I think this graph proves the racism element completely wrong, and racism is one of opponents key points against the death penalty.
Many opponents of the death penalty believe that if two acts have the same result, then they are morally equivalent. However, you can then say are kidnapping and legal incarceration the same? Or maybe killing in self defence is the same as murder - both end in the death of a person. Or how about rape and making love - both may end with sexual intercourse. These are obviously absurd. Capital punishment protesters flawed logic, and confusion mirror their ‘factual’ arguments sometimes there is an absence of reality. Some people equate the Americans having the death penalty with the Nazi holocaust regime. These people cannot see the difference between the execution of six million innocent people and the execution of societies worst offenders. However, this argument comes from only the most extreme people against capital punishment.
I think that people oppose the death penalty not just because of what it does to those guilty of their crimes, but because it brings about the illusion that it is possible to defend another life by taking someone else’s.
Another argument for the death penalty is the cost. However, the table below calculates the average difference between the cost of sentencing someone to life without parole and sentencing someone to death:
Cost of life without parole:
$34,200 per year for 50 years at a 2% annual increase plus $75,000 for trial and appeals = $3.01million
Same except 3% = $4.04million
Same except 4% = $5.53million
Cost of the death penalty:
$60,000 per year for six years at a 2% annual increase plus $1.5million for trial and appeals = $1.88million
Same except 3% = $1.89million
Same except 4% = $1.91million
As you can see from this table, the cost difference is staggering, a massive $3.6million. Some opponents of capital punishment argue that the death penalty costs around five to ten times more than sentencing for life without parole. However, this is flawed with the assumption that prisoners will generate no judicial costs, and also on the fact that the person is actually killed after six years on death row; many people spend so long on death row that they die of old age rather than a lethal injection or electrocution.
Some people insist that a person on death row suffers more than his victim, but this cannot be proven; however, unlike the murderer, the victim deserved none of the suffering inflicted upon them. Advocators of the death penalty say that capital punishment is not intended for revenge, or to compensate for the victims suffering. Punishment is supposed to vindicate the law. This is why a kidnapper is not sentenced according to the length of time he kept his prisoner captive.
By committing a crime, the criminal automatically volunteered to assume the risk of receiving a punishment that he could have avoided by not committing the crime. Therefore, the punishment he receives is one that he voluntarily risked suffering, so therefore it is no more unjust to him than any other event for which you knowingly volunteer to assume the risk. Therefore the death penalty cannot be unjust to the guilty criminal.
Some people say that if capital punishment only deters one murder per year, it is still worth it.
Nearly all Christians oppose capital punishment. Some people say that abolition would send a message that it is possible to break the cycle of violence, and that it isn’t necessary to take life.
One of the major arguments against capital punishment is the fact that it is always possible a mistake will be made. In 1953, Derek Bentley was 19, but he had a mental age of 10/11. He went, with another, person called Christopher Craig went to commit a robbery. Chris was armed with a gun. When the policeman arrived at the scene, he grabbed Bentley, and so Chris started pointing the gun at the policeman. The policeman told Chris to give him the gun. Bentley then said something that could have two meanings - ‘Let him have it’. Did he mean for Chris to give the policeman the gun, or for Chris to shoot the policeman? Whichever he meant, Chris took the latter as the meaning, and so he shot the policeman. Eventually they were arrested, and taken to court. Chris was to young to be sentenced to death, as he was only 16. However, Bentley was 19, and so he was sentenced to death, even though there was a lot of debating over what he meant when he said ‘Let him have it’. He was one of the last people sentenced to death in England, and there is still debating over what he really meant, and the fact that he only had a mental age of 10/11.
Another objection to the death penalty is the brutality involved. In 1983 John Evans was sentenced to death by electrocution. An eyewitness described the scenes that followed:
"At 8:30 p.m. the first jolt of 1900 volts of electricity passed through Mr. Evans' body. It lasted thirty seconds. Sparks and flames erupted ... from the electrode tied to Mr. Evans' left leg. His body slammed against the straps holding him in the electric chair and his fist clenched permanently. The electrode apparently burst from the strap holding it in place. A large puff of greyish smoke and sparks poured out from under the hood that covered Mr. Evans' face. An overpowering stench of burnt flesh and clothing began pervading the witness room. Two doctors examined Mr. Evans and declared that he was not dead. The electrode on the left leg was refastened.... Mr. Evans was administered a second thirty second jolt of electricity. The stench of burning flesh was nauseating. More smoke emanated from his leg and head. Again, the doctors examined Mr. Evans. They reported that his heart was still beating, and that he was still alive. At that time, I asked the prison commissioner, who was communicating on an open telephone line to Governor George Wallace, to grant clemency on the grounds that Mr. Evans was being subjected to cruel and unusual punishment. The request was denied. At 8:40 p.m., a third charge of electricity, thirty seconds in duration, was passed through Mr. Evans' body. At 8:44, the doctors pronounced him dead. The execution of John Evans took fourteen minutes." Afterwards, officials were embarrassed by what one observer called the "barbaric ritual." The prison spokesman remarked, "This was supposed to be a very clean manner of administering death."
