CACTUS 2010 Discussion Forum
What should we do about the death penalty?
Name: Katelyn Connor
The death penalty should not be allowed in this country. Thought it works as a deterrent and could have positive effects, economically and morally it is not acceptable. In several states, it costs a significant amount more to put someone to death then to put the inmates through other non-death solutions. Morally it is not acceptable in that it is taking someone’s life. The European Union is fighting to make abolish the death penalty all together. In the UK with in the last few years, they have abolished the death penalty. They tried using restrictions such as only allowing the death penalty during times of way and because of murder. However, ultimately in the end they chose to completely abolish it all together. There are so few executions in the U.S. a year as is, there is no reason to make it limited, it would be a matter of time before it was abolished as it was in the UK. As the European Union’s stance is that this is morally unethical, we use this as a means to an end. The death penalty leads to a bad view of the government. The government looks as a bully, rather we should deter crime in a positive fashion, therefore preventing it before it happens. “Last but not the least, capital punishment should not be seen as an appropriate way of compensating the suffering of crime victims’ families, as this view turns the justice system into a mere tool of illegitimate private vengeance.” (www.eurunion.org). There is a lost respect of the judicial system when it is used for a means of vengeance. There is no justice served in the quick ending of a persons life, rather it is better to make them better from where they were. Reform is better then destroying a life, no one learns if you were to just end their life
Name: Adrianna Behn
Since I'm a conservative and not part of the liberal group known as CACTUS, I am totally in agreement with capital punishment. I also believe that these types of sentences should be carried out expeditiously, without abusing tax payer dollars on these criminals.
Name: Tammy Capeheart
Keep the death penalty. Bullets are cheap and work great so quit wasting American's money on "humane injections” which I think is stupid because with a bullet they won’t feel a thing either. All those who have been proven murderers, child abusers, or rapers and there is no doubt that they committed the crime should be put to death, period. Let\'s all get rid of the scum of America before they have the chance to rebreed and contaminate this beautiful country more than they already have. If this is not how we were meant to send in our opinion of the death penalty I'm sorry this was the only thing I saw on the website that said anything about stating an opinion on the subject.
Name: TJ Glass
I think the problem with the death penalty isnt the fact that were killing people it’s just that we take too long to do it. The Cruel and Unusual punishment amendment is the main reason for this as our society has deemed once quick and relatively painless ways of dying cruel and unusual. I think if we’re going to have the gusto to condemn a man to death we should take him outside and hang him or shoot him immediately. The seemingly endless appeals process also lends to the fact that many people on death row don’t immediately die because they’re still fighting the case. But the biggest problem isn’t the death penalty itself it comes down to what is cruel and unusual? And here is where many people differ on opinion. My belief is that to deter crime our punishments should be cruel and unusual in their very nature. That is why the death penalty would be effective if it was a quicker process and hanging and shooting were accepted.
Name: Ben Griffith
Hello EKU folks, I am very glad you are taking the time to think about the Death Penalty. So few people want to think about the Death Penalty because, well, it is just not pleasant to think about execution.
My connection with this issue is personal. I had a brother who was murdered in 1986. He and a co-worker just stumbled onto the scene of a double murder in rural Missouri, and within a short minute the crime expanded into a quadruple murder. This kind of experience forces one to confront the idea of killing for justice. For if God really ever intended us to kill another, the fiend who perpetrated this heinous act must certainly be a candidate for my wrath.
Fortunately I know many others who have experienced a loved one being murdered in even more heinous ways who also had serious misgivings about that type of reaction. We are Murder Victim Families for Reconciliation and Murder Victim Families for Human Rights. You see, after all is said about the Death Penalty, the only real fortifying factor for a jury, judge, and the public to actually execute someone is to think about how unfair it is for the victim family members.
Unless you have been in our position, you will not know how you'd feel. I can't say I am holier than thou. I really wanted to see the basterd who killed my brother (two shots to the back as he ran away and one to his head when the second bullet made him lean up against a tree) DEAD- gone from this earth just like my brother.
But laws in our land are based on moral issues that protect society and ourselves. What in the name of morality is there to protect us by showing that killing is wrong by killing somebody who did it? We essentially encourage Victim Families to wield the primal blood letting instincts for us all- this isn't protection. It is exploitation. I say this with my most heartfelt wishes for all murder victim families, even though who favor the use of the death penalty.
Others have spoken about the many reasons to abolish the death penalty. My message is simply this: There is no justice that brings back our loved ones. There is no reason to keep on killing for those who are murder victim family survivors. There are many reasons to help the survivors cope with their own devils inside. And do not ever forget that when someone is killed by the state in Kentucky, that we are all doing the killing- not just the poor Joe who pumps in the lethal concoction. Sincerely, Ben Griffith of Murder Victims Families for Reconcialtion.
