By Michael Henry

William Shakespeare wrote a lot about murder over 400 years ago. Even back then, he knew there were some people who needed killing.

Like the murderous servant of Sir Piers of Exton, whom Richard II killed in Act V, Scene V, with the servant’s own weapon. Richard condemned the murderer. “Go thou, and fill another room in hell. That hand shall burn in never-quenching fire.”

Shakespeare’s directive is just as appropriate today for Devin Patrick Kelley, the 26-year-old mass murderer who wiped out almost an entire congregation at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, TX, during Sunday services on November 5.

Whether you believe in an afterlife or not, there’s got to be some kind of cosmic retribution against this worthless piece of humanity.

In his short time on earth, he earned a dishonorable discharge from the Air Force for beating his wife and fracturing the skull of his stepson. He segued from teaching bible school to proselytizing for atheism. There are reports he tried to bribe underage girls into “dating” him. Finally, clad in riot gear with a semi-automatic rifle, he bravely murdered 26 defenseless congregants and wounded more than 20 others.

Kelley is the poster child of someone needing killing. When he was finally confronted by a person who could actually defend himself, 55-year-old Stephen Willeford, Kelley was taken down like the mad dog he was. 

When I learned Kelley either died from Willeford’s rifle shot or by his own hand, a tidal wave of relief washed over me. At least we won’t be subjected to the excruciating, illogical water torture our criminal justice system has become.

And speaking of needing killing, how about Uzbekistani Sayfullo Saipov, who mowed down scores of pedestrians in Manhattan on Halloween, killing eight and injuring dozens more? Saipov came into the U.S. in 2010 courtesy of Teddy Kennedy and Chuck Schumer’s “diversity” visa program. These two dottering liberals saw a real need to bring in deranged, murderous cretins and 23 of their closest “relatives” via chain immigration. Apparently, Chuck and Teddy felt we were deficient in homegrown mass murderers.

Saipov was shot by an NYPD officer but lacked the common decency to die. In the hospital where he is provided the best Obamacare available, Saipov joyfully asked to fly an ISIS flag. He expressed pride in his killing of infidels in the name of Allah, and in spite of the significant delay in seeing his 72 virgins, was upbeat, disappointed he hadn’t killed more innocents.

Be prepared for aggressive public defenders who will file insanity and other ridiculous motions during Saipov’s lengthy prosecution, all at the taxpayers’ expense. Watching it will be like tearing off a scab, over and over.

Another “Allahu Akbar” screamer, Nidal Hasan, Army major and psychiatrist, killed 13 and wounded 30 others at Fort Hood, Texas in 2009. He was shot but survived, unfortunately, and was convicted in 2013. Eight years later, he’s still on death row at Fort Leavenworth. Recently, his lawyer, John Galligan, predicted many years of appeals because Hasan “did not receive a fair trial at Fort Hood.”

Just in case you thought criminal law absurdity is limited to the U.S., recall Anders Behring Breivik, who methodically killed 92 people, mostly young teens, defenseless and trapped at an island youth camp in Norway in 2011. Breivik dressed in riot gear and used an assault rifle, and bears an uncanny resemblance to Kelley, the church shooter (do a search for their names and look at their photos).

Breivik was convicted in 2012 and sentenced to 21 years in prison, the maximum sentence for mass murder in Norway. He has sued Norway, alleging inhumane prison conditions, including a poorly decorated cell which has no view and an inadequate reading lamp. Oh, the horrors!!

Criminal justice in America badly needs reform, including a common sense approach to mass murderers whose guilt is obvious.

Michael Henry is a former attorney, prosecutor, politician, investment advisor, and novelist living in Oxford, Miss.