The Death Penalty

When I was younger, I was a passive supporter of the death penalty. I thought that there were crimes that warranted this most severe penalty. Brutal murders, horrendous crimes against children, and others. Some of that support was also because there didn't use to be life without parole sentences. Those sentenced to life were typically eligible for parole after X number of years depending on the state. 

After years of observing the criminal justice system, I have changed my mind. There should be no death penalty sentences.

I have two major reasons for this change of view. First is that over the past few decades, it has come to light how prejudiced and unfair our justice system can be. If you are poor, Black, Hispanic or other minority, you are more likely to be wrongfully convicted. If you are railroaded to a guilty plea or conviction, there is no reversal of an execution. Even if later proved innocent, you are dead. 

The second objection is that it takes so long to actually carry out a death sentence. There are endless appeals and other delays. Almost every one of these delays involves a court hearing and mass quantities of legal fees. The government usually has to pick up those fees for both sides. Is it really a deterrent to a capital offense if the final punishment takes years, maybe decades, to carry out? 

Here is the dichotomy of my thoughts. Capital punishment should be swift for the guilty but we should make sure that those found guilty are truly guilty.

Because of this conflict, I think any death penalty crimes should be changed to life with no parole. Maybe sentences of 100+ years with no parole serve the same purpose. 

California governor Gavin Newsom just stopped all death penalty executions in his state. This an executive order and can ultimately be changed by the California legislature or courts. There are currently 747 California prisoners on death row. That is proof that under current procedures, regulations, and court rulings we do not actually execute anyone in a timely manner. No one has been executed in a decade. Only 13 people have been executed since 1978, that is 41 years. That comes out to 0.3 per year. At that rate, it would take almost 2,500 years to clear the backlog. 

Texas, where I live has the most active death chamber in the nation. Even with that, there are 221 prisoners on death row. On average those prisoners have spent 15½ years on death row. BTW, 44% are Black in a state with a 12% African American population. 

There is no need to continue to dig into the statistics. It is clear that our current system of carrying out the death penalty is broken. It is certainly not swift and often appears not to be fair. So, let's do away with it. Jail the murderers, rapists, pedophiles, etc. for life. Make the incarceration less than ideal. 

There is no simple solution or answer to this. Beliefs, biases, politics, prejudices, faith, etc. all figure into how you view this. I have come to the conclusion that the death penalty is no longer a deterrent or fair punishment in its current state in our country. That being my conclusion, it should be eliminated. Maybe there are drastic revisions that would make it viable again. Maybe you have a different view of the current situation. That's fair but for now, no more death penalties.

wjh