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Sophie DeBacker

Jeanette Parker

3rd Hour

14 March 2018

Life or Death

As of January 1, 2018, there are 2,816 death row inmates in the United States alone

(DPIC). In the small town of Spring Arbor where I reside, the population is around 2,928 people.

That means if most of this population were the inmates on death row currently, there would only

be 112 people left in Spring Arbor after

execution. An enormous number of lives

to be taken.

This is the most severe form of

punishment, the death penalty. Also

known as capital punishment, it is the

most severe form of government

punishment as it is requires a law

enforcement officers to execute the

offender. The death penalty continues to be an

issue of controversy and is an issue that will be

Rogers, Rob. “Political Cartoons.” Windows
debated in the United States for many years to
on Death Row, 2005
come. As a society we need to come to a compromise over how to effectively punish those who

have committed murder with those who think it is morally wrong to kill someone no matter the

circumstance.
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The death penalty was first established by laws that date as far back as the Eighteenth

Century B.C. in the Code of King Hammurabi of Babylon, which set the death penalty for 25

different crimes. The death penalty was also part of the Seventh Century B.C.'s Draconian Code

of Athens, which made death the only punishment for all crimes; and in the Fifth Century B.C.'s

Roman Law of the Twelve Tablets. Death sentences were carried out by drowning, crucifixion,

burning alive, beating to death, and impalement (DPIC). Hanging became the most common

form of execution in Britain during the Tenth Century, although the following years executions

were put on hold when William the Conqueror came into power. Ironically this did not last long,

as the Sixteenth Century came about, under the reign of Henry VIII. As many as 72,000 people

are estimated to have been executed. Some common methods of execution at that time were

burning at the stake, boiling, beheading, hanging, and drawing and quartering. Executions were

carried out for such crimes as marrying a Jew, lying about a crime, and treason (DPIC).

Britain influenced America's use of the death penalty more than any other country. When

European settlers came to the new world, they brought the use of capital punishment. The first

recorded execution in the new colonies was that of Captain George Kendall in the Jamestown

colony of Virginia in 1608 (DPIC). In 1846, Michigan became the first state to abolish the death

penalty for all crimes except treason. Although some states abolished the death penalty in the

mid-Nineteenth Century, it was actually the first half of the Twentieth Century that marked the

beginning of change in the United States. From the 1920s to the 1940s, there was a resurgence in

the use of the death penalty because it was argued to be a necessary social mesure during the

Prohibition and Great Depression. There were more executions in the 1930s than in any other

decade in American history, an average of 167 per year.

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Although the death penalty was suspended after 1972 due to Furman v. Georgia, Jackson

v. Georgia, and Branch v. Texas cases on arbitrary, it would soon be reinstated across most states

in 1976, after the Supreme Court held that the death penalty itself was constitutional under the

Eighth Amendment. Opinions and legalization of capital punishment have swayed up and down

for years on end and still do, but today, 31 states in the US have the death penalty, along with 58

countries across the globe (DPIC).

The death penalty is charged to those in the United States who are some of the poorest,

most powerless, most categorized people in society. Many have significant disabilities or suffer

from severe mental illnesses. Many others were the victims of horrid physical, sexual, and

psychological abuse during their childhoods and lived on the outskirts of society before their

arrests. Others are just plain innocent, wrongly convicted (Cohen, Andrew). These are many of

the people selected for execution. Other than society as a whole, those specifically involved in

this concern are the families of both the victim and the convicted (Holloway, Philip). Despite this

overwhelming pile of opinions in the current global trend against capital punishment, there are

many valid reasons as to why to keep the death penalty around for a little while longer.

One survivor of the April 13th Boston Marathon bombing shared her opinion in Time

magazine online. An innocent woman named Adrianne Haslet- Davis, subjected to a random

terrorist attack, resulting in the loss of this ballroom dancer’s left leg. Along with her husband,

she survived, but faced a brutal recovery after this horrendous attack. 264 injured others held on

to survive along with her, but 4 were not so lucky. Adrianne knew she wanted her attacker to

face the death penalty. She believed in her heart the terrorist knew exactly what he was doing

that day, and possibly months before hand. Among other things, he used a weapon of mass

destruction to intentionally harm and kill people. “You can’t use a weapon of mass destruction in
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the United States and not think that if you succeed, you’re going to face a federal jury and the

possibility of the death penalty” (Haslet-Davis, Adrianne). Adrianne stated in her article. “It must

have been nice for him to be surrounded by a courtroom full of people fighting about whether he

should live or die. None of us in Boston that day had such a luxury” (Haslet-Davis, Adrianne).

