Protesting death as punishment
Lauren Jiloty
Junior
Little did I know that this summer, while working and studying at Notre Dame, I would have an eye-opening experience unrivaled by any other in my life. One night I sat down to watch the evening news and the reality of this story gripped me.
On May 13, 1981, Bobby Lambert was murdered in a Safeway grocery store parking lot. There were eight crime scene witnesses who claimed to have seen the assailant that night. Only one of those eyewitnesses, Bernadine Skillern, identified a man named Gary Graham as the assailant. The crime happened at night, nearly 20 years ago and Ms. Skillern was 30 to 40 feet away and only saw the man she believed to be Gary Graham for two or three seconds.
Mr. Graham claimed to be innocent, stating that he was miles away from the murder scene with up to four other people when it happened. There were no fingerprints and no other evidence whatsoever that linked Gary Graham to the murder except the testimony of Ms. Skillern. Mr. Graham maintained his innocence until he uttered his last words, "You're murdering me tonight."
Mr. Graham was executed in Texas this summer by lethal injection. I was shocked. How could this be allowed? What if he was innocent?
Experts believe that at least 23 people who have been executed were indeed innocent. How can the U.S. tolerate the executions of innocent people? More importantly, how many is too many? One? Ten? One hundred? I have always been opposed to capital punishment, but I had no idea how capricious and arbitrary it is. I have never had a friend or family member murdered, so I can't even begin to fathom that kind of pain. But I do know that if I am ever murdered, I would not want my murderer executed.
I began to do research and the information I found was unbelievable. I realized that I fell into the majority of people that is seriously misinformed about the death penalty. Let me familiarize you with some of the most common misconceptions that America harbors about capital punishment.
First, most people believe that death row inmates that are actually executed must have committed the most heinous and brutal of crimes. In fact, most of the inmates that are killed are frequently the poorest and have histories of child abuse and emotional trauma. Ninety-nine percent of death row inmates are poor. They can't afford Johnny Cochran. They have to settle for minimal and often times weak defense. These lawyers can be extremely careless, too. (I've read reports of lawyers showing up to court drunk or sleeping through long periods of capital trials.)
Also, it is painfully evident that capital punishment is racially biased. Not surprisingly, it is most frequently pursued in the southern states. (Louisiana, Georgia, Florida and Texas are known as the "Death Belt.") And especially in these states, death row inmates are black people with white victims. In fact, that holds true for nearly three quarters of the death row prisoners in Louisiana. White people with black victims are much more likely to receive a life sentence.
Also, we are sadly mistaken if we let the government convince us that administering death is "humane." I've read many reports of botched electrocutions that give detailed descriptions of charred skin and hair, flames shooting from the base of the spine and the temples and eyes being expelled from their sockets.
The horror of lethal injection is also kept shamefully secret. Three shots are administered. The first shot paralyzes the muscles. This way, the face won't reflect that the internal organs are actually going through armageddon and to the witnesses it looks "peaceful."
People also tend to think that by executing criminals, we save the money of keeping them alive. In fact, it saves no money. Florida pays $51 million a year above what it would cost to punish all first degree murderers with life in prison without parole (according to the Palm Beach Post). The Committee of the California Legislature stated last year that, "Elimination of the death penalty would result in a net savings to the state of at least several tens of millions of dollars annually." And according to the Dallas morning news, in Texas a death penalty case costs an average of $2.3 million, which is three times the cost of imprisoning someone in a single cell at the highest security level for 40 years.
And perhaps most imporantly, statistics prove that the existence of capital punishment does not deter crime in any way. Many proponents of the death penalty are quick to quote the "eye for an eye" verse in the Bible. But those same people are also unaware that the Bible condones death as acceptable punishment for crimes like trespassing upon sacred ground, incest, homosexuality, prostitution and many more.
I certainly don't condone murder, rape, child molestation or any of the other 57 crimes punishable by death. I believe that these men and women need to live the rest of their days in a secure environment in order to protect society. But by executing them, we accomplish nothing and we teach society that violence is an acceptable way of dealing with our problems. Moreover, we're teaching our children that it is OK to react to violence with violence.
Is that what Jesus Christ would do? In the words of Sister Helen Prejean C.S.J, "The movement to abolish the death penalty needs the religous community because the heart of religion is about compassion, human rights and the inherent dignity of each person made in the image of God." God expects us to take action and make peace in the world and not simply pray that things get better.
I don't believe that God thinks that certain human beings are more "disposable" than others. I don't believe that God likes to see us act in vengeance toward one another. And most importantly, I don't believe that Jesus Christ would have wished death in payment for the men who nailed him to the cross.
"Father forgive them, for they know not what they do."
Lauren Jiloty
Junior
Saint Mary's College
September 5, 2000
All Viewpoint Stories for Wednesday, September 6, 2000
