Price of murder is more than $20

If it weren't so serious, it would be downright funny. A country bumpkin from just outside of Joplin had some bad blood with relatives of his former wife. So the country fella decided to hire himself a hitman to "off" the relatives. And just to make sure everything went as planned, he offered the hitman a crisp $20 bill with the promise of another $80 when the job was done.

Now I know times are hard but I would assume that a hitman goes for a tad bit more than $20 these days. I could be wrong because the only thing I know of hitmen comes from the "Sopranos." But maybe it's different in the hills of southwest Missouri.

Well needless to say, the "hitman" went straight to police who set up a sting with the disgruntled country fella. When the fella told the undercover cop just how he wanted the relatives killed, that was all police needed. And now he sits in jail under a $700,000 bond.

Many social scientists will tell you that life is cheap these days. But even in hillbilly country, 20 bucks seems a paltry sum for a double murder.

With the price of gas as high as it is today, the "hitman" might have spent more on fuel to find the relatives than he received in his down payment.

My guess is that this fella might have a pretty fair shot at an insanity defense. Let's be honest here. Offering someone $20 to kill a couple of folk is both insane and downright dumb.

My only hope is that in prison this gentleman can find time to brush up on his economics. And judging from his crime, he may have plenty of time to study in the years ahead.