Flash

Revenge Bill

The Sicilian Storyteller

Rochelle at Friday Fictioneers has challenged us
once again to create something amazing
in 100 words or less to go with the photo prompt below.
Here is my 100-word response to that challenge.

© Peter Abbey

“What are they looking at, Bob.”

“Something rather barbaric, Ellen. I think we should just move along.”

“What do you mean ‘barbaric’? Now I’m feeling both disturbed and curious.”

“It’s an execution, Ellen.”

“An execution? Here …. out in the open? When did that become legal?”

“Last week. It’s the “Revenge Bill”. Convicted murderers can be executed the same way they killed their victims. In the cage is the “Bathtub Murderer”. He’ll be lowered into the water and kept there until he drowns. These people watching are the victim’s family members.”

“OMG! That’s dreadful!”

“An eye for an eye, Ellen.”

NAR©2024
100 Words

NB: This is a fiction piece and must be regarded as such. My beliefs regarding capital punishment or my political/religions/humanitarian leanings are strictly personal and are not up for discussion on a public forum such as WordPress unless I specifically choose to do so.

9 February 2024

This is Unkle with “Eye For An Eye”

This portfolio (including text, graphics and videos) is copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR © 2017-present.

55 thoughts on “Revenge Bill”

  2. So many grim stories prompted by a photo of a boardwalk this week. It feels like the Friday Fictioneer writers never had a good beach vacation. 🙂

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  3. This is quite a stark story from you and it’s set off even more so by the formatting of the dialogue. I especially liked Bob’s comment that closes the story because it throws the story in question (he calls the act “barbaric” at the beginning leading us to assume he doesn’t like the bill, and then he uses the ages old excuse to justify state-sanctioned killing leading us to assume that he’s ok with it) and makes the reader decide for themselves how they feel about the whole thing. I don’t like to talk politics online either but I hope our world never sees anything even close to this.

    Having said all of that, the song made me think of, “Throw me a line, show me a sign, cuz there’s a fat man in the bathtub with the blues.”

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    1. Thanks so much for your excellent comments and in-depth analysis, Michael.

      Speaking for Bob, I’d like to say that it isn’t so much that he’s ok with it; it’s more like he’s resigned to it.

      Bob knew about the bill being passed. He must watch more MSNBC than Ellen because she didn’t know anything about it. I can only assume he’s had time to digest this new state-sanctioned killing and has come to terms with it whereas Ellen is just learning about it for the first time in a rather frighteningly up close and personal way.

      I must echo your sentiments; I also hope mankind will never see anything like this become a reality.

      I’m not familiar with the lyrics you quoted but maybe if you hum a few bars I’ll recognize the tune.

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    1. Thank you. Russell. All you’ve said is true. People will counter with “what about those who are wrongly accused?” Quoting statistics that say only 4% of those incarcerated should not be there sounds insensitive and heartless and only makes matters worse. It is a no win situation and our government at the moment is broken.

      I appreciate you sharing your thoughts.

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  8. A grim story, but perhaps not for the family members whose loved ones were treated so badly. I appreciate your disclaimer at the end. This is certainly a hot topic, and not good for this forum, I think. It seems to me that Bob’s rather matter-of-fact response is probably best for a situation such as this.

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  9. A dark piece from you this week. I’d like to think such things are only fictional, but your story points to a terrible reality in some parts of the world. The matter-of-fact tone you’ve chosen to use contrasts effectively with the grim scene you’ve painted, making it all the more shocking.

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    1. It’s incomprehensible, isn’t it, Margaret? Somewhere in the world something very similar to this is happening. Thank you for appreciating my voice; it was vital to me that the ennui came across and I was concerned that it didn’t. Good to know it wasn’t lost on you. Thank you for your insightful comments, as always

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    1. Excellent point, Keith.

      The Bible is rife with contradictions. Cain & Able, David, Bathsheba and Uriah, the stoning of Stephen …. the stories go on and on. The Psalms contain some of the most glorious hymns to God while on the next page another Psalm will read like a soap opera.

      That’s the ‘good book’ for you!

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    1. It is original or different or whatever you wish to call it and I honestly thought about ditching it at the last minute and replacing it with a piece of fluff, but then I thought “Don’t be silly. It’s not like you’re writing an op ed piece for the New York Times. It’s fiction!” So I kept it in and crossed my fingers that people weren’t put off by it.

      Thanks very much, Dale! I’m glad to know you enjoyed my piece.

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    1. Why is the family of someone who was murdered allowed to watch the execution of the murderer? For closure? Revenge? Justice? Perhaps they take a perverse pleasure in knowing the person who murdered their loved one has been brought to justice.

      I would never be able to close my eyes without seeing that horrible scene over and over again.

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    1. What’s ‘creepy’ is the matter-of-fact way Bob is explaining what’s happening to Ellen.

      There was a time when executions were aired on television and heard over the radio. The last TV airing was 1936; radio-aired executions were still going on in some areas in the 1950s.

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    1. Of course! That is a definite factor. It does happen although statistics indicate it to be an extremely low number (but some would argue even 1 wrongful death is too much). A 2014 study estimated that approximately 4% of those sentenced to death are innocent.

      There’s no bigger “what if” than that. For the families of the victims, there’s never a question in their minds.

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      1. It can if the punishment is meted out justly. And the right person is punished, not a stooge. In Islam, the punishment for stealing is cutting a finger for first time offenders and a hand for the next time. The incident of stealing is minimal in Saudi Arabia where this law is implemented.

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