Capital Punishment

My latest paper for English Comp. What do you guys think about this issue? Do you think there is a time for it? Is it biblical? Should we or should we not have the death penalty? Why?

The Capital Punishment Debate

  

    In 1971, Judy Buenoano known as  the “Black Widow” murdered her husband with arsenic and got away with it. Over the next years she commenced to murder a boyfriend, her 19 yr-old partially paralyzed son and attempted the murder of her second husband.  She never admitted that she had committed any of these murders nor was she in the least remorseful for the crimes.  She was put to death by electric chair on March 30, 1998 at the age of 54.

    The debate of capital punishment is a complicated one.  There’s the moral issue, do we have the right to take a life even if they have done so, is it our place to decide when their life is over? And what if an innocent person is put on death row, according to Amnesty International, since 1973, more than 130 people have been exonerated from death rows because of evidence that they were convicted wrongly. Another issue is the issue of expense; it is far more expensive to carry through with the death penalty than to sentence a criminal for life. Are we wasting money on capital punishment? People say that capital punishment ensures closure for families of victims but can revenge bring closure? Often people are angry and want that revenge on the person that hurt them or their loved ones so much, but in the end does revenge heal their aching hearts?

One last point of capital punishment is that it prevents crimes by holding such a severe punishment as a consequence.  Research shows that the states without the death penalty have lower crime rates so how well does it really work?.

    Is there really a good answer to the question:  is it right or wrong? When people commit such heinous crimes, like that of Judy Buenoano, do they deserve to be killed, or should we lock them up until their death? Ezekiel 33:11 says “...I [God] have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live…” (English Standard Version) Another verse on this topic is “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye or an eye and a tooth or a tooth.’ but I say to you, do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” (Matthew 5:38-39 ESV) Jesus’ teachings were to return good for evil.  Christina Clark writes in her article The Current: Death penalty continues to raise controversy, in the March 2013 issue of The Southend Weekly,  “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind…” (TSE 2013)  Clark then proceeds to summarize the trial of 17 year old TJ Lane who killed two students in a school shooting in 2012 at Chardon High School in Chardon, Ohio. Lane showed no remorse for the murder of his fellow students. Clark raises the question that in cases like this, when the crime committed is terrible enough and there is no visible chance to rehabilitate the offender, is the death penalty a good option? Clark leaves you with the question,   “In some cases is an eye for an eye what the world needs?” (TSE 2013)

    “...I am an innocent man-convicted of a crime I did not commit. I have been persecuted for 12 years for something I did not do…” were the dying words of an innocent man. Cameron Todd Willingham, convicted of setting fire to his home and murdering his three young daughters while their mother was gone.  He was put to death by lethal injection on February 17, 2004 in Texas. Years later he was found to be innocent. There are more cases like this. It is nearly impossible to avoid making these mistakes with capital punishment, when evidence is held back or witnesses are not accurate or honest. With over 1200 people on death row being put to death since 1976, how many of them were innocent?

    If we do not use the death penalty and instead lock these criminals up for life without parole, taxpayers are paying their hard earned money to feed, clothe and shelter maybe the very person that took the life of a loved one. Are we wasting money by giving these people life in jail? “According to a July 2012 analysis conducted by the Legislative Analysist Office, California taxpayers will save $130 million each year by replacing the death penalty with life in prison without possibility of parole.” (SAFE California) The amount spent on each of the 13 California executions since 1978 averages out to about $300 million, totaling in about 4 billion dollars in California alone, where cost to convict an individual for life without parole is between 200,000 and 300,000 dollars. (California Innocence Project) The total cost of the death penalty annually is roughly estimated to cost 232.7 million dollars whereas lifetime incarceration costs roughly $11.5 million. (Amnesty International) So taxpayers complaining about their taxes going to give murderers and rapists three hot meals a day, a warm place to sleep and free cable TV need to know that  it’s taking a lot less of their money to keep these criminals  locked up than to end their lives.

    When a mother loses her child to death at the hands of some mentally deranged person, can executing her child’s murderer really bring her closure and healing? Or a daughter brutally raped and killed, will that person’s death give her back her daughter? The point of punishment is to teach a lesson, what lesson is being learned by a person once dead?

    On November 1, 1987, Dawn Garvin was brutally murdered in her apartment. Steven Howard Oken, Garvin’s killer, had killed two other young women before Dawn. Her brother. Frank Romano’s words on the execution of Oken were these, “It won’t bring closure, Dawn will never be back. I’m not looking for closure. That’s a bad misconception on the part of some people. I want Oken to die for the murder of Dawn, Patricia Hurt and Lori Ward. It’s justice, it’s not revenge.” and his wife, Vicki Romano added, “Revenge would be going out and killing one of [the murderer’s] family members, the death penalty isn’t revenge. It’s the law.” (The Baltimore Sun) So maybe for the victim’s family it’s really not about revenge, or closure, as Frank and Vicki Romano said, it’s justice. Because killing the person who took away their loved one won’t right the wrong, it won’t give them back what they lost or give them closure, but it is justice. I can understand this but it seems that a life time in jail, dealing daily with the guilt and confinement would seem more just than their misery being ended.

    Why do some states still use capital punishment? One of the reasons used is that it prevents murder and other terrible crimes, but according to FBI data from 2008, states without the death penalty had at or below that of the national homicide rate. (Amnesty International) So the death penalty does not even lessen crime rates. If a person is going to commit a crime, if they hate someone, want money badly enough or are psychotic enough just to kill for the kicks, are they really going to think about the consequences if they do get caught? It’s very unlikely that they will.

    In the end, capital punishment may accomplish justice in most cases, but when it comes to cost effectiveness, preventing crime, and the innocence factor, capital punishment does not seem to be the best answer to the problem. Preventing crime starts with teaching morals; discipline and self control to our children. If we started doing this, maybe the need for jails and capital punishment would be less. I believe there are cases in which the death penalty should be used, as in a case like Judy Buenona’s or TJ Lane’s. In cases like these where there is no sign of repentance and no chance of rehabilitation for the criminal the death penalty may be appropriate. It’s easy to say, “Yes, kill them, they raped or murdered an innocent person”, but before we are so quick to judge, do we know the facts? Is capital punishment really the best and most effective way to control crime or is there perhaps a better way?

Works Cited

"The Death Penalty in the United States." The Death Penalty in the United States. The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney, n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.

"What's New." Death Penalty Information Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.

Kane, Gregory. "To Murder Victims' Families, Executing Killers Is Justice." Baltimoresun.com. N.p., 05 Feb. 2003. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.

"Death Penalty Issues." California Innocence Project. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.

"Judias V. Buenoano #450." Judias V. Buenoano #450. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.

"No Credible Evidence on Whether Death Penalty Deters, Experts Say." - The Denver Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.

"Cameron Todd Willingham – Innocent and Executed." Cameron Todd Willingham Innocent and Executed RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.

Clark, Christina. "The Current: Death Penalty Continues to Raise Controversy." The South End. N.p., 05 Apr. 13. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.

"Costs & Savings." SAFE California. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.

"5 Arguments For And Against The Death Penalty." Listverse. N.p., 01 June 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.

"Know the Facts About Capital Punishment." Amnesty International. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.

"Cameron Todd Willingham: Wrongfully Convicted and Executed in Texas." The Innocence Project - Cameron Todd Willingham: Wrongfully Convicted and Executed in Texas. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.