Lethal injection is normally considered to be the most humane way of inflicting capital punishment. However, even this can go wrong, because of unusable veins (due to drug abuse).
Obviously from these examples it is clear that capital punishment can go badly wrong.
I think that these points summarise why capital punishment is considered wrong:
1. Capital punishment is incompatible with the spirit of Christ and the ethic of
love.
2. Capital punishment is of doubtful value as a deterrent.
3. Capital punishment results in inequities in application.
4. Capital punishment is a method to irremediable mistakes.
5. Capital punishment ignores corporate and community guilt.
6. Capital punishment perpetuates the concepts of vengeance and retaliation.
7. Capital punishment ignores the entire concept of rehabilitation. The Christian faith should be concerned not with retribution, but with redemption.
In conclusion, I do not believe that capital punishment is always justified, and I think that it should only be carried out if there is conclusive evidence that the right person has been caught.
Do You Feel the Death Penalty is Ever Justified?
Yes I do think that sometimes the death penalty is justified, as I think most other people would do to. However, I only think a person should be sentenced to death if there is conclusive evidence that they did actually commit the crime. If there is the slightest bit of doubt, then I do not think the person should be killed, as there is the possibility that the person is innocent. Take the case of Derek Bentley, which I explained in the last question. There is still debate today over when he said ‘Let him have it’, he meant for his friend to give the policeman the gun, or for his friend to shoot the policeman. Most people nowadays think that he meant for his friend Christopher Craig to give the gun to the policeman, as he (Bentley) had a mental age of only 10/11. However Derek Bentley was hanged, despite the doubt that hung over his case.
I think that an example for when the death penalty would be justified in England is the Dunblane case, in which Thomas Hamilton shot dead sixteen children and a teacher at a primary school in Dunblane. Eventually he shot himself, but if he had been caught and remained alive, and I had been in charge of his court case, I would have sentenced him to death, partially because there was no apparent reason. In my opinion to just go and kill people for no reason is unforgivable.
Any murder is just a waste of human life, but then I could go on to say that when someone is killed by lethal injection or electrocution, then society is murdering them, and not giving them a chance to reform. In 1998 Karla Faye Tucker was due to be killed for the brutal murder of two people living in an apartment in Houston. During her time on death row, she committed her life to God, and just before her execution she pleaded for clemency. Different people had different views on her execution. Some said that her relationship with God is irrelevant. Others said ‘How do you know the people she killed weren’t born again Christians?’, and cite the fact that the people she killed weren’t given any special consideration. However, others said that as a born again believer, she would be able to reach a lot of people through her ministry in prison. As evidence to her rehabilitation she pointed towards her conversion. Gradually she drew support from conservative Christians, former prosecutors, human rights advocates and even a relative of one of her victims.
This case would be extremely difficult to decide upon, but I would probably consult the victims’ families, see what they thought would be the right thing, and then make my decision. I would probably end up reducing her sentence to life, with the chance of parole. In this case, I think that if the family of the murdered couple wanted her to be put to death, then it would be justified, but if they didn’t, it would make it very difficult.
Karla Faye Tucker was not given clemency, and killed by lethal injection on February 3rd 1998.
Bibliography
Websites:
www.prodeathpenalty.com
www.religioustolerance.org/execute.htm
www.csmonitor.com/durable/1998/01/23/us/us.3.html
www.guardiancentury.co.uk/1990-1999/Story/0,6051,112749,00.html
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/cp.htm
www.utm.edu/research/iep/c/capitalp.htm
www.dzn.com/~lhindi/Karla-Faye-Tuckers-Death-Penalty-Executions.html
www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/links/dplinks.htm
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Hutchinsons Multimedia 98
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