I decided to write about the death penalty because a friend/co-worker of mine asked me how I felt about the death penalty....My initial response was that I have no issues with the death penalty, if a person murdered another person then that person should be put to death as well, like the saying "an eye for an eye."
I don't really think she had any intentions about taking the conversation further but that night I went home and did some internet reading about the death penalty only to discover some interesting facts.
I read in a The Justice Project article, since the death penalty was reinstated in the 1970s, 130 "convicted" people have been pulled from death row in 26 states due to faulty evidence. That right there made me re-think my thoughts on the death penalty...how can the justice system claim to be "ethical" and give "fair trails" if that many people have been exonerated from death row? I also came across another article in the Austin American Statesman about a man named Todd Willingham who was executed in 2004 based off faulty evidence...??? Another red flag in my book, the scary thing is Gov. Perry replaced the chairman of the Texas Forensic Science Commission because he was going to "expose" what really happened (read the article, it's interesting).
The trial costs for death cases were about 16 times greater than for non-death cases because of all of the process that must happen in order for the conviction to stand ie..pre-trial time will be needed to prepare cases, more attorneys will be provided for the defense and the prosecution, the process of finding and housing jurors, multiple trials will occur and they take longer than non-death penalty trials. Think about it this way: If the person on trial for murder can't afford an attorney the state is required to provide legal representation to that person which means somewhere down the line the tax payers might be paying for the trail and representation for that person.
With this little bit of information I found I kind of questioned the in's and out's of our trial system and the death penalty. There are plenty of statistics out there that show its "cheaper" to keep someone on a life sentence with out the option of parole than to sentence someone to death in many different states but I still find my self wanting a truly and rightfully convicted murder to be sentenced to death but I just don't know if it's fully possible for someone to have a "fair" trial.
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I should have learned from past experiences that discussing this topic with Americans makes just as much sense as discussing why Chinese like to eat so much rice, I just can’t resist; I have to comment on your post.
The research you have done already brought out some of the facts why the death penalty isn’t worth it.
1) Yes executions cost a lot more than keeping someone in prison for life without the option to parole.
2) Innocent people have been executed. My neighbor is a police officer and tried to convince me that this happens very rarely. The wrongful execution of an innocent person is an injustice that can never be rectified. So I would say, the wrongful execution of just one innocent person is more than enough to stop this kind of punishment.
3) Death penalty has racism written all over! Yes race does play a major role! The race of the victim and the race of the defendant in capital cases are major factors in determining who is sentenced to die in this country.
4) Last but not least: this kind of punishment does NOTHING! Scientific studies have always shown that executions do NOT deter people from committing crime anymore than long prison sentences. FBI data shows that all 14 states without capital punishment in 2008 had homicide rates at or below the national rate.
So this “eye for an eye” approach does not work and it is not human, because it would also mean that if you rape my little daughter I get to rape yours, if you burn my house down, I burn down yours… and wow this almost sounds like the “state of nature” to me. Is this what we really want?
No this “eye for an eye” thing is definitely not appropriate for a society which says it values human rights. And the death penalty is the biggest denial of human rights. It is NOT the right type of punishment because it doesn’t work.
Revenge. That’s what it is about. Nothing else. Just revenge for a terrible crime.
Does it bring back victims to life? No of course not! Does it help families with their grief? No, stories have shown it only makes them feel better for a short period of time. Death penalty is so wrong, it costs the taxpayer too much money, and it simply does not deter crime.
I personally am against the idea of having a death penalty at this current time. Right now, in our justice system, as Misty stated, there have been people convicted by faulty evidence, and innocent people killed. If we cannot even distinguish if a person is completely guilty of a crime deserving capital punishment, then what gives us the right to take their life? When criminals are placed in prison for a life term, instead of put on death row, there remains the possibility of discovering that the incriminating evidence is faulty. But with the death penalty, the only thing left to happen if such a thing is discovered is to say, "Oops, well, we can't bring him back." Death is irreversible, so what gives us the power or right to permanently end the life of another human being, even if they killed someone? I do not think anyone should be able to wield that power. Relating to executions and the death penalty, there has always been a certain part of the procedure that does not make sense to me in this form of "justice". This part is that to execute a person, it takes someone to push the red button, or make the lethal injection. The executioner then, too, by definition, is a murderer. Why should they not go to court, get tried, and get the death penalty themselves? Even though they may have seen the execution as protecting the world from a criminal, they still technically have killed someone. And so continues this vicious cycle of revenge for murder with murder. There are other ways to deal with criminals, but, as of now, the death penalty is not a just option.
