crime and punishment

And in the many-faceted world of crime and punishment:

-- Confessed murderer Robert Gleason Jr. is scheduled to get his wish when he is electrocuted tonight:

Gleason is scheduled to die at 9 p.m. Wednesday at Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt. Condemned Virginia inmates can choose between lethal injection and electrocution, and Gleason is the first inmate to choose electrocution since 2010....
Gleason says he only requested death in order to keep a promise to a loved one that he wouldn't kill again. He said doing so will allow him to teach his children, including two young sons, what can happen if they follow in his footsteps.
"I wasn't there as a father and I'm hoping that I can do one last good thing," he said. "Hopefully, this is a good thing."

 --  A new study highlights the disparities between what public universities spend on sports (largely U.S. football) and what they spend on the academic needs of their students. As an indicator of the third-world status America hopes to achieve, this strikes me as a solid bit of evidence.

-- Puns have been elevated and reviled throughout history. Shakespeare, Freud and Jesus were among those who found fodder in what can be camouflage for the mentally defective or delight to the linguistically agile. Puns may be little more than a guilty pleasure, but I think the emphasis should probably be placed on the word "pleasure."

As punishments go, puns strike me as a minor crime.