Name: Marian M. Taylor
Submitted: Friday, April 9th, 2010 3:36 PM
The eleven Christian denominations who form the Kentucky Council of Churches (where I am the executive director) have agreed to oppose the death penalty and executions. A statement explaining why is on our web site and is titled "Policy Statement on the Criminal Justice System and Restorative Justice." The Bible is sometimes mis-used to provide support for capital punishment, and a good reference book to counter those mis-uses is "The Biblical Truth About America's Death Penalty," by Dale S. Recinella. If executions are scheduled to take place in Kentucky, we will be asking people to pray about it in their churches, and to protest it publicly. The churches also strive to accompany and help the people who have suffered terrible losses, whether to crime or to execution.
Name: Raphael Schweri
Submitted: Friday, April 9th, 2010 10:33 PM
My brother-in-law was a Virginia State trooper killed in the line of duty. My wife opposed the execution of his killer and I supported her. She actually began a correspondance with the killer and became friends. This man changed tremendously from the time of his conviction until his execution about eight later.
I am again the death penalty for a lot of reasons. One of the major reasons is that unless we have instant execution after a crime, which is not possible if we are to keep a just system, we are not executing the same person. People change. I have met and heard stories of men on deathrow making drastic changes.
I live in Louisville, KY. I am a retired analytical chemist.
Name: Logan Harris
Submitted: Wednesday, April 7th, 2010 11:28 PM
Hi EKU,
I live in Louisville. I'm 51 and a graduate of U of L, with a BA in history. I was raised Methodist, but am now an atheist. Politically, I'm pretty middle-of-the-road. As a liberal friend once told me, "I find atheists to be a conservative bunch, actually." That fits me in many ways, but on this issue I side with the liberals. Here's why:
A) The only way to insure that an innocent person is never executed is to simply not have the death penalty. Remember "Murphy's Law"? If something can go wrong, it will." That applies to courtroom trials. Inevitably, innocent people will be convicted by mistake. I cannot prove this anymore than I can prove the sun will rise tomorrow morning, but I know it true.
B) Let me reason like a Christian for a moment: If Moses, Cain, Paul and David were murderers, and found forgiveness from the Judeo-Christian God, it appears to me that Christianity and the death penalty are incompatible. (Had these men been executed, you would have no Christianity.) Maybe my perspective, an atheist looking in from the outside, allows me to see something! Wouldn't the death penalty cheat a God? By shortening a person's lifespan, the person has less time to find any God who might exist.
C) One of my history professors said he thought the genesis of the death penalty was society's thirst for vengeance. An emotional catharsis for people. Maybe so. But, I counter: GROW UP! Civilization has advanced!
D) Death is the easy way out. Some people want to die. Give the murderer as many days as possible to regret what they did. But mostly, there is only one way to insure an innocent person is never put to death by mistake.
Sincerely,
Logan Harris
Name: Joe Black
Submitted: Wednesday, April 7th, 2010 8:32 PM
When someone burgulars a home, we imprison them. When someone robs a store, we imprison them. When someone mugs a person, we imprison them. When someone terrorizes a person, we imprison them. When someone assaults a person, we imprison them. When someone rapes a woman, we imprison them. When someone molests a child, we imprison them. When someone murders a person, we kill them.
Most who argue for the death penalty, ultimately, argue "an eye for an eye" to justify its use. Indeed, this is a kind of principled stand. However, it seems that the principle only applies to murderers. So, it is not really a principle at all. It is simply a justification for state sponsored murder--to fulfill the blood-lust of the terrified ape within us.
Name: Ron Keine
Submitted: Wednesday, April 7th, 2010 6:39 PM
Pat (my fiance) tells me that I hardly tell of the sorrows of being an exhonoree when I speak to people. I seem to always dwell on the statistics. Well, this is for Pat
“Hey, Mom, pass the turkey, please.”
I silently watch as the wave of many pairs of hands relay the big platter to my end of the table. Just as I am forking slices of meat onto my plate, I hear the loud slam, a metal door, the reverberation of steel bars jarring me awake. Fuck, I am back on death row again. When will it end for me? I shoot a look at the calendar, good--I still have two weeks to live. I recall my pledge not to make it easy for them. I have been practicing holding my breath for the last year and a half.
