Life in Prison, or the Death Penalty? My Opinion of Capital Punishment
Life or Death: My opinion of Capital Punishment.
November 21, 2003... 3:24 p.m... Life or Death: My opinion of the
death penalty.
 The Washington Sniper,
John Allen Muhammad will have to wait through
the weekend to see if his shootings around suburban Washington D.C.
gets him a proverbial noose. I'm predicting he will get life in
prison. The jury is still deliberating, and unsure whether they can
come to a verdict. The way Virginia law reads, if the jury can't
decide, the default sentence is life. The jury must come to unanimous
decision for the death penalty.
There was talk about shipping him off to stand trial in Alabama first,
because Alabama is more likely to return a death penalty. If he'd only
shot 1 or 2 in Virginia, maybe, but 11 shot means some district attorney
runs for governor after the conviction.
Generally I'm against the death penalty. I'm not against killing
off the most violent members of society; I'm not against eye-for-an-eye
revenge. But, the death penalty isn't effective at all. None of
the arguments for the death penalty work. Here's all the common
reasons proponents of the death penalty come up with, and my take on why
they are completely bogus.
The death penalty deters crime... wrong, it only deters crime
in places where it's carried out quickly and absolutely. In some
countries if you are convicted of murder, you are taken outside and
executed publicly, usually within 24 hours. Americans would never
stand for this, so that eliminates the first argument.
I don't want my tax dollars paying to keep criminals alive...
unfortunately, it costs dramatically more to kill those same
criminals. The typical death penalty conviction must go through
several levels of appeal. All these appeals must be heard by the
courts in virtually every case. Attorneys are paid dramatically
more than prison guards. One prison guard is responsible for
several prisoners, where one prisoner on death row typically employs
several attorneys and legal staff for many years, all while still using
your tax dollars in prison. Life sentences are rarely
appealed. The typical life span in prison is about two dozen
years, many of the most violent prisoners get murdered in prison, often
as a prowess maneuver within the convict population.
Sometimes people convicted of life sentences get paroled after many
years... this is true. Unfortunately, it doesn't make much
difference. Ask people who have been convicted of a life sentence
if they've truly lost their life. They enter jail at 21 and leave
at 55, and an old 55. Many die shortly after, and few ever
transition completely into anything that resembles life. If you
are sent away for life, they bleed the life out of you, then might
release you. Virtually all habitual criminals are between 18 and
25. If you keep most criminals in jail until after their 25th
birthday, the chances of repeat offenses drop dramatically. By the
time a life sentence murderer gets released, the chances of him
committing violent crime are virtually nil.
It's Democracy at work, if we vote death penalty legislation, then
a jury votes for death, it's the people speaking... unfortunately,
it is democracy at work, only not the democracy Thomas Jefferson
envisioned. It's the politics of democracy. Governors push
the death penalty to get elected, District attorneys push it to get
elected, judges get elected, prison wardens get more budget money,
newspapers sell more copies, local TV reporters get noticed by networks,
high priced defense lawyers get more press, and professional protesters
raise more money. In my opinion is the necessary evils of politics
are at their worst when a death penalty case is being decided.
After guilt beyond reasonable doubt, and many appeals, they must
deserve death... look at death row, three things determine if you
receive the death penalty and it's carried out. You are either
poor, mentally retarded, or dark skinned. If you are all three,
you'll likely be executed even more quickly. I would agree with
this reasoning, if it were fair. The reason that the poor,
retarded, non-whites were found guilty and lost every appeal is that
people dislike them more than wealthy, intelligent, Caucasians.
Granted socially and economically depressed people and mentally retarded
people stand a bigger chance of committing crime, they stand an
overwhelming chance of being convicted of those crimes. This is
particularly true in our most violent crimes. Most murders are
committed by whites against people they once loved. With the
exception of psychotic serial killers, these are also the most likely to
commit multiple murders. Yet most of the people on death row are
people who committed murder where the murderer is economically depressed
and involved in crimes such as robbery or drug dealing, and commit
murder, often by accident, during commission of these crimes. Much
of the time the death row population are dark skinned people who
committed crime against light skinned people. Until the ratio of
white murderers is equal to the ratio of white people on death row, you
won't convince me that anyone on death row deserves death exclusively
for their crime.
