An Unjust Practice In Our Society Essay, Research Paper
During the 1980 s, a man (named Willie Darden) wasconvicted, sentenced to death, and executed for the murder of aman that he never killed. (Execution 3). My question to you is, where is the love and justice in our society? Justice HarryBlackman was quoted as saying, the execution of a person whocan show that he is innocent come perilously close to simplemurder (Execution 3). I don t see any right or justification inkilling another human being, whether he is innocent or guilty.When a society is bent on the sinful acts of murder and revenge,it has lost it s grip on the value of human life and has paved agolden path leading directly to Hell. When Jesus Christ walked theEarth, he preached a message of love, peace, forgiveness, notrevenge, retribution, and death. Capital punishment is not onlyimmoral, it is very costly, doesn t hinder the murder rate, hascaused the death and near death of many people. Millions ofdollars are wasted each year on a system that is unfair to manyand doesn t impose any major impact on criminal activity. Inorder to make a terrible wrong right and cleanse our hands, wemust abolish the death penalty by all means. Capital punishment is defined as the legal infliction ofthe death penalty; in modern law, corporal punishment in itsmost severe form. It was administered in many ways such ascrucifixion, boiling in oil, drawing and quartering, impalement,beheading, burning alive, crushing, tearing asunder, the torturerack, stoning, and drowning; In the U.S., There are five ways inwhich it is practiced, they are electrocution, the gas chamber,firing squad, and lethal injection (Encarta 98). The death penalty dates back as far as 1750 BC andwas used as a form of punishment in ancient Greece for everyoffense (Encarta 98). Capital punishment has been practiced byseveral countries throughout history; By 1800, England hadrecorded 200 capital crimes and sentenced more than 1000people to death each year (Encarta 98). American colonies oftenimposed the death penalty for numerous crimes, before theRevolutionary War, and used it to threaten blacks for crimes thatwere less punishable when committed by whites (Encarta98). Near the end of the 18th century, numerous reformmovements began to gain momentum (Encarta 98). Many groupsand philosophers inspired others to see the wrong in capitalpunishment and during the 19th century, several states in the US(led by Michigan in 1847)and a few countries did away with thedeath penalty.; although the death penalty is in use today, in1970 the Supreme Court made ruling that declared capitalpunishment unconstitutional (Encyclopedia Britanica 831). Since the decision in 1970, the Supreme Court hasmade several others (Encarta 98). One gave the states guidanceto determine if and which crimes would carry a death sentence.Separate from certain crimes ,in which the court didn t make anydecision, it limited the death penalty to murders only (Encarta98). After a decision 1972, thirty-eight states changed andreenacted their laws for capital punishment; after justices upheldsome of them in 1976, more than 150 executions were held(Encarta 98). During the 1980 s and early 90 s, the Court loweredstandards for executions, including applying the death penalty toaccomplices in homicides, mentally retarded people, minors (atleast age 16),.and planned to limit appeals to Death Row inmates(Encarta 98). One of the biggest arguments over the death penalty isthe high price tag that it carries. According to a New York study,the death penalty s cost was estimated to be three times that oflife imprisonment; this is a ongoing problem in Texas. (Case 48).In Florida, the price tag for on each execution is $3,200,000; thisis six times the cost of life imprisonment (Case 48). Also, thestate of California could pocket approximately $90,000,000 ayear if the state was to abolish the capital punishment andre-sentence all of their death row inmates to life imprisonment(Case 48). A study by the New York State Defenders Associationconcluded, from its studies of capital trials for the years of1979-1984, that death penalty cases cost almost 42% more thana case not ending in death; the state of Kansas, voted againstreinstating the death penalty after learning that it s first year costwould be more than $11,000,000 (Pragmatic). People that support capital punishment claim thateliminating all those endless appeals will reduce the cost ofexecutions, but it is a proven fact that the cost of lifeimprisonment is still a cheaper and safer option. Most of the extramoney for capital punishment are imposed before and during trialproceedings, not during the post conviction process (Case 48).Trials are more common in capital cases, because there is nothingto gain through plea bargaining; also, there is two separatestages, unlike other trials, that are usually begin after specialmotions and extra questioning of jurors during the selectionprocess. (Case 48) Since neglecting these steps could cause adecision to be reversed, capital cases require more investigationthan others, and up to 50% of death verdicts are reversedafterwards, we the people are charged a bundle of loot beforeand during capital trials and then charged to accommodate theprisoner until he kicks the bucket or foot the bill for a retrial(Case 49). Thus, ending the endless appeals won t solve themoney problem; trial expenses would still outweigh the cost oflife imprisonment. Since we re talking about prices, what is the price for ahuman life? Lionel Torres Herrera was convicted of killing twopolice officers and sentenced to death. Years later, an attorneythat represented his brother brought forth evidence indicatingthat Herrera s brother had confessed to the murders along withHerrera s nephew (an eye witness) who saw his father murderthe officers. Since Texas law had given a time period for newevidence, Herrera s conviction was upheld and the Supreme Courtupheld the decision too. Retired Supreme Court Justice WilliamDouglas wrote A judge who denies a man a stay of execution ina capital case often wonders if an innocent man is going to hisdeath (Execution 3). Also, there are numerous people that havebeen falsely convicted of capital crimes in the United States;among which was the famous case of Randall Dale Adams, whospent twelve years on Death Row before proving his innocence.man named Walter Mc Millian was convicted as a result ofperjured testimony and by the grace of God saved after avolunteer lawyer flipped over the tape containing a key witness testimony and found conversations of the witness complaining ofbeing pressured by the prosecuting attorney(Execution 1). Roger