The other day, the Assistant Warden asked me if I had a special request for the moment when the pellets fall in the gas chamber. I said, “Yes, will you hold my hand?\" I hold my shaving mirror outside of the bars at a 45 degree angle. I can see the trustee pushing the food cart, sliding a tray of food into each cell as he makes his way down the rock. I don’t have to wonder what’s for breakfast. It’s the same thing every day. Cold chopped potatoes with chili sauce carefully splattered on it. It looks like someone or something had already tried to eat it once. We used to get a hard boiled egg on Sundays, but that ended when the Assistant Warden caught one flying at about 90 mph with the back of his head. Nice catch. It was almost worth it. We had excitement on the row for the next two days. In our dry routine of death row existence, the slightest deviation at all from the daily drudgery was an EVENT. This egg assault brought much ado for us. But then I realized that it was merely another of those victories with too great a cost. That was 8 months ago, and I miss that stupid egg on Sundays.
It may not seem like a big thing to most people but when you live in a 6 by 9 foot cell, an egg is something to look forward to all week. As I cram down my morning delicacy, I feel the anger rising inside of me. Why am I so shocked every time I awake from a dream to find my self on death row? It’s embarrassing in its own indignant way, to keep going through this. I have been here for a long time, and this is silly. I should be used to it by now. Every time I get lost in a book, daydream, wake up in the morning, look up from a crossword puzzle or reading a newspaper, the feeling overwhelms me. Fuck, I’m on death row. That sudden realization always hits me square in the face with the force of a sonic boom.
As I think about the other exonorees I work with, I recall conversations we have had pertaining to this syndrome. Death row is harder for an innocent man. A real murderer can at least have some solace in the fact that he is paying for his crime. For us it was different. We did nothing to deserve it. It was all for nothing. Someone did this to us. I have the deepest respect and admiration for people like Juan Melendez, Ray Krone, Gary Gauger, Freddy Pitts and the others who travel around this country speaking to anyone whom will listen about the death penalty. If not for their sheer dedication in this quest, they couldn’t possibly do it, because there is another part of this syndrome that people never see. Just before a speech or presentation, we all get together in a hall way, a side office, or sometimes even a men’s room. We go over our agenda and lend support to each other for the task ahead. We try to monitor ourselves to see if anyone is having a problem with what is about to transpire, because we silently know that even though the audience will not see it, every time we talk about our case, it puts us right back on the row.
For years after my release from prison I avoided, like a plague, anything to do with the death penalty, prison, or my incarceration. It was not a happy time in my life. It was over, and I didn’t want to talk about it, because I didn’t want to relive it. I refused all media interviews and would not even talk about it with my family and my closest friends. I was starting my life over, and that was hard enough with that juggernaut of an anchor holding me down. I was having no luck finding a job. The “media created” veil of murderer hung on me wherever I went. No one would hire a man who “got mixed up in some murder out west somewhere.” It would not be good for the morale of the other employees. It didn’t matter that I was innocent. Everybody knew about the murder, and everybody knew who I was. They had seen my face in the news .
This was the time in my life when I realized that there really was a God. There must be a God, because he created Macaroni and Cheese. My morning delicacy now consisted of macaroni and cheese -- so did lunch and dinner. It sure tasted better than chili potatoes. Some days I didn’t eat at all .
It wasn’t till many years later that I would think about the row. It wasn’t till after I had gotten my life together, raised a family, and become an established citizen that I would even let those repugnant thoughts enter my mind willingly. I say willingly, because I realize that no matter how much time has passed, I still have that one dastardly thing that I carried out from death row with me. I still have the syndrome.
COLLATERAL DAMAGE by Ron Keine
One of the most overlooked and seldom mentioned effects of the death penalty is the horrible victimizing of innocent people. This collateral damage is most disheartening when one looks at the immediate family of the death row denizen. What they suffer through is truly cruel and unusual.
Even though I was Innocent--exonerated after two years on death row after the confession of the law enforcement officer who was the real murderer--my family suffered greatly.
My mother would not come out of the house for two years because of peer pressure. She had a son on death row. Even her closest friends did not know how to greet her at the super market, drug store or on the street. What do you say to a mother who is grieving as the state prosecutor gets to kill her son? It will not be alright. Time will not heal these wounds. Tomorrow or next week or next month will not be better. Others, mostly strangers, but also a few so called friends were not so kind to her and did not remain silent.
She quit church when someone sitting in the back row of pews loudly called out, "Murderer. Rapist." As she walked out of that church, in tears with her shawl over her head in shame, she probably never heard the people admonishing the loud mouth. She was shunned by the local society that had, in the past, respected her and relied on her outgoing personality to bolster the morale at community and social gatherings. She became a recluse. Even after I was exonerated she remained so. She died in sadness, never recovering her love of life and former status as a pillar of our community. I wonder if she ever understood that she shunned society more than they shunned her. My grandmother was a little stronger. She, at least, went to church. Some say that Grandpa went to church only to defend Grandma from the ridicule. I think it was so he could argue with people who talked about me, and so he could shake his ever present cane at them. I really loved that old man. He taught me how to fish.