Furthermore, as new DNA analyzing technology becomes available, it's frightening to see
the numbers of crimes overturned. Generally I think our system is
good, fair and just. However, imperfect. Until it's perfect, we
need to eliminate capital punishment.
Disagree?? Good, give us your
. Just don't email me and tell me I'm an idiot. Prove I'm an
idiot beyond a reasonable doubt! Tell me why I'm wrong about capital
punishment or one of the
five points above, or offer a sixth point, but support it.
Wrongly convicted,
SunFyre
UPDATE: Apparently the 12 good Virginians
disagreed with me. A day or two after I wrote this, they sentenced John
Allen Muhammad to death. Apparently they felt the Washington Sniper and
his home grown brand of
terrorism was more than inexcusable, it deserved vengeance.
Readers Respond
February 12, 2004
 Just a quick statement on the death penalty, which with some changes I think
would be much more acceptable. I believe that I read 18% to 42% (depending on
which study you read and how they present their facts) of released murders
commit another murder. I can GUARANTEE you that if properly and fairly tried,
convicted and punished by death; those people would not commit another murder.
That should make it a no brainer for anyone, but remember I said properly and
fairly tried and convicted.
Patrick H.
Minneapolis
PS. I really enjoy your
commentary. Don’t always agree with it, but it is thought provoking.
Patrick,
Thanks so much for your comments. I
like it when people agree with me, and like it even more when people
disagree with me. I'm of the belief that healthy constructive debate
guides us toward truth. Whether you are a scientist, a theologian, a
philosopher or just someone trying to make their way in the world, truth
tends to be a principal goal.
I'm not sure if this got across on my
website. I am not anti-death penalty. I am anti-broken-death-penalty,
and I currently believe the system is broken.
 I agree that if the death penalty
either removed murderers, rapists, and child molesters from society
permanently, it would have value, particularly if these individuals are
highly likely to continue to be a threat. Currently, it seldom does
that. of the thousands of violent crimes committed yearly, very few
executions occur, and these are incredibly expensive the state and
painful for everyone involved, including the victim's family.
I also would see the death penalty as
valuable if it was an effective deterrent to crime. If you knew you
were guaranteed execution for murder, rape or child molestation, you'd
think twice. Now, you are only guaranteed execution if you are caught,
convicted, and lose several appeals over a long period of time, perhaps
decades. Often these individuals die in prison before execution. For
these heinous criminals often have trouble seeing tomorrow clearly, a
penalty that is ten years away is uncomprehendable.
With these two values lost, I don't see
the Benefit.
You're point is strong that if
"properly and fairly tried and convicted" there would be at the very
least the ability to remove some of the worst criminals from society.
Unfortunately, the definition of "properly and fairly" is muddy. We
developed a justice system in the late 1700s that to this day is one of
the best in the world. It's about as fair as possible, but every decade
we see more imperfections. DNA evidence has given us virtually
indisputable evidence, but it has also shown that we've been wrong many
times before.
A couple other interesting things I've
learned about capital punishment.
Some cultures, particularly Arabic
cultures, see the death penalty as a tool for peace. They are less
concerned about wrongly convicted someone and more concerned about
prevention. In these countries executions are frequent and almost
guaranteed for certain crimes. Because of this, violent crimes are
virtually extinct. Unfortunately, the price is that innocent men and
women are occasionally convicted and executed.
In some cultures, the family makes the
decision rather than the courts. In the U.S. we have degrees of
murder. In other countries, the judges or juries decide guilt or
innocence, and the victim or victim's family decides sentence. They
sometimes get the choice of the death penalty, prison, or full pardon.
In a sense, this is also a deterrent, perhaps even more-so than
guaranteed death. Many people who are willing to murder are also
willing to die. But if they are unsure where they will end up, that
uncertainty is a deterrent.
Thanks again, Patrick, for your email.
You said "I really enjoy
your commentary. Don’t always agree with it, but it is thought
provoking." and I put this among my greatest compliments from a reader.
You obviously get the meaning behind SunFyre. Thank you.
Sincerely, SunFyre
March 22, 2004
Just for the record i have
no opinion either way on the use of the death penalty. i just thought i
would let you know that some of your facts are far from true.
Number 1 is true.
But Number 2 is not. This
was thought to be true in the past when they expected people not to live as
long as they live today. This is true in high profile crimes but in most
cases life without parole is more expensive.
