“Relax, I can assure you this one really dies.”

“The last time I paid and I didn’t get what I wanted.”

“What did you want?”

“To see them die.”

So reads the transcript published in Il Mattino, the Naples, Italy, newspaper, reporting the alleged emails between a child pornography producer in Russia and a potential paying customer seeking to purchase a child “snuff” video.

As horrific as it sounds, children are filmed while being raped and tortured until the child actually dies or, if necessary, the scene ends by killing the child. Why? Pedophiles and others are willing to pay a lot of money to see specific child pornographic scenes. Because of the convenience of online access, these sadistic productions have become a global problem as they are produced and distributed around the world.

One senior customs officer who confiscated “snuff” films was quoted as saying, “We have seen some very, very nasty stuff involving sadistic abuse of very young children, but actual deaths in film takes it to a whole step further. That is very worrying!”

Pedophiles can order their favorite child porn videos online requesting certain specifics such as a preferred age, gender, hair color, etc. of the child “star.” It’s unsettling to know, but the most sadistic clients prefer “stars” under the age of two years.

“Looking at images of children and toddlers – infants – being sexually molested, raped and seeing the suffering without being able to rescue them immediately, is the toughest part of this job,” said Lt. Glenn Lang, Maine State Police Computer Crimes Unit.

At what point do we say, “enough?” Which crime does society feel is so despicable that the perpetrator deserves the most severe punishment possible?

Like most people, I wasn’t compelled to think much about the death penalty rarely giving it more than a casual thought. However, that was before I spent the last 10 years researching and learning more than I wanted to know about predators who prey on innocent children for sexual gratification and profit.

The production of “snuff” films can be accomplished as easily as turning on a cell phone. Thinking that such films could not be produced in Maine is nai?ve and unrealistic. We can make a statement in Maine by saying that killing children in pornography productions could mean the death sentence.

I have submitted legislation that will allow the death penalty to be a sentencing choice for a judge. Federal law already provides for the death penalty if a child is killed during such productions. My proposal would simply make our state law equal to federal law by giving the judge that option.

Several states have death penalties including our closest neighbor, New Hampshire, and, in fact, they have a man on death row now. Maine abolished its death penalty in 1887 with probably good reasons given the less-than-humane ways hangings were carried out during those times, especially considering the circumstances surrounding the last hanging in 1885 of Daniel Wilkerson.

However, comparing Maine today to what it was like 128 years ago is like comparing communication by cell phone to using smoke signals. Our world has changed due to the seemingly unlimited advances in online technology, and, unfortunately, all too often these advancements have paved the way for cruel and unthinkable actions by some of the most depraved individuals in our society.

Will instituting the death penalty in Maine be a deterrent? Maybe. It will certainly send a clear message that sexually abusing, torturing and killing children will not be tolerated and justice will be served. As criminal law professor at New York Law School and known death penalty expert, Dr. Robert Blecker, says in his book, “The Death of Punishment,” “…the most vicious murderers deserve to die.” Clearly killing a child during the production of a pornographic film without a doubt fits the definition of a vicious murderer.

If nothing else, the death penalty is an appropriate punishment when narrowly applied to the specific reasons stated in my bill. Punishment is part of the sentencing process and we shouldn’t be shy or ashamed to admit that fact.

Every child porn video and image contains a real life innocent young victim who experiences pain and horror as a result of sexual assaults and torture. Deep physical and psychological scars remain with the victims for the rest of their lives …unless they’re brutally killed in the process.

The emails between the Russian child pornographer and his prospective customer should ring in our ears.

“What did you want?”

“To see them die.”

State Sen. Bill Diamond, of Windham, represents District 26, which includes Baldwin, Casco, Frye Island, Raymond, Standish and Windham.