Execution is not a death such as a car accident. Or a sudden mishap or An accidental death. A death that can be easily forgiven or excused. This killing is slow and calculated. It takes an average of ten years to execute a man and they start killing him the day he is put on death row. The anticipation of one's own death day after day is immeasurably horrifying. Throughout the appeals, which last many years and cost an average $3,200,000.00 per person, I wonder if families of the executed are aware of the indignity of even having to pay for that death with their tax dollars. Several times these men were innocent and the family knew it. My father planned his suicide for months. He was saved, just in time by the news of my exoneration. A few days later and the state would have got a death anyway as he had already purchased the gun.
Probably the worst effects of all were inflicted on my kids. Peer pressure is perhaps the most profound on school age children. Children can be cruel and outright vicious. "Your daddy is a Murderer." "Your daddy rapes people." "They should have killed him." "How do we know he did not do it?" "My dad says that your dad got out because of a slick lawyer." "My mom says she better not see him at any school functions or she will give him a piece of her mind." "Our parents are watching him when he is around kids." This all happened even though my daughters were born years after my release. I would get that phone call from the school to come and pick up a daughter as she was in distress because of the harassment. As she sat crying, waiting for me to leave work to come and get her. she didn’t know that I was also wiping the tears off my face. Some times I would have to sit in the school parking lot for a few minutes so I could compose myself before entering the building. I had to be strong for her.
These were innocent little girls. What did they ever do to deserve this? How can God let this happen to them? It became an ordeal to make them go to school every day. They shuddered at the thought of it. Changing schools (six times) worked only for a short time until the punishment started again. They never did graduate. They both quit when they became old enough to do so. What a total waste of human minds. One of the girls has an IQ of about 160.
My only thanks is that this did not happen when I was on the row. They did not have to live through the debacle of a justice system that is allowing the state to kill their daddy. Thousands of other innocent children were not so lucky. I wonder what it is like for them to have to carry that burden. I wonder how mothers answer that much dreaded question, "Why do they have to kill my daddy".
Name: Linda Mitchell
Submitted: Wednesday, April 7th, 2010 11:13 AM
I am opposed to the death penalty.
My primary reason is very simple. Killing is killing whether it is in the name of the state or not. Killing is wrong.
I have many other reasons. I will summarize some of them briefly. The death penalty does not seem to be a deterrent to murder. The death penalty costs the state much more than a life sentence. Many innocent people have been executed. Legal representation is often weak.
I have known people who have had a family member murdered. None that I know personally wanted the death penalty for the murderer. They wanted a conviction and a long sentence, but they did not want a death sentence. With a conviction and a long sentence or life without parole, they were then able to put their loss behind them. With a death penalty the family spends many years and possibly decades waiting for an execution. This is just more suffering for them.
It is unfair to the family members of the death-row inmate, especially the children. They did not commit the crime.
I have more reasons (including spiritual), but I will stop.
Name: Marie Flowers
Submitted: Wednesday, April 7th, 2010 4:36 PM
I am opposed to the death penalty. It has not proven to be a deterrent. The system has been shown to have significant flaws (exhonorations, the innocence project) It has been shown to costs states more, and there really are no benefits to society to execute people. My personal take is that each person has something to offer the world - even from behind bars. I believe that we are able as a civil society to provide for our safety through incarceration - having the death penalty does not offer us any additional security.
Name: Mary Alice Pratt
Submitted: Wednesday, April 7th, 2010 12:25 PM
I support all the reasons so far named:non-deterrent; costly; possibility of innocent being executed; poor defense... Having exhausted all of these,the only reason I can detect that we continue with the death penalty is vengeance. In this I believe it brutalizes us as a people. I speak as a member of an extended family, one of whose own has been murdered. He was a 40 year old married man with four children. Only those who have experienced this in a relative can totally comprehend what that does to an entire family. I do not speak for the whole family. But I sincerely believe that none of the family would have felt satisfied or consoled by the execution of his murderer. (As it happened, the murderer killed himself immediately after.) Execution does not bring back the loved person. That hole can never be filled. I speak also as a friend of 2 families who have relatives on death row. In fact, I correspond with both convicted men. I have grave questions about the trials and defense of these men. But I'd like to speak to what happens to the families of the convicted. One mother, 81 years old, has lived with the fact of her son, with limited learning capacity has been on death row for nearly 20 years. Execution (and poor defense) punishes a woman who is innocent and it punished her husband who died three years ago, believing in his son\'s innocence, heart-broken at his conviction. In the other case, I have known the aunt of a young man on death row in Ohio for over 50 years. This woman helped bring up her nephew and now at age 79, spends much of her time trying to work to overturn his conviction. By the way, this young man has taught himself to paint while in prison. I have several samples of his work. What about rehabilitation for such a person as this? And finally and most importantly for me, Jesus on the cross forgave those who crucified him, forgives us every day for our offenses. As a Christian, I beleive him and try to follow.
