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To Death with the Death Penalty!
In the past week and a half, our class has been discussing the morality of the death penalty. We have discussed the life of Sr. Helen Presion, watched the film Dead Man Walking, and finally talked about this questionable punishment. Is the death penalty a necessary policy? Are we in all cases certain we are putting the right killer to death? Is it just to give the death penalty to juveniles? I have pondered these questions during our week and a half. I believe the answer to all three is no. Why do people support the death penalty at all? It in no way prevents nor deters crime. In fact, states that issue capital punishment have a higher murder per capita rate than non-death penalty states. Many supporters of the death penalty feel that eradicating the murderer will bring some "justice" or "relief" to the families of victims. It's human nature to want to help out a member of our community. As Tim Vining says, "It is normal to want a drastic response to demonstrate our love and concern. However, if the best we have to offer is the killing of another human being, we are seriously failing as a society." Is serving the families another death really a way to alleviate their pain of loss? We only bring more attention to the killer and the crime, not to the loved and the lost. I have also come to question the "fairness" of the death penalty's utilization. Its system seems extremely flawed. Too many people die because of under-qualified representation. Those who are poor and cannot afford their own attorney are given one employed by the state, lawyers that often just "cutting their teeth" in the world of law. Similarly, the mentally handicapped are also executed, some of whom were so severely retarded, they might not have fully understand what they've done, nor the implications of their sentence. Innocent people have been sentenced to die as well. There is a high risk of executing the wrong person, about 1 out of every seven. The late governor of Illinois recently exonerated four men from prison (one whom remains in jail for lesser, unrelated crimes), finding them innocent by using DNA evidence. The death penalty is also racially imbalanced. According to statistics from moratiriumcampaign.org, over 82 percent of those on death row were convicted of killing a white person, though people of color make more than 50 percent of all homicide in the U.S. (I wonder where the 100 plus homicides of Oakland fit in…). Why has their been less of an outcry over their deaths? In addition, the site adds, 43 percent of those on death row are black, while only 12 percent of the U.S. population is black. Do we care about blacks less? Besides even using a flawed system for implementing the death penalty, America is the only western democracy that continues to use the death penalty. We are third only to China and The Republic of the Congo in our total number of executions in 1998. Our continued use of capital punishment puts us in the same standing as countries like Iran, Pakistan, or even Iraq. We are belligerent and call for war against Saddam for murdering his own countrymen. Yet our own grand and (and often I think overly) glorified United States of America put innocents, mentally retarded, and juveniles to death. It is this last point of doling out the death penalty to those who are underage that really heats infuriate me the most. The US is one of only six countries since 1990 that have executed people for crimes they committed before the age of 18, according to the moratoriumcampaign.org statistics. We have executed more juvenile offenders than any other country. There is a 10 year old boy sitting in prison for killing a neighbor girl, awaiting the day he will be 18 so that his state can kill him. Where is the justice in that? His life for hers? How can they keep this child imprisoned during what supposed to be the "best years of his life?" It would be better to give that boy some extensive therapy sessions and see if he could be rehabilitated. If I was his place, and I was only waiting to die, I might just end my waiting and end my life. I must admit that before discussing the death penalty in class, I did not have much interest in the topic. Yet after reading and researching and hearing about the injustices of the so entitled justice system, I think this is a topic that deserves some interest. I fully commend the former governor of Illinois for commuting the sentences of those on death row to life without parole. He recognizes the importance of preserving all human life. J.R.R. Tolkien stated it the best when he said, "Many of those who live deserve death and many of those who die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Don't be so quick to deal out death and judgment." Our world would be a better place if we showed less violence and hate and more patience, compassion and love.
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