Tucker Carlson Declares that Michael Vick Should Have Been Executed; Has He Gone Too Far?

Fox News' Tucker Carlson said this week that he believes Philadelphia Eagles' quarterback Michael Vick "should have been executed" for his involvement in a dog killing ring.

Carlson is co-hosting Fox News "Hannity" show this week and on Tuesday said, "I'm a Christian, I've made mistakes myself, I believe fervently in second chances, but Michael Vick killed dogs, and he did [it] in a heartless and cruel way. I think personally he should have been executed for that. He wasn't."

Carlson went on to say, ""The idea that the President of the United States would be getting behind someone who murdered dogs [is] kind of beyond the pale," he said.

Carlson was reacting to President Barack Obama's phone call to Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, during which the President praised him for giving Vick a second chance.

Vick served a total of nineteen months in federal prison and ultimately declared bankruptcy after being convicted in 2007 for funding a dog fighting ring in which dogs were cruelly treated and killed for sport.

He is by all accounts is a changed man now, or at least working towards change, and is having a season for the Eagles that is MVP-like. He is prohibited from owning a dog until late 2012, but has indicated that he would like to own a dog as a pet at some point in the future.

While many, including the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), have decried Obama's support for Vick, suggesting that Vick should have been executed for his crimes seems to borrow a phrase from Carslon himself, kind of beyond the pale.

At what point do commentators of any political persuasion need to show a measure of restraint and responsibility? Suggesting that somebody should be executed, after he or she was tried by a jury of their peers, paid his or her prescribed debt to society, lost all of his or her money and now is working very successfully to rebuild a career, seems reckless, mean spirited and pandering to the worst segment.

Any right thinking person would find what Vick did to dogs deplorable. Some may even say that Vick should never be allowed to play football again. But being suspended forever from the NFL is a far cry from saying he should be executed. Whatever Carlson's religious affiliation, if he would like to be a responsible media figure, perhaps he should reconsider his statement that Vick should have been executed.

Source:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2010/12/29/2010-12-29_tucker_carlson_michael_vick_should_have_been_executed_for_running_dogfighting_ri.html