Name: Jane H. Hope
Submitted: Wednesday, April 7th, 2010 10:56 AM
I believe the death penalty should be ended. It simply adds to our violent society. Our laws say we shouldn't take lives and yet we do that ourselves via the government with the death penalty. Life without parole is just fine--even for the worst of crimes. If rich people got the death penalty as often as poor people do, if everyone who is truly guilty got the death penalty then maybe it would be fairer, but we cannot seem to make it so. I was sorry to see that lawyers are seeking the death penalty for Nunn in today's paper. It is time to end this!! Even prison wardens want the death penalty abolished.
Name: Gennaro Vito
Submitted: Wednesday, April 7th, 2010 10:40 AM
Our research on capital sentencing in Kentucky has consistently demonstrated that racial bias plagues the process. In addition, public opinion research from Kentucky shows that citizens favor life without parole over the death penalty. But this is a debate where policy makers are not confused by facts or logic. The death penalty should be replaced with life without possibility of parole.
Name: Mary Ellen Doyle, SCN
Submitted: Wednesday, April 7th, 2010 10:22 AM
All the moral and practical reasons for abolition of the death penalty have been thoroughly rehearsed and supported by facts. Here's one that is not given much attention: even the perpetrators of horrendous crimes can change, and though they cannot ever be released, they can do real good where they are. I know such a man. His crime really began when he was raped at age 5 and inducted into a life of secrecy, confusion, and violence. Soon after his conviction, some good people convinced him he was a redeemable human being. I met him through a Christmas card project, ensuing correspondence, and then visits. I KNOW him to be now a man of sincere faith, kindness, sorrow for his crime, desire to apologize to the victim's family (which the legal process does not allow for), and of major importance at present, a really positive influence on the other men with him on Death Row. Besides all other valid reasons, should such a man be killed?
Name: Ann Jay Bryan
Submitted: Wednesday, April 7th, 2010 10:16 AM
The death penalty has no place in modern civilization. I do not give my permission to put anyone to death in my name and yet every prisoner put to death is done in the name of every citizen even if we do not give our consent. That is how I feel when there is no doubt about the guilt of the prisoner. Many prisoners sentenced to death continue to protest their innocence after their convictions. The past has shown that some of these prisoners have been proven to be innocent. Using the death penalty when there is any possibility that the person may be innocent is even more horrifying. We need to stop this human abuse now.
Name: Paula Spugnardi
Submitted: Wednesday, April 7th, 2010 9:27 AM
Last February I had the opportunity to portray Sister Helen Prejean in a production of Dead Man Walking. It was a profound experience.
As I was researching for the role, I read both of her books and was shocked to learn about the poor legal representation many death row inmates received prior to their convictions. I realized that this truly is a socio-economic issue, and the observation, "There are not rich men on death row\" is really true. This issue opened my eyes to the legal injustices or our system. We cannot claim our creed "innocent until proven guilty" and allow this type of under-representation to go on for these economically disadvantaged citizens.
From an economic standpoint, it is less expensive to keep a prisoner for life than to execute one. Surely we can all rally around that point.
From a moral view, who are we to stand in judgement of our brothers and sisters and to pass a death sentence onto another? When we do this, we are cutting short the convicted person's oportunity for rehabilitation, redemption and reconciliation. I love the message of "Why do we kill people to prove that killing is wrong?"
I am against the death penalty and hope the Kentucky will soon choose to abolish it.
Name: Peggy Wright
Submitted: Wednesday, April 7th, 2010 8:19 AM
The death penalty is nothing but murder in the name of the state. What good does it do? revenge for a crime committed is just an outlet for a crime that deeply effects the narrow view of an individual. Let the convicted person live out his/her sentence so that they can live with what they have done, and save the state money in the end. I have read the transcripts of several death row inmates and in some cases, the inmate has not received a fair trial, so when the person is executed and later it is found that he/she did not commit the crime, too late to say you are sorry. Though forgiveness is hard to grasp, it is the only remedy for persons feeling the pain of a horrible crime against their loved one. Take it from one whose brother was cruelly murdered 23 years ago this July,. This message has been sent to the governor and senators.
