Death Knell for Death Penalty
Politics — Posted on December 13, 2007 at 3:48 pmJust ran across this story that N.J. is expected to repeal the death penalty: “New Jersey is set to become the first state to legislatively abolish the death penalty since the Supreme Court restored it in the mid-1970s. Opponents of capital punishment hope the state’s action may prompt a rethinking of the moral and practical implications of the practice in other states.”
This is an important step for the country in keeping up with international norms. If death isn’t cruel and unusual, I don’t know what is.
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Thank you for bringing this to my attention and congratulations to New Jersey for leading the way. I too am against the death penalty and believe that Ohio should abolish it as well. For those interested in this subject I highly recommend a work called Lucasville,The Untold Story of a Prison Uprising. It has been said that this book could serve as a textbook for what is wrong with the death penalty. It is written by the Mahoning Valley’s own Staughton Lynd. Staughton Lynd is truly a hero for our time. He has been a scholar-activist all of his life. he was the director of the Freedom Schools in the 1964 Mississippi Summer Project. He is a lawyer for the people if there ever was one. He continues to this day to work towards the abolition of the death penalty. For more info visit the Ohio ACLU.
I understand that it’s cruel and unusual, but the criminal act of murder is also cruel and unusual. Abolishment of the death penalty does not bring back the dead victim.
I resent having to spend tax dollars to support these incarcerated murderers for their entire life. Is there some way to make the prisons self-supporting?
Regarding cost: from NCADP: It costs far more to execute a person than to keep him or her in prison for life. A recent New Jersey Policy Perspectives report concluded that the state’s death penalty has cost taxpayers $253 million since 1983, a figure that is over and above the costs that would have been incurred had the state utilized a sentence of life without parole instead of death. “From a strictly financial perspective, it is hard to reach a conclusion other than this: New Jersey taxpayers over the last 23 years have paid more than a quarter billion dollars on a capital punishment system that has executed no one,” the report concluded. Michael Murphy, former Morris County, NJ prosecutor, remarked: “If you were to ask me how $11 million a year could best protect the people of New Jersey, I would tell you by giving the law enforcement community more resources. I’m not interested in hypothetical or abstractions, I want the tools for law enforcement to do their job, and $11 million can buy a lot of tools.”
Regarding justice: Nor will killing the perpetrator bring back the dead victim. Since that’s not possible, we have to figure out what society we want to live in. My preference is not eye for an eye.
I just finished listening to Amy Goodman “DemocracyNow” (.org) from Friday Dec. 14th where she had a segment about the NJ death penalty decision. The NJ governor will approve the measure next week to abolish the death penalty, the first state to abolish it in 40 years. The commission concluded that the “death penalty was expensive, did not have a deterrent effect and risked killing an innocent person. The death penalty was inconsistent with evolving standards of decency.” Past tense in NJ…
I started the comments below this morning and put it aside while I attended a local meeting of LOOP (Loved Ones of Prisoners). I am marginally involved with this group, though have only been to 3 meetings. I was part of a vigil at OSP (Ohio State Penitentiary) last year on MLK weekend and was an organizer for the Lucasville performances (more later). So now I return to my post:
It is a myth that it costs more to house someone for life in prison without parole than it is to execute them. It is also a myth that the death penalty is a deterrent to murder. These are my beliefs as “death penalty, yes or no” is as much an emotional issue as a moral one. I am not a Christian and have never had someone close to me murdered, but had an amazingly ordinary experience that solidified my belief that “state-justifiable homicide” is an egregious excuse to stop people from killing. “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind” Gandhi.
In a discussion about the death penalty with a Catholic friend last year, she asked “What would you do if it was your daughter?” I said that I would be horrified and couldn’t imagine how I’d react and “What would Jesus Do?” She immediately said “Forgive” and I replied, “That’s all anyone of us can aspire to do.” It doesn’t sound as profound in print but it was astounding to me.
So last year I was an organizer with the Lucasville project where a troupe of actors performed a dramatic play based on Staughton Lynd’s Book “Lucasville: The Untold Story of a Prison Uprising” in 7 cities in Ohio, beginning with a performance in Portsmouth (near the Lucasville prison) on the 14th anniversary (April 11, 2007) and culminating with a performance at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Youngstown on April 29. Much controversy (and support) was generated by this tour in the media and in personal discussions. And that’s a good thing!
I googled Death penalty in Ohio this morning and came across these websites/articles:
This website offers for/against arguments of the death penalty issue and general history:
http://www.lwvcincinnati.org/publications/DeathPenalty.html
An interesting article describing the ABA’s (American Bar Association) opposition as well as religious communities’ oppositions around the state.
http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/articles/2007/11/15/news/local/bcover1116.txt
Did you know that there are 150 of the state’s 187 death-row inmates housed at the Ohio State Penitentiary (OSP – http://www.drc.state.oh.us/Public/osp.htm), a few miles East of Youngstown on state Route 616? I think most people are unaware of this.
LOOP and the Cleveland Lucasville 5 Defense Committee and CURE-Ohio and other organizations will be hosting a press conference/MLK afternoon of activism on Saturday January 19th at the St. Augustine Episcopal Church on Parmalee (turn at St. Elizabeth Emergency sign). Time and exact details not yet finalized.
And next April, all across the state of Ohio on the 15th anniversary of the Lucasville uprising, there will be dramatic readings of Staughton Lynd’s Lucasville play, revised and updated with collaboration from local director and actor Chris Fidram, who played Jason Robb in last year’s performances.
I will keep all my activist friends informed of these events.
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Peace.