Capital Punishment

In the height of a movement that not only sought equality, but promoted a just society, Martin Luther King once stood up and said that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”. What was once considered the legal treatment of a people, was put under such scrutiny it could not survive. The injustice righted during that time remains to this day within that same justice system. Throughout history the death penalty has always played a prominent role in all societies. From the first recording in 16^th century BC ancient Egypt, to now, where capital punishment is still carried out in 21 countries world wide. Not only has this become one of the biggest ethical issues of our time it still remains a huge political issue. Such an inhumane legal act must have huge implications on our society and the families that this directly affects. Does the threat of death really deter crime? What about the numerous cases where prisoners have been released from death row and acquitted of their crimes? The question put simply is not about the mechanics of a justice system, but an existential crisis; who are we in this world to take the life of another?

Let me ask you this, how do we expect to live in a peaceful world when our justice system is so flawed with violence?  The law is there to marginalise crime and violence. If it includes a punishment that is in itself a horrific crime, how can we then not be seen to all but endorse it. After all, “an eye for an eye will make the whole world blind” (Ghandi). Is one life for another really the markings of justice and the righting of a wrong? In the USA in 2011 18% more murders took place within the states that had the death penalty, than those without. To brutalise our society while at the same time trying to deter violence seems illogical. Now let me ask you my next question, does the death penalty deserve a place within our civilised society?  Back in 16^th century England hangings took place on a regular basis; women were burned alive for criminal acts against their husbands, live bodies were disembowelled, all while onlookers stood by and cheered for blood. Hangings became an event more than a punishment.  Do we ever want to be compared to those times of such cruelty and inhumane acts?  As a ‘civilised’ society we should not allow acts of torture or actions that directly take away every single one of your human rights. Now don’t get me wrong, I do believe that crimes need to be punished, but we have a moral obligation to not allow our want of vengeance to get in the way of our justice system, as “we can not teach killing is wrong, by killing” (U.S Catholic Conference).

(http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/issues/death-penalty/us-death-penalty-facts/the-death-penalty-and-deterrence)

The main argument that pro capital punishment supporters have is that it is there to deter crime, but does it really? According to Amnesty International, “research has failed to provide scientific proof that executions have a greater deterrent effect than life imprisonment”. When we think about crime it is a very illogical act in itself. In a lot of cases, crime can be a result of drugs, alcohol, mental illness and rage. I am not excusing the matter, but putting forward an idea that maybe when these crimes are committed the thought of a death sentenced is the furthest thing from their mind. A study that was conducted by Professor Michael Radelet at the University of Colorado, looked at criminologists and the deterrent of the death penalty. The result found and reported in the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology was that an overwhelming 88% of top criminologists in the country did not believe the death penalty acted as a deterrent, failing “to support the threat or use of the death penalty.

(http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/deterrence-states-without-death-penalty-have-had-consistently-lower-murder-rates)

In 1994 West Memphis Arkansas a teenage boy named Damien Echols and two friends were convicted of the murder of three young boys; Echols was given the death sentence. Over the next 18 years Echols and a team of devoted and loyal believers fought hard and long to get him and his friends free. Damien was wrongly convicted of this crime, and through the fault of the justice system and the local police department, he spent nearly 20 years waiting on death row to be executed. This is an example of justice finally being served, but it doesn’t always end like that. In the UK a man named Timothy Evans was put to death for the murder of this wife and young child. Evans pleaded his innocence to his last breath in 1950.  16 years later Evans’s fellow tenant (whom he had accused the whole time), John Christie, had multiple bodies discovered in the walls of his Rillington home. Later Christie confessed to police  to the murders of Beryal Evans and her small child Geraldine. This led to an outcry throughout Britain and soon helped play a part in the abolishment of the death penalty. But it will never make up for the fact an innocent man lost his life.  Is this really our idea of justice? In the words of Governor George Ryan of Illinois, “I cannot support a system which , in it’s administration, has proven so fraught with error and has come so close to the ultimate nightmare state, taking of innocent life”.

West o f  Memphis Three (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Memphis_Three)

The death penalty is the most inhumane and cruellest act of punishment; repeated throughout history and seen and as the ultimate revenge.  Still having this in existence reflects where we are as a society, what we accept as a human right, and who we believe we are to take the life of another. Allowing violence into our justice system is allowing violence into our lives. For me, every human life is precious, no matter of our actions we choose. The taking of a life, regardless of the circumstances, is just that, the taking of life; a criminal unjust act. At the end of it all, “to take a life when a life is lost is revenge, not justice” (Archbishop Desmond Tutu). 

(http://www.track16.com/exhibitions/montoya/)