Name: Joetta Venneman
Submitted: Wednesday, April 7th, 2010 6:35 AM
I am an advocate who works with a variety of issues related to Catholic Social Teaching. With regard to the death penalty, I do not feel it is a deterrent against people committing a serious crime. I have participated in several workshops and seminars related to the topic from a variety of perspectives. There is much to consider to the aspect of examining whether the death penalty should/should not exist. There is the cost factor of retrials and in the process of eventually putting someone to death. There is the gathering of evidence beyond a reasonable doubt to prove guilt when the judicial system advocates a bias toward certain individuals. There is the emotional and psychological factor of all individuals involved. In the 'death act' itself where there is lack of humaneness and dignity that surrounds the process. Additionally, I don't feel that taking one life for another individual's life is providing any justice or proving that killing is wrong. Furthermore, I do not believe the heart heals any faster because of using the death penalty. It is in consideration of all this that I stand in opposition to the death penalty.
Name: Carl Keith Greene, EKU December 82 alum
Submitted: Tuesday, April 6th, 2010 11:55 PM
I am totally against the death penalty. In any and all cases.
Name: Patricia Geier
Submitted: Tuesday, April 6th, 2010 11:16 PM
The death penalty does not deter crime, it is costly and wastes taxpayers\' money, it is morally bankrupt and sanctions murder, it is barbaric and plays to the worst part of ourselves and our society. Everyone else in the Western world seems to understand this. It's about time we did.
Name: Mark Reeves
Submitted: Tuesday, April 6th, 2010 11:13 PM
I would consider myself pro-life, and for me that includes opposition to both abortion and the death penalty. I believe that just as human beings do not have a right to determine which conceived, implanted fetuses can be given the opportunity to be born or to be aborted, human beings do not have the right to determine which criminals deserve to die. As a Christian, I believe only God can judge this, and that Jesus Christ is capable of turning around any life. There must be consequences for actions, but in Christian terms we all deserve separation from God rather than fellowship with him through Jesus' grace in death and resurrection. Therefore, we must not cut off an opportunity for Christ to work in a life, and we must not ascribe to ourselves the ability to administer a punishment which can never be taken back when Jesus has offered such amazing grace to us.
Name: Leah
Submitted: Tuesday, April 6th, 2010 10:52 PM
Being citizens of a country that is supposed to be the symbol of equality and justice, how can we support the death penalty? There is no absolute certainty with a court ruling as to whether an individual is guilty. Many states have abolished the death penalty because they have realized with new evidence that they have killed innocent individuals. With that evidence regarded, how can a nation built on freedom support such a Draconian measure?
Name: Patrick Delahanty
Submitted: Tuesday, April 6th, 2010 8:33 PM
As chair of the Kentucky Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, I applaud the students and faculty at EKU for taking up this important public policy issue for discussion.
The comments already demonstrate there is a lot of emotion surrounding this issue, which colors whether or not we really look at the facts. When discussing the death penalty, we engage in a discussion of our own behavior: when may or should I kill someone? What might have been a permitted practice in the past to protect society and express outrage at the act of murder, seems, to me, no longer permissible. Fortunately, most Kentuckians polled by the University of Kentucky at the end of 2006 said they preferred sentences other than death.
KCADP began a video project last year, in April, and has now posted nearly 50 videos at www.youtube.com/kcadp. In these Kentuckians are making brief, substantial statements of opposition to the death penalty. Statements by family members of murder victims and family members of men on Kentucky\'s death row can be found here. Students, teachers, former prosecutors, clergy, doctors, and other Kentuckians provide eloquent testimony calling for the abolition of the death penalty. Anyone reading this and willing to make a statement should email us at staff@kcadp.org to schedule a time and place for recording your own personal statement.
In these videos people touch on the risk of killing the innocent (Kentucky had to release Larry Osborne because he was innocent and on our death row), the cost which drains tax dollars away from education so that students and their families pay higher tuition, the fact that it causes pain, not healing, for the families of murder victims, and other salient points.
I hope EKU students will view some or all of these videos and learn that there really is a trend away from the use of this penalty. Listen to the eloquent words of Kentucky's own Wendell Berry as images of real human beings are displayed on the screen and ask yourself, "when should I kill?"
Name: Kate Miller-ACLU of Ky
Submitted: Tuesday, April 6th, 2010 4:06 PM
I oppose the death penalty, It is a broken system. It is wasteful, unnecessary, unfair and risky.
