This Is Why We Need The Death Penalty

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Some manifestations of the sinful nature of our human condition are so gut-wrenchingly horrific they defy not only our words, but our comprehension as well. We cannot conceive of them, let alone process – or attempt to describe them.

Our cores are shaken just thinking about them…

Such atrocities do more than just pull at our heartstrings, they cause genuine angst in our souls – and anger in the very depths of our beings. And as a result, they (rightfully) cause us to reassess our views on justice – both in the earthly and eternal realms.

Such a “reassessing” incident took place last Friday in the South Carolina Upstate – at an apartment complex located approximately ten miles west of Greenville, S.C.

At approximately 8:30 p.m. EST, Easley Police Department (EPD) officers were contacted by emergency responders who had previously been dispatched to the complex. They were sent there after receiving a 911 call from the boyfriend of a woman who had just given birth and reportedly required “medical attention.”

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“Officers were requested by Pickens County Emergency Medical Services to respond to 110 Nations Way for a woman in medical distress,” the town’s initial statement noted.

“They got on scene and realized very quickly this was something much more,” Easley police chief Brandon Liner told reporters earlier this week.

Be warned: This narrative is about to take a truly dark, dare I say demonic turn. If you are easily triggered by violent descriptions – or hell, if you have a heart – consider this your graphic content warning. In fact, what you are about to read is beyond graphic, beyond disturbing… beyond evil.

According to a probable cause affidavit accompanying a warrant for her arrest, 31-year-old An T. Ngo is alleged to have “repeatedly stabbed (her baby boy) with a long metal letter opener” inside the apartment as she was giving birth to him.

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That’s right: Ngo repeatedly stabbed her baby boy with a metal letter opener as she was giving birth to him, per police.

Ngo’s stabbing attack on the baby continued after he had been born, police said. And when she had finished the horrific crime, Ngo allegedly cut the umbilical cord, placed her murdered child in a trash bag and literally threw him away, according to the affidavit.

“It was very apparent Ms. Ngo is the one who tragically murdered this child,” Liner told reporters, adding that in his two-and-a-half decades as a law enforcement officer, he had “never seen anything this gruesome.”

“I’ve never seen anything this bad,” he said.

Ngo is alleged to have confessed to the killing. She was subsequently charged with homicide by child abuse and denied bond. She is currently being held at the Pickens County Detention Center (PCDC), where she will stay until her case is disposed of by the office of S.C. thirteenth circuit solicitor Walt Wilkins.

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“There’s a lot of processing to be done, but I can assure you that we will speak for this baby,” Liner told reporters. “The baby cannot speak for himself, but we will speak for this baby, and we will make sure this baby will receive justice.”

Good. And let’s be unmistakably clear about this: the only justice in this case is the death penalty.

And even that won’t suffice, honestly.

Earlier this week, I penned an extensive column on capital punishment in South Carolina. In that piece, I argued the list of aggravating factors which qualify a case for the death penalty ought to be expanded. Not only that, I argued the list of methods of execution should be expanded as well.

Why? Because of cases like this…

“Even without strengthening the law, though, there are plenty of applicable scenarios in which capital cases could be brought against violent killers… meaning it’s time for prosecutors to start pushing for the death penalty far more often,” I wrote.

I cannot think of a more applicable case than this one… in which the absolute worst savagery any of us can possibly imagine was inflicted upon a child at its moment of peak vulnerability. Seriously: This baby boy didn’t even have a chance to be born before he fell victim to a violent attack.

Whether Ngo is demonic, evil or insane to do what she is alleged to have done… I cannot say. Perhaps we will find out, perhaps we will never know. But whatever may have precipitated these acts, there is only one answer for what should happen to the person who committed them.

They must be put to death.

There must be accountability for this child’s life, and there is only one form that accountability must take.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…

Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.

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