Ronald “RJ” Johnson was a man who had a certain balance in his life. He worked hard, but he also was dedicated to his family. He might have worked up in the ranks in his job, but he wanted to have nights and weekends off to spend time with his family. The father of two, grandfather of six, was looking forward to retirement with his wife, Lynnette. She was planning to make him a blueberry cake to celebrate his 63rd birthday. He was scheduled to have the day off, but he was called in to work to fill in for a colleague. Lynnette had just gotten out the ingredients to make his birthday cake when she received a call that Ronald had been injured at work.

He died as a result of the injuries.

There is no doubt that his assailants intended for him to die. Their attack was cruel and without mercy and has been described in the media too many times. It must have been traumatic for the other officers who discovered him. It must have been traumatic for the ambulance workers who rushed in and attempted to provide lifesaving care and transport to the hospital. It must have been traumatic for the emergency room personnel who tried without success to revive him.

It is impossible to understand or describe how awful it must have been for his widow and children.

His death was clearly an injustice. No one deserves to die the way he did. He did nothing to justify the brutal attack. He was just doing his job – a job that he was good at.

Death is permanent. It cannot be taken away. RJ will not be returned to this life. He will never have a retirement with his widow. Lynnette has to face an entirely different future than they had imagined. His grandchildren will grow up without getting to know their grandpa the way he would have liked. The reality is tragic.

I have no right to tell his survivors how to feel. If they are angry, they have every right to be so. If they are struggling with the meaning of life, it is completely understandable.

I know that I share a little bit of the guilt for his death. I am a citizen of the State of South Dakota. RJ worked for us. He was a prison guard. For whatever reasons, we didn’t provide for his safety on that fateful day in April, 2011. I know that not every danger can be identified. I know that all peace officers take risks to perform their duties. But providing for the safety of its citizens is one of the primary functions of government. Every time someone falls victim to murder, we have in some way failed.

There has been plenty in the press about the two men who attacked RJ. Eric Robert and Rodney Berget were both inmates in the prison who hatched an escape plan. The plan involved getting a guard’s uniform and they were willing to commit murder to get that uniform. Both have confessed to their crime. Robert asked for the death sentence and tried everything in his power to expedite his own execution. Berget is appealing the death sentence.

Last night, we put Eric Robert to death. The execution was conducted in accord with all of the procedures outlined in South Dakota statute and after the mandatory appeals had taken place.

One news story reported that the judge who handed down the sentence concluded the sentence by saying, “May God have mercy on your soul.” I trust God with the soul of Eric Robert. I never met the man. I know nothing about him other than what has been reported in the news. My prayer is a bit broader than the judge’s: “May God have mercy on the souls of all of us.”

We wake this morning after the death of Eric Robert and go on with our lives. Lynnette Johnson is still a widow. Nothing will bring her husband back to her in this life. The officers who work at the South Dakota State Penitentiary still have risky jobs and still face dangerous persons. There are no guarantees that another won’t be attacked. Sudden and traumatic death will enter the lives of South Dakotans in a wide variety of ways in the year to come. Some will lose loved ones due to accidents, others due to attacks, others due to suicide. Too many people will experience the loss of a loved one that they didn’t anticipate. Too many people will face grief that is overwhelming and undeserved.

And we can argue until we are blue in the face about whether or not we accomplish anything with the death penalty. Do state executions make grief any easier? Do they make the citizens of the state any safer? The debate can rage on and on with intellectual arguments made on both sides. I have my opinions, and I haven’t kept them to myself. I will continue to wade into the debate when I feel that I can make a constructive contribution to our common conversation.

But I can never be self-righteous. It would be disingenuous for me to claim that I somehow am smarter, more understanding or more righteous than any of the other citizens of South Dakota. The peace officers, the judges, the victims and the perpetrators – we are all flawed individuals. None of us is innocent.

I didn’t fasten the straps that attached Eric Robert to the gurney last night. I didn’t guide the needle into his vein. I didn’t handle the syringe that was used to inject the fatal chemical. But I participated in his death. I am a member of this society. I am a citizen of this state. I am a part of the body of people who have consented to the government that did our bidding. Had I been in charge, a different decision would have been made. But I am not in charge. I am a member of the corporate body – a citizen of the state.

I cannot escape the feeling that we haven’t got it right. In a way it seems unjust that for Eric Robert it is over when others have to live the rest of their lives with the results of his actions. At a bare minimum, we owe it to ourselves not to forget.

May God have mercy on our souls.

Copyright © 2012 by Ted Huffman. I wrote this. If you want to copy it, please ask for permission. There is a contact me button at the bottom of this page. If you want to share my blog a friend, please direct your friend to my web site.