I scanned my fellow class members’ blogs for a topic to respond to. I chose class blogger Misty who gave one side of the death penalty. The D.P. is a hot button topic for sure, right up there with abortion, racism, Darwin’s theory, etc.. . People are either for it or against it. I have no desire to change someone’s mind on this subject any more than my mind can be changed.
The topic was about the State executing innocent people and she references Todd Willingham, a Texas man executed for frying his three children in a house fire. I don’t want to beat this case to death (no pun intended), but for every anti-death penalty website found, there is an equal and opposite pro-death penalty to counteract it. The information I read http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/US/willingham899.htm shows he did it. Was he innocent? I don’t know, but at his execution, he repeatedly told his ex-wife who was present “I hope you rot in Hell, Bitch”. Willingham’s compassion for a grieving mother will be sorely missed along with his obvious potential as a productive human being. The truth is that Willingham was a repeat violent offender, his life littered with felony and misdemeanor convictions. I saw some comments on Misty’s blog that mentioned racism and wrongful convictions. For a proper perspective on racism, I refer you to the FBI crime statistics website http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2008/data/table_43.html and pay special attention to the column that reports convictions by race. I know I know, the site is run by racist cops, blah, blah, blah. What I’m saying is that Texas death row is not filled with Magna Cum Laudes, philanthropists or guys working on how to split the atom. It’s filled with repeat offenders of All races who are career criminals. It’s hard to feel for them.
One other thing: Willingham’s own defense attorney agreed that his client was guilty and that Willingham should have been executed!!!! http://www.statesman.com/search/content/news/stories/local/2009/12/04/1204willingham.html. He waited to until after they juiced him to say anything. Perhaps this will end any other arguments about this particular case.
Misty reports there were 130 wrongful D.P. convictions. I agree with her that even one wrongful conviction is too many. However, 130 wrongful convictions from 35 States multiplied by the length of time the D.P. has been in place. It’s actually an outstanding percentage rate of good convictions.
The Texas death penalty serves a purpose. It reduces the crime rate. It means the executed ends his life of crime forever and can no longer rape, murder, or rob another person. Three quarters of this country also believe it’s a good idea since there are only 15 states that do not have a death penalty statute http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/states-and-without-death-penalty. If there was a real push to abolish the D.P. in Texas, it would have been done by now. All it takes is a legislative act to repeal it, so an interested person or coalition could go through their state rep or Senator to get the process started. Good luck with that. If the death penalty really bothers someone in Texas, maybe they should move to another state. Remember, this is the state where folks are allowed to carry loaded shotguns and rifles in their trucks. The D.P. won’t be going away in Texas. Ever.
Please fact check your sources
"The Death Penalty: More Protection for Innocents"
http://homicidesurvivors.com/2009/07/05/the-death-penalty-more-protection-for-innocents.aspx
The 130 (now 139) death row "innocents" scam
http://homicidesurvivors.com/2009/03/04/fact-checking-issues-on-innocence-and-the-death-penalty.aspx
"Death Penalty Sentencing: No Systemic Bias"
http://prodpinnc.blogspot.com/2009/07/death-penalty-sentencing-no-systemic.html
Willingham case
http://homicidesurvivors.com/categories/Cameron%20Todd%20Willingham.aspx
Silva, you too:
"Deterrence and the Death Penalty: A Reply to Radelet and Lacock"
http://homicidesurvivors.com/2009/07/02/deterrence-and-the-death-penalty-a-reply-to-radelet-and-lacock.aspx
"Death Penalty, Deterrence & Murder Rates: Let's be clear"
http://prodpinnc.blogspot.com/2009/03/death-penalty-deterrence-murder-rates.html
23 recent studies finding for deterrence, Criminal Justice Legal Foundation,
http://www.cjlf.org/deathpenalty/DPDeterrence.htm
A Death Penalty Red Herring: The Inanity and Hypocrisy of Perfection, Lester Jackson Ph.D.,
http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=102909A
"The Innocent Executed: Deception & Death Penalty Opponents"
http://homicidesurvivors.com/2009/10/08/the-innocent-executed-deception--death-penalty-opponents--draft.aspx
"Cost Savings: The Death Penalty"
http://homicidesurvivors.com/2009/05/07/cost-savings-the-death-penalty.aspx
Duke (North Carolina) Death Penalty Cost Study: Let's be honest
http://prodpinnc.blogspot.com/2009/06/duke-north-carolina-death-penalty-cost.html
"The Death Penalty: Not a Human Rights Violation"
http://homicidesurvivors.com/2006/03/20/the-death-penalty-not-a-human-rights-violation.aspx
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