1.) The death penalty is expensive, it costs far more to execute individuals than to imprison them for life. This money would be better spent in a variety of other ways, for example Colorado\'s legislature was just one vote away from ending their death penalty in 2009. There was a bill introduced concurrently that would have funneled the funds of executing folks into solving cold case files. This would have gotten more criminals off the streets and made Colorado a safer place!
Kentucky spends millions of dollars on executions at a time when we are cutting much more important services. Additionally, even with the amount we spend on sentencing people to death we rarely execute people (this is relative of course). Kentucky has executed 3 individuals since 1976, and two of those executions were basically assisted suicides. We can not decrease the expenses associated with executions or we would jeopardize the constitutional protections associated with a fair trial.
2.) The death penalty is unnecessary, in a 2007 poll done by the Herald Leader 69% of Kentuckians prefer a long prison sentence over a death sentence. In fact a Kentucky jury has delivered only one death sentence since 2006. It is an ineffective deterrent to crime. States with the death penalty consistently have higher rates of murder than those without. A poll of police chiefs showed the majority (67%) do not believe the death penalty significantly reduces crime, in fact they rated it as the least effective way to reduce crimes.
3.) The Death Penalty is unfair, 41% of individuals on death row are black. 79% of crime victims that result in a death sentence are white. Only 3% of the nation’s counties account for 50% of their death sentences. A death sentence has more to do with the race and income of the defendant than the crime committed.
4.) The death penalty is risky. It is a common misconception that with today’s modern technology we will be less likely to execute an innocent person. DNA evidence is only available in 5%-10% of all capital crimes! 139 people have been exonerated from death row in the last 30 years!
There is absolutely no empirical evidence or research that support our death penalty system. It is a waste of tax dollars that does little to nothing to actually prevent crime or make us a safer community.
Name: Rick Jergenson
Submitted: Tuesday, April 6th, 2010 12:07 PM
I was watching television the other day and I saw a news story about a relatively young man who had been sentanced to the death penalty in Ohio. I really didn't think much of it until I saw this question on CACTUS. I was thinking about Death penalty and I am very torn on the issue. The only time I see men being sentanced to death is when they are african american, at least thats what the news programs decide to show me. I cannot help but think there is some kind of discrimination that happens when sentencing. I do not have any statistics on hand but after reading your mission statement im sure your assembly has looked at all the relevent data to support my theory. I dont think I can support something that is biased, at least when a persons life is at stake. But on the other hand, I think about the person that was murdered and how it has affected the family.
When I think deeper and attempt to place myself in the shoes of the victim, my thoughts begin to sway back to the pro death penalty position. When I hear about the details of a heinous murder and piece them together through the eyes of the young woman who was brutally raped and murdered, I can only imagine the fear that gripped her. I can only feel the sheer terror she must have been going through and the pain she experienced. The torment her attacker was puting her through before he decided to snuff out an innocent life because that would be the cherry on top for that sadistic shell of a person. Then when I think that young girl could have been my daughter on her way to school, it enrages me and makes me think those murderers have no place in this world. Hell is the only suitable destination for these types of people, not our tax funded prison system. How can someone murder another then expect to be taken care of by becoming a further burden on our society.
It makes me sick that I know my tax dollars are used to put warm food in the belly of a murderer when his victims family is eating alone with nothing but the memories of a time before a monster entered the picture and turned their lives upside down. I find it despicable when a a society can open up a newspaper and read about some heinous crime and not demand ultimate justice. It fills me with sadness that murder doesnt seem to bother people like it used to. I am an old man, i have seen a lot in the way of man's inhumanity to man. I remember a time a community would be up in arms when they heard about their neighbor being murdered. Now it seems as if communities condone this type of behavior by not coopoerating with police to solve the crime or simply ignore it because it has become the norm. It is a shame when i hear about a criminal getting out of prison and committing another murder, it makes me think our justice system has failed. It has failed the criminal, it has failed society, and more importantly it has failed the victim when a murderer does not suffer the same fate as their victim.
Name: J.B. Chase
Submitted: Tuesday, April 6th, 2010 11:27 AM
I am for the death penalty. While prior to the usage of DNA evidence the system was at best inaccurate, thus resulting in the executions of innocent persons, it has since improved with the methods of analysis. Most arguments come based on the stance that it is just too expensive to put someone to death and that it is better to give someone life imprisonment. At face value the argument may seem sound. However, the legitimacy of the argument is based upon some direct and indirect premises that if A) the person wrongly accused at least has to opportunity be exonerated, B) the justice system is imperfect and C) the death penalty is not a deterrent against future murders . I am leaving out much, but only for length reasons.
