically and psychologically endurable without being in any way comfortable or rewarding.

This is where Morphoplast came into play.

The entire concept of perpetual solitary confinement had been made possible by the invention of a material called Morphoplast. It was substance created out of a combination of plastics and ceramics. It was virtually indestructible; had properties that allowed it to be molded into practically any shape; could be formulated to conduct or to insulate both temperature and electricity—or both; and could be made to be opaque or transparent at any given time. It could be made in many degrees of hardness; even one piece of it could have several different consistencies yet still retain its durability. Likewise, it could be made permeable or impermeable to different degrees; it could be made into superb filtering membranes, especially when coupled with substance sensitive nano-machines. It was essentially hypoallergenic, human tissue didn't react to it; but it could also be formulated to allow bonding with human tissue as with transplants. As it was blended, nano-processors and nano-machines could be added to it that would facilitate an elaborate array of adaptive uses.

Morphoplast was first used in the field of medicine as a material for casting fractures. It was light, strong and easy to apply. But it also promoted healing by using nano-conductors to create a mild electric field in the area of the fracture. In addition, the interior of the cast was coated with nano-scavengers, sub-microscopic machines programmed to identify and eliminate unhealthy bacteria that bred underneath the cast. Similarly, other nano-scavengers were programmed to recognize and process dead skin cells. Other digital nano-sensors within the cast made constant readings of the patient's temperature, blood pressure, hydration, blood sugar levels and suchlike, giving the treating doctors instantaneous information about the patient's well being.

As it's initial applications met with success, Morphoplast became more and more widely used. The cost came down and eventually it became an almost universally used material. It was a magnificent material: light, strong, durable, and versatile. Anywhere plastics had been used, Morphoplast was now being used with greater effectiveness. The list was almost endless: the medical field—plastic surgery, artificial joints, dental implants; automobile manufacture—body panels, windshields, pollution scavenging exhaust systems; building construction—moldable fixtures, temperature regulating walls and windows, and security monitoring. It was the building construction applications that made perpetual solitary confinement possible.

An ovoid room made entirely of Morphoplast was designed, measuring 20' X 20' X 10', with a contoured interior that included a ledge for sitting and sleeping, a nutrition and hydration niche, a study and viewing area, and a combination toilet and shower alcove. The entire structure was of an opaque gray composition but there was a four square foot section of one of the long walls that could be made to be transparent on demand so that the prisoner could look outside the cell. The material of the walls was luminescent that allowed for 360 degree lighting; brightness, however, could be controlled by the inmate to a point of almost complete, but not total darkness. The temperature was maintained at a constant 72 degrees and air movement could be controlled by the prisoner from stillness up to the sensation of a light breeze. Humidity was likewise controlled to a dry, but not arid level.

That was it! There were no extra comforts, no clothes, no television, no radio, no musical instruments, and no means of communication with the world outside. The prisoner did, however, have access through a "read only" computer to a data bank that contained digital copies of the world's great books, the equivalent of approximately one thousand volumes spanning the breadth of human knowledge. The computer was created of Morphoplast and integrated into structure of the cell; it was situated in the material that comprised the "study area" of the room. All of the controls were of pressure sensitive Morphoplast. The prisoner would be left alone with his body, his reading, and his thoughts—nothing else!

The libertarians cried, "Buried Alive!" The penal experts said, "Not So!" The cell was twice as large as the usual prison cell so the prisoner could hardly argue that the space was cramped. It gave ample room for the confined person to exercise. The cell was well ventilated so there would be no physical reason for a feeling of suffocation. It was well lighted and the brightness was within almost total control of the inmate. And here was nothing inherently dangerous in the surroundings; everything in the room had been fashioned to avoid the possibility of accidentally injuring the one confined within it.

The texture of the Morphoplast was soft and semi-pliable in the sleeping, sitting and toilet areas so the prisoner was not going to be subjected to dealing with hard, injurious surfaces. The cell contained nano-sensors that would constantly monitor the prisoner's bodily functions to allow for prompt diagnosis of illness. There were nano-scavengers that would eliminate any harmful bacteria in side the cell. These could also be introduced into the drinking water or into to medicate the prisoner in the event of infection, the possibility of which was small due to the sterility of the environment.

There would be abundant basic nutrition and hydration available so it could not be argued that the prisoner would involuntarily starve to death or die of thirst. There would be no eating utensils--the prisoner would necessarily eat with his hands; but since there was constant cleansing and sanitation of the environment, this would be of little consequence. The bathing and toilet areas had instantaneous clog-proof drainage and continuous sanitation through permeable Morphoplast.

The condemned person could even be anesthetized and removed from his cell should it be deemed medically necessary by the physicians who would be monitoring the prisoner. The prisoner, however, had no contact with nor any say in whether or not or how medical treatment might be administered. Any results of an inmate's self inflicted injuries, voluntary starvation, or aberrant behavior of any type would have to be dealt with by the inmate himself.

The Morphoplast was essentially impervious to damage from the prisoner. This was partially due to the qualities of the material itself but also a result of the prisoner having to consent to having his teeth and fingernails removed before incarceration. Provisions were also made for permanent body hair removal to prevent growing hair from harming the prisoner and to eliminate the need for scissors or razor that the prisoner could use to damage himself or his cell. All of this would be done non-surgically, using chemotherapy during hospitalization before final incarceration.

True, the prisoner could smear himself and his cell with his own feces, contaminate the room with his urine, or even cause himself to bleed. But the room would be in a constantly self-cleaning and sanitizing mode and the prisoner would have to deal with the responsibility of keeping himself clean and of dealing with the physical consequences of his not doing so.

Yes, there would sensory deprivation of a degree sufficient for punishment but the inmate would have access to literature for reading and would be a view of the world outside the cell to eliminate the feeling of being totally encapsulated. This view, however, would be only of a landscape; there would be no possibility of any intentional or accidental human contact.

The essential punishment, therefore, would be the deprivation of contact with or any interaction with any other human being. By his crimes, the prisoner had forgone any right to live among the society of others, even the company of one other human being.

The condemned would attend a hearing before his election of sentence. He would be given a complete briefing, on the record in the presence of his attorney, of all of the alternatives and provisions of his sentence. He would be given a last opportunity to voluntarily select the death penalty or life in isolation. He would be given ten days to make his decision with or without the advice of counsel or spiritual advisors. If he did not make a decision in that period of time, his execution would occur within 24 hours.

Before entering his penitential abode, the condemned was given a complete briefing, again on the record, of all of the provisions of his confinement. It was explained to him that if he did not consent to hair, fingernail and tooth removal, the death penalty would be his default decision. He was required to acknowledge that he understood that he would be confined for life; that he would be unable to communicate with another human being; that, beyond the essential commodities of life, he was charged with full responsibility caring for himself; and that only extreme conditions might result in his being taken out of the cell and then not at his election and only temporarily for treatment and only while he was completely anesthetized.

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