Number 3 this is true but
has been fixed today with life without parole. We can thank the good old
Supreme Court for Furman v. Georgia for allowing all death row inmates to
receive life and come up for parole in 1972.
Number 5 you can think all
you want that it is a racist system but it can be proven that it is racist
against whites. Blacks make up 42% of the population on death row, 12% of
the general population but they commit 51% of the murders in our society.
That shows statistically that whites are much more likely to get death than
a black man is.
Pete S.
Thanks, Pete for your
information. I would like to see real numbers about No. 2. You
suggested that with longer life expectancy today that life without parole is
far more expensive than the death penalty. My hesitation here is, does
the life expectancy of a typical inmate mirror the population at large?
AIDS is a crisis in many maximum security prisons. That, along with
poor health in general may actually shorten the lifespan of inmates compared
to, say, the '80s. I'm not saying you're wrong, I'd just like to see
statistics.
Your point about No. 5 is
well taken. Perhaps the problem isn't that we have conditions that
allow too many African Americans to be executed, maybe the problems leading
African Americans to murder more frequently per capita need to be addressed
first. Again, I'd like to see the statistics. I'm a little
skeptical, simply because your commentary didn't include any information
about Latino Americans. I'd also like to know if your statistic
includes only jury convictions or also plea agreements. I heard one
comment that suggested that African Americans are less likely to plea
bargain, and more likely to receive public defenders. Again, you
aren't wrong, I'd just like to see the numbers.
If you, or any SunFyre
reader, have any documentation of statistics, I'd love to publish them here.
My best, SunFyre
June 20, 2004 Update
I decided to investigate a little further.
As I was updating this page. I found a few of the statistics I was
craving about race and capital punishment as well as the monetary costs of
capital cases versus the costs of life without parole. Here's a little
of what I found, mostly thanks to the
Death Penalty Information Center.
First, some financial data:
 A
2003 study in Kansas determined that capital cases cost the state 70%
more per case than comparable non-capital cases, including
incarceration.
A 2002 study in Indiana found that it
was 38% more expensive for capital cases including incarceration, and
20% of death sentences were later resentenced to life.
A comprehensive 1993 Duke University
study found that a typical capital case cost the state $2.13 million
dollars more than a typical non-death penalty murder case.
A 2000 report of every execution in
Florida after 1976 found that Florida spends $51 million additional
dollars per year on death penalty cases compared to first-degree murder
cases with life without parole. The 44 executions have cost
Florida approximately $24 million each.
A 1992 Dallas Morning News article found
that the average death penalty case costs $2.3 million more than
incarceration in maximum for 40 years. (SunFyre's Two Cents:
Coincidentally, Texas executes by far the most people, you'd think
they'd get a quantity discount.)
A 1988 study found that California
spends $90 million annually on death penalty cases, and $78 million of
that is incurred in court costs.
Source:
Death Penalty
Information Center FactSheet
Apparently Pete wasn't correct about
extended life expectancy causing life sentences to be more expensive.
Two studies indicated it costs about $2 million extra per case, including
the ones that are declared innocent or resentenced to life without parole.
If we took that $2 million (paid out to lawyers during trial) and put it in
a money market account for the inmate, the interest alone (at today's
horrible interest rates, about 2.0%), that would generate about $40,000 a
year. That should be enough to pay for the entire incarceration, and
the principal could then be given to the victim's family after the inmate
dies. Sounds like a better use of funds than Attorney fees to me.
Pete's information about the racial makeup
of death row was pretty accurate. African Americans make up 42% of
death row inmates, and 38% of people executed since 1976. This is
roughly the same proportions as the murder conviction rate, indicating that
African Americans aren't given the death penalty more frequently per
conviction.
But, I looked a little deeper and found that
80% of all death sentences had white victims. While well over 50% of
murder victims are non-white. This indicates that a death sentence has
more to do with the victim's skin color than the offender. A University of
North Carolina study from 2001 found that murdering a white person creates a
350% greater chance of receiving a death sentence than murdering a non-white
person.
