Tuesday, April 05, 2005
Capital Punishment
The death penalty is a crude and outdated form of punishment that has long outlived its usefulness. It seems better suited to medieval Europe than to the "civilized" world we inhabit today. My reason for saying this is not that capital punishment is cruel or immoral, just that it is ineffective and archaic.
The existence of capital punishment does not prevent violent crime. If it did, we would never have to execute anyone. The death penalty doesn't deter any of the handfuls of criminals that commit capital offenses every year. The reason for this is that the death penalty is the easy way out. A murderer given the death sentence doesn't have to take responsibility for his actions or deal with his conscience. One injection and he never has to take responsibility for anything. Ever.
We don't accomplish anything by killing the killer. He never really has to deal with his bad deeds. But if he were to get life in prison, he will have to deal with difficult emotions and a troubled conscience that make life extremely unpleasant. And even if his conscience isn't troubled, prison will still make his life pretty damn sucky. A life sentence, strange as this may sound, is much harsher than a death sentence. Many convicts welcome death rather than a life spent behind bars. We shouldn't give them this easy escape from their actions.
The most troubling aspect of the death penalty is the potential for error. It's not unheard of for convicts to be cleared of all charges after years spent in prison. The possibility that an innocent person could be executed is frightening. If evidence turns up indicating that a convict serving a life sentence is innocent, he can be released from prison with no real harm done, but if he has already been executed, it's far too late, and posthumous apologies won't accomplish anything meaningful.
Most of the free world seems to agree with this perspective. Here are some of the many countries that have abolished or no longer practice the death penalty: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. And here are a few besides the United States where capital punishment is still in existence: Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Vietnam. Which group would you rather be included in?
Now to finish up with some statistics. It seems that capital punishment is a favorite sport of drunken rednecks as well as totalitarian regimes, since of the 85 executions carried out in 2000, 83 took place in red states south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Texas alone accounted for 40 of the 85 executions. It's also interesting to note that while 41% of those executed in 2000 were African American, African Americans make up only 12% of the US population according to the 2000 census. The uneven distribution of capital punishment as well as the ridiculously unfair race discrepancy is yet another reason why the sadly outmoded death penalty should be left behind.
The existence of capital punishment does not prevent violent crime. If it did, we would never have to execute anyone. The death penalty doesn't deter any of the handfuls of criminals that commit capital offenses every year. The reason for this is that the death penalty is the easy way out. A murderer given the death sentence doesn't have to take responsibility for his actions or deal with his conscience. One injection and he never has to take responsibility for anything. Ever.
We don't accomplish anything by killing the killer. He never really has to deal with his bad deeds. But if he were to get life in prison, he will have to deal with difficult emotions and a troubled conscience that make life extremely unpleasant. And even if his conscience isn't troubled, prison will still make his life pretty damn sucky. A life sentence, strange as this may sound, is much harsher than a death sentence. Many convicts welcome death rather than a life spent behind bars. We shouldn't give them this easy escape from their actions.
The most troubling aspect of the death penalty is the potential for error. It's not unheard of for convicts to be cleared of all charges after years spent in prison. The possibility that an innocent person could be executed is frightening. If evidence turns up indicating that a convict serving a life sentence is innocent, he can be released from prison with no real harm done, but if he has already been executed, it's far too late, and posthumous apologies won't accomplish anything meaningful.
Most of the free world seems to agree with this perspective. Here are some of the many countries that have abolished or no longer practice the death penalty: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. And here are a few besides the United States where capital punishment is still in existence: Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Vietnam. Which group would you rather be included in?
Now to finish up with some statistics. It seems that capital punishment is a favorite sport of drunken rednecks as well as totalitarian regimes, since of the 85 executions carried out in 2000, 83 took place in red states south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Texas alone accounted for 40 of the 85 executions. It's also interesting to note that while 41% of those executed in 2000 were African American, African Americans make up only 12% of the US population according to the 2000 census. The uneven distribution of capital punishment as well as the ridiculously unfair race discrepancy is yet another reason why the sadly outmoded death penalty should be left behind.
# posted by Ben @ 6:53 PM 
