A Day Late and an Issue Short
Well, yesterday was Blog for Choice Day, and I missed it. That in itself wouldn’t be so bad, but I just happened to write a flattering post about a pro-life Republican that day, so it hurts all the more.
I guess the millions of other pro-choice blogs out there covered the issue pretty well without me, and as always, The Onion makes the point as well as anyone. So I don’t really have much more to add to the conversation.
But one thing I’ve never understood is people who call themselves “pro-life” who support the death penalty. I mean, if we respect human life, doesn’t that mean all human lives, regardless of whether or not they share our respect for it? Isn’t respect for life more about how we act than it is about what they deserve?
Feel free to disagree, but then let’s knock off the “culture of life” rhetoric.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice maintains a website of all of their executed offenders, including name, crime, and last statement. It’s a chilling collection, and is almost certain to reinforce whatever beliefs you already have about the death penalty.
January 23rd, 2007 at 3:27 pm
have you heard about the innocence project?
http://www.innocenceproject.org/
the work that they do brings to the forefront the many faults with the death penalty, mainly that there are a multitude of wrongful convictions out there and it’s pretty troubling to stand for something as irreversible as the death penalty in light of that fact (not including the moral and ethical objections i have against it).
in regards to the “pro-life” vs. “death penalty” issue, i don’t quite understand it either but the fact that people are less hung up about pulling the switch on a convict rather an “innocent” fetus seems to be the most common explanation- it doesn’t eliminate that pesky layer of hypocrisy you’re talking about though.
January 24th, 2007 at 8:05 am
I hadn’t seen the Innocence Project. Thanks for sharing it.
It’s really horrifying to see so many innocent people on Death Row.
I’m also (as you imply as well) against the death penalty for guilty people as well, and a lot of them are some really bad people. I think it’s worth noting that being against the death penalty means being against the death penalty for bad people. It means being against the death penalty for Saddam Hussein.
I’m against the death penalty because of my respect for human life, and I cannot find a compelling state interest in murdering someone that would override that.
I don’t believe abortion is murder, but I understand how people could hold that view and fight for it. I don’t understand, along with you, how someone could be against abortion but for the death penalty.
In all fairness, I believe most people in America are pretty consistent on these issues: pro-choice and pro-death penalty. The Catholic Church is consistent as well: pro-life and anti-death penalty. I think it’s only a small group of people who are pro-life and pro-death penalty. Unfortunately, Fearless Leader is among them.
January 25th, 2007 at 10:58 am
You can learn a lot from a spreadsheet!
Analysis of the Texas data reveals the average age at execution is 39, the most popular first names are Robert and James (surprise – only one Darryl, one Tyrone and not a single Duane), the most popular surname is Johnson, and whites outnumber blacks 136 to 100 with 46 Hispanics and 2 “other.” The site does not list the sex of the offender, but a cursory check of first names indicates that there is at least a 50 to 1 ratio of men to women.
As for the merits of capital punishment, as we consider the horror of innocent people executed, mustn’t we also think of the additional homicides which will inevitably be committed by convicted murderers serving life terms?
January 25th, 2007 at 5:28 pm
Thanks for that great analysis of the data! For myself, I was mesmerized by reading the last statements of the prisoners. Even more interesting, and I don’t know why, is something they deleted: the requested last meals of the prisoners.
As for the question you pose, it seems reasonable, but I’d hesitate before making a decision to execute people based on potential crimes they may or may not commit in the future. It might open the door to arguments for other criteria for predicting potential murderers. Your own analysis could be used to create a suspect class of white men in their late 30’s named Robert Johnson.
But that aside, I think we can make a moral distinction between actions taken by the state and actions taken by criminals. Clearly, executions fall into the former category. Could it be argued that murders committed by convicts are caused by the negligence of the state?
Bronx Richie seems to be arguing yes. I agree. But I think the answer to that is prison reform, not the death penalty. Our country is badly in need of prison reform, but it’s not a topic that gets a lot of attention, because the unfortunate truth is that many people are untroubled by prison inmates being killed, beaten, or raped by other inmates. There seems to be a sense that the convicts deserve it for the crimes they have committed.
The state of our prisons today is perhaps the most serious blot on our domestic human rights record. But killing the prisoners isn’t the solution. Prison reform is.
February 8th, 2007 at 10:35 am
If you were not advocating capital punishment with this:
…then I do apologize, and invite you to view my comments as directed to those who are advocating it.
I actually agree with your assessment of the crisis in our prisons. I just think it’s a different issue than that of capital punishment. In other words, if the choice being presented is between the death of an inmate convicted of a capital crime, or the death of another inmate as a result of an act of prison violence, I would argue that this is a false choice. In my opinion, we should eschew the former on moral grounds, and do everything we can do prevent the latter.
But if that wasn’t your point, I’m sorry for the cheap shot. Raising consciousness on this issue is a noble goal. When I have a chance to do the subject justice, no pun intended, I’ll put up a post on prison reform.
February 8th, 2007 at 10:00 am
Killing the prisoners? Hey Teach, enough already with the cheap shots! I challenge you to find one word of capital punishment advocacy in my comment.
What I’m about here is raising consciousness. If you think ending capital punishment puts a stop to the loss of innocent lives in prison, well, think again.
February 10th, 2007 at 1:55 pm
A thought question, and then finis, barring any unforeseen provocations.
A few years back, the governor of Illinois, alarmed by the exoneration of thirteen death row inmates, commuted the death sentences of (but did not pardon or release) 167 prisoners. In addition, he pardoned and released four other inmates. They are peripheral, but still relevant, to this discussion.
What’s the best estimate as to how many of the 167 were actually innocent of the murders for which they were convicted? If the thirteen plus four previously cleared were a representative sample, then the answer is just under 10%, a horribly high proportion. However, assuming the governor and the exonerators of the original thirteen did a thorough job, shouldn’t we believe that few if any innocents remain among the 167? According to a survey cited in William Tucker’s book, “Vigilante,” even defense attorneys think that about 95% of their clients are guilty.
So what’s the problem? They’re still in prison for life, right? Well, not so fast. Look ahead, say 25 years. At the end of that time, what’s our best estimate of the number of additional people likely to be killed by 167 convicted murderers over such a time period. These new victims would most likely be fellow prisoners and prison guard, and one might realistically label both groups as knowing the risks involved. But it’s almost a certainty that over the 25 years a number of these convicts will be released under circumstances other than innocence. It happens regularly.
Taken as a whole, I’ll wager that more innocent lives (yes, prisoners can be considered innocent in the sense of not deserving to be killed) will likely be lost to homicides committed by the 167 than would have been wrongly executed, especially give the low percentage of death row inmates who ever actually submit to the ultimate punishment. One can only hope that some enterprising journalist or blogger is keeping track.
You may disagree with my estimates; fair enough.
You may agree with my estimates, but dismiss their importance with the argument that killing by the state is worse than killing by an individual; fair enough.
You may disagree or dismiss. But now that you’ve read this comment, can you ignore?