Finally, in support of one of my original
beliefs, that capital punishment is not a deterrent to crime, a 1995 poll of
U.S. Chiefs of Police, only 1% believed that the death penalty is a
deterrent. Reducing drug abuse (31%), improving economic conditions
(17%), simplifying court rules (16%), longer prison sentences (15%), more
Police officers (10%), and reducing guns (3%) were all more important
focuses for Police Chiefs.
Other interesting facts:
 Since
1976 over 84% of all executions carried out have been in the South,
including 45% in Texas and Virginia alone.
As of this writing, 10 women and 905 men
have been executed since 1976. There are currently 49 women on
death row, approximately 1.4% of the death row population. There are
currently 3500 inmates on death row.
Juvenile defendants have been executed
22 times for crimes committed before their 18th birthday.
Two people have been executed by firing
squad, and three by hanging since 1976. Three states still allow
firing squad and two states allow hanging as options.
Twelve states don't have the death
penalty. Six states have it, but have never used it since 1976.
These
Upcoming Executions are scheduled this year.
As of today, 114 death row convicted
inmates have been exonerated, 13 of those with DNA evidence of
innocence. Those 114 people spent an average of 9 years
incarcerated.
If nothing I've written has convinced you
that we should declare a moratorium on capital punishment, here is a page of
Post-Furman Botched Executions that convinced me. Warning, the
descriptions on this previous link are graphic and, in my opinion,
horrifying. It's difficult to read, and many of them are similar, but
I encourage you to read every one.
Convinced and convicted,
SunFyre
Thanks to these insightful readers. If you have
an opinion about capital punishment or the death penalty, please send them to me.
June 25, 2004... News on the Capital Punishment Front
The New York State Supreme Court has
stricken down the death penalty, at least temporarily, and removed four
inmates from death row. Here's the story from USA Today.
December 13, 2004... Scott Peterson gets the Death Penalty
 Capital
punishment is back in the national spotlight today as
California jurors recommended the death penalty for Scott
Peterson. For those of you living under a rock, he was
found guilty of murdering his wife and unborn child on Christmas
Eve, 2002, or thereabouts.
Now, all of you know my opinion of the death penalty, or
if you don't, you can read my ongoing
Capital Punishment Opinion page.
The Scott Peterson case actually supports my decision even
further.
Here's why I believe that if the California jurors wanted to
punish Scott Peterson to the severest extent possible, they
should have opted for life in prison.
First, there are currently approximately 650 inmates on
California's Death Row. However, since 1978, when the
death penalty was re-adopted in California, the state has only
actually executed 10 individuals. More convicts exit death
row by natural causes or suicide than execution.
Second, according to California law, all death penalty appeals
are heard by the Supreme Court. According to an
Associated Press article "If Peterson is sentenced to death,
he will sit on death row for more than five years before he is
appointed an attorney for his first and mandatory appeal to the
California Supreme Court." The reason for this length of
time is the enormous backlog of criminals awaiting attorneys.
Third, Scott Peterson won't receive the benefit of becoming some
three-strikes crackhead's butt buddy! Life termers are put
into the general population and have a cellmate. Peterson,
because he will likely reside on death row, will have a
single-occupancy cell. He will have five hours a day in
the exercise yard, and three private showers each week. He
will probably have a far more comfortable and safe life on death
row.
The judge in the case, The Honorable Alfred A. Delucchi,
doesn't officially pass sentence until February 25th. He
technically could choose to disregard the jury recommendation,
and grant a life sentence, or as I call it, a life-of-pain
sentence, but he probably won't. He could make a great
speech about how a life sentence would ultimately avenge the
deaths of Laci Peterson and her fetus, but he probably won't.
You see, a Judge ultimately can only seek justice if elected by
voters. Next election, his opponent will be running smear
ads saying how Alfred chickened out, and doesn't respect the
jury's wishes.
Want to learn more? I have found the Death
Penalty Information Center to be a quality
resource of facts. While the website is clearly in favor
of eliminating capital punishment, they present quality
information in a relatively unbiased way.
Finally, use that little link that says
and give me your opinion. I'll publish all opinions, and my responses, on the Death Penalty page.
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Books about
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Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States
by Helen Prejean
Ultimate Punishment: A Lawyer's Reflections on Dealing With the Death Penalty
by Scott Turow
The Contradictions of American Capital Punishment by Franklin E. Zimring
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Dead Man Walking Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon
Monster's Ball Halle Berry, Billy Bob Thorton
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