This is another huge argument that is brought up by Adrianne - choice. The victims of this

horrible attack did not have a choice as to what would happen that day. Same with victims of

school shootings or random acts of injustice. These criminals are going into these situations with

means of malicious intent. In Francis Duggans short sonnet, a line reads “All murder is wrong

that you do not deny, but in the laws of your Government a life for a life does apply.” Although

this is a contradicting statement, in this case Adrianne feels justice is to be done for the loss of so

many innocent men, women, and children. Many survivors of the community and supporters of

capital punishment feel like it offers a sense of justice being done. It helps to bring closure to

those who lost loved ones to the hands of these horrible people.

Many families of victims, and victims themselves think that the death penalty should

continue to be legal, just like Adrianne Haslet- Davis. They believe that it plays an important role

in our fight against crime and punishment of the perpetrators of those crimes (Anderson, Dave).

Not only is the death penalty supported by many in society, but there are rules already set in

place saying that the death penalty is legal. The Constitution of the United States, more

specifically through the application of the Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments permits the

use of the death penalty in appropriate cases (Anderson, Dave). There were, most notably in the

1960s, several attempts made to declare the use of the death penalty unconstitutional based on

that fact that it was ‘cruel and unusual’ and therefore contrary to the Eighth Amendment. The

1958 Supreme Court case of Trop V Dulleswhile while not a death penalty case, interpreted the
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Eighth Amendment as containing an ‘evolving standard of decency that marked the progress of a

maturing society’. This statement was used as a basis for the abolitionist campaign. 10 years

later in 1968 in US v Jackson the Supreme Court started to consider the practical application of

the death penalty ruling that the death penalty could be imposed even when not recommended by

a Jury (Anderson, Dave). The death penalty has therefore been challenged, but at the end found

to be legal and constitutional. There is no reason for the death penalty to be suspended, which

the supporting side uses against the opposing. Studies undertaken over a number of years show,

that between 3 and 18 lives could actually be saved by each execution of a guilty killer. Results

from the University of Colorado in Denver show that an execution saves 5 lives while the

commuting of a death sentence results in about five more (Anderson, Dave). The reasoning is

simple, if the costs of doing something become too high, people will change their behavior to

avoid those costs. If the cost is reduced or minimal, people will start the behavior again.

One large issue that looms in the air about the death penalty is that many are wrongly

convicted, and innocent lives are taken. Although this can be true, there is a very small chance of

executing the wrong person, and it is balanced by the benefits to society taking so long to convict

other murders. Something to keep in mind is that while mistakes can occur in any judicial

system, the likelihood of mistakes in any case, precautions can be taken to protect against them.

The standard of proof required in death penalty cases is very high and death penalty juries take

their responsibilities very seriously. Any person convicted of a death penalty crime has the

automatic right to a funded appeal to a higher court. The checks and balances designed into the

system ensure that the chances of a mistake are very low indeed. Indeed prisoners are 6 times

more likely to be released from death row on appeal than walk the route to the execution

chamber (Anderson, Dave).

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The death penalty is also the only rational and moral response to some crimes. It helps

those victims of malicious intent have closure, and also gives a fair ending to the person

convicted of the crime. It is easy to feel sorry for someone in an orange suit who says they are

sorry, crying, and repeating this phrase over, and over again. But at the end of the day they did

commit a horrendous act to be considered for a punishment like this. In order to find yourself on

death row, you don’t just commit a normal crime. You have to be a cruel, and violent person to

end the life of an innocent human being. Some believe it is only fair if those people are punished

proportional to the crimes they commit. Those for capital punishment believe it helps to act as a

deterrent to others who might wish to commit such horrible crimes.

Over 1,000 state prisoners are on death row in America today. A Justice Department

official recently said that many of them are exhausting their appeals and that we may soon

"witness executions at a rate approaching the more than three per week that prevailed during the

1930's" (Meehan, Mary). There are many arguments as to why we should not have the death

penalty, things such as it is cruel, inhumane, expensive, and does not bring the families of the

convicted any closure. These are very typical arguments used against capital punishment, yet

also very understandable because most are proven to be true.

The reason that the death penalty is so expensive is because of the very beginning, or

what some may say, the trials. This is because of the multiple appeal processes that death row

criminals are promised. These appeals serve as a guard against putting an innocent person to

death, which is a whole other argument. Judges, prosecutors, public defenders, court reporters,

jurors, bailiffs and other courtroom staff are all needed just to conduct a trial, and that means

spending a lot of money from state coffers that could have been used elsewhere (Holloway,