Premise A:
The reason the death penalty generally does cost more is directly related to the appeals process. The appeals costs are warranted. It is in place to protect the rights of the accused via procedural due process and substantive due process. Coupled with the usage advancement of technologies and crime scene investigation techniques the process is much more valid than before. We have many tools now to examine the innocence of the accused.
We often focus on what it costs to put someone to death. We fail to even consider the victim and what their life may have been. We can argue the victim is denied their basic right to life and at least our system provides the opportunity for the accused to challenge the ruling, the victim was not even extended that right.
Premise B:
Nothing is perfect. To base justness on a principle of perfection is a self-fulfilling prophecy. When we make the argument of whether or not something is imperfect or perfect we have no solid precedent other than error. Perfection is an arbitrary at best; it is based mainly upon normative arguments (like this one). How would one fix an imperfect system? Society has yet to agree on a standard when it comes to the perfect one best way, we are constantly refine and adapting to our reality.
One can look at the writings Plato, Leibniz, Nietzsche, or Machiavelli to see that justice and perfection vary. In fact if we follow Leibniz’s teaching then we find that perfection is not based upon whether a thing has something or not; it varies based upon degrees. So, just because a system is not perfect does not make it flawed or unusable. Nor is it realistic to place a requirement (inferred or intended) of perfection on a system when one should doubt one’s own infallibility. Human error will always be a factor.
Premise C:
From the literature I have read on the subject the death penalty is, at best, no more a deterrent than a life sentence. But is this a valid measure? Most murders are committed with the rationalization that they will not be caught or impulsively. A murderer does not conduct a cost-benefits analysis prior to the act of killing. It is often said that these individuals with life sentences will not be able to commit murders again and will settle into a life of routine when facing a life sentence. They can still interact with the public and even commit murder. How? One only has to look at groups like the Mexican Mafia who order hits from behind prison bars. The prison system does not exist in a vacuum and while they may not directly kill again, all they really need is someone willing.
Conclusion:
It comes down to values when we discuss things such as the death penalty. It is our interpretation of what is right and wrong predicated upon individual values and social norms. Caring out the death penalty should be done so in manner that is as precise as possible. I support the individual’s right to appeal and do not think cost should used as a reason to abolish it. If we do, then what is the cost of the victim’s life? It seems appropriate to ask this. It is not easily quantifiable.
Name: Soren Peterson
Submitted: Monday, April 5th, 2010 9:59 PM
I oppose the death penalty because we have an imperfect justice system. Far too many innocent people have been wrongly convicted, and that system has even executed some of them. If new, exculpatory evidence comes to light, we can release an innocent person from prison, but obviously that is not an option when that person has been executed already.
Name: Beth Crachiolo
Submitted: Monday, April 5th, 2010 2:57 PM
My thoughts on the death penalty are simple: we need to abolish it, for several reasons. First, while the crimes that we have identified as capital crimes are horrendous, there is no justification for the taking of a human life. Second, it's my understanding that the death penalty does not act as a deterrent; it is therefore pointless. Third, do families of murder victims really get closure when the killer has been executed? I've read studies and opinions that say yes and those that say no. The bottom line, though, is that executing the murderer will not bring back their loved ones. Fourth, the death penalty is inconsistently applied; it is primarily up to prosecutors to decide whether a crime merits the death penalty. The trouble with this is that the poor and people of color are much more likely to be executed than wealthy, white criminals. Fifth, it costs the state more to execute someone than it does to keep him/her in prison for his/her entire life.Finally, there is the matter of making mistakes. It is far better to execute no one than it is to execute someone who is not guilty of the capital crime of which s/he is accused.
For me, all of this boils down to a simple belief that the death penalty is barbarous; I believe it falls easily into the category of "cruel and unusual."
Name: Shelia Manely
Submitted: Sunday, March 29, 2010 1:11 PM
I'm a graduate of EKU's MPA Program, former federal employee, manager of an Atlanta area law firm and law student at Georgia State University. There should be no death penalty. The legal system is a human system fraught with human error. No one\'s life should be taken on behalf of "the people" namely "me" by a process that is subject to the influences of ego, politics, corruption, imperfect knowledge, ignorance, prejudice, inadequate resources, unequal resources, or other factors that limit any human endeavor. Additionally, all efforts we put in place to mitigate human error make the process more costly than imprisoning the offender for life. For these reasons, life imprisonment is the more reasoned choice for punishing one whose offense rises to the level of the death penalty.
Name: Jerry Thomas
Submitted: Thursday, March 18, 2010 5:30 PM
We need to move toward a civilized society where people do not kill one another, this includes wars and the death penalty. My position is simple -- the death penalty is Barbaric.