Coleman was executed after Virginia state courts declined to hearevidence of his innocence (Execution 2); Through a nationwidestudy 416 similar cases involving innocent Americans that weresentenced to death have been documented stemming back to1900 (Execution 2). Thergood Marshall plainly stated Provingone s innocence after a jury finding the guilt is almost impossible (Execution 2). After a person is found convicted and killed, thereis no way to make amends for the death of an innocent man.There isn t enough remorse, apologies, or money to replace thelife of a human being. As long as the death penalty is inforced,this is a mistake that cannot be avoided; there will only be moresuffering and bloodshed. Although there wasn t anything said onthis matter about those who favor capital punishment, I am surethat any person with a conscious can see why the death penaltyshould be abolished. A nationwide survey states that the death ofan innocent man is the number one fear of Americans (Execution1). The Eighth Amendment to the Constitution states that no onewould face cruel and unusual punishments ; these laws not onlyapplies to the federal government, but to the states as well andjudging by our methods of execution I believe that they are allsick (Capital 31)! The largest reason to abolish capital punishment forme, is the word of the lord. Many individuals state that the Biblegave the right of capital punishment to man through a passage inLeviticus which an eye for an eye is God s decree. Usually theyquote from the book of Exodus that says, Anyone who strikes aman and so causes death, must die. If he has not lain in wait forhim but God has delivered him into his hands, then I will appointyou a place where he may seek refuge. But should a man dare tokill his fellow by treacherous intent, you must take him even frommy alter to be put to death. Anyone who abducts a man-whetherhe has sold him or found in possession of him-must die. Anyonewho curses father or mother must die (Exodus 21:12-17). alsoquoted, but she should she die, you shall give life for life, eye,for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn forburn, wound for wound, stroke for stroke(Exodus 21:23-25). The verses from Exodus weren t meant to give us theright to kill; they were used to set limits and to make sure thatpayment did not exceed the debt actually owed. However, thesaying in Leviticus was overturned by Jesus Christ, as were manyother laws of the Old Testament. Jesus once said, You haveheard that it was said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say unto you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyonestrikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyonewants to sue you and take your coat, give him your cloak as well;and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second(Matthew 5:38-41). He also said, You have heard that it wassaid, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But Isay to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecuteyou… (Matthew 5:43-44). Also, there was the FifthCommandment which says, Thou shalt not kill (Exodus 20:19).The Lord also states that vengeance is his. I agree withArchbishop William Temple when he said, men should notassume those prerogatives that must be reserved to God (Death26); He also said, Unless a man is wholly identified with evil,which only God can know him to be, it must be immoral andunjust to treat him as if he were (Death 27). The main purpose for the death penalty is to detercriminal activity. You might think that people are afraid to die,but criminals don t believe that they will be caught before theycommit a crime. There have been may studies of theeffectiveness to capital punishment and they all show that thedeath penalty doesn t have any major impact in deterring crime.According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 18 out of the 20states having the largest number of murders employs the deathpenalty and their homicide rates haven t shown any greatdecreases in homicides. Between the years of 1975and 1985, thenumber of police officers killed in the death penalty states nearlydoubled that of states without it (Death 135). For almost twodecades the number of homicides in the state of Indiana , whichuses the death penalty, is very similar to that of Michigan whodoes not have a death sentence (Death 135). A popular set ofstudies conducted by Sellin Thorinstein, show the same results asthe above statement and also stated that police officers inabolition states weren t in any more danger of being killed thanthose in death penalty states (Eye 23). States that haveabolished the death penalty and later reinstated it didn t showany large decreases in the number of murders (Encarta 98). Also,homicide rates didn t change in cities or states after localexecutions (Encarta 98). Another fact about the death penalty isthat it ranked last among law enforcement officials as a way todeter crime according to a nationwide survey (Pragmatic). John P.Conrad said, the beginning of deterrence as to any crime is theapprehension of offenders (Death 77). Also, in Harris County,Texas, (a county that accounts for 10% of all executions in theUnited States), presiding judge Myron Love stated, We are notgetting what I think we should be wanting and that is to detercrime…In fact, the result is the opposite. We re having moreviolence, more crime (Case 48). The death penalty may be viewed from several differentstandpoints; it may be from a biblical sense, a cost issue, or moreimportantly as a deterrent for crime. Also, there are extremeconsequences that come with capital punishment when aninnocent life is taken; this is a problem that cannot be avoidedand can t be fixed after it is done. Many people that favor thedeath penalty can t come up with a resolution to that problem.When an innocent person has proof that declares his innocencedies, we have disgraced that person, their family, and ourselves.The death penalty has been in force for centuries and hasn tproven itself as a deterrent for crime and it never will. Every firmbeliever in the Bible should examine themselves and the Bibleand learn that the death penalty is a sin. Millions of dollars arewasted each year executing individuals in a gruesome act ofrevenge. If we were to abolish the death penalty, we would savea ton of cash that could be used in a more productive way; wecould use the money to hire more police, provide them with muchneeded equipment, build community centers for our young, putmore into education, help the needy, and save lives. whilesupporters of the death penalty say that limiting appeals will helpfix this problem, they are actually denying potentially innocentpeople a chance to prove their innocence. After reading thispaper you should ask yourself a few questions. How much worthdo you place on a human life? How much does the word of the lord mean to you? Also, how would you feel if you were wronglyimprisoned and about to be executed or if one of your loved oneswere? I believe in the alternative (life imprisonment) and afterweighing out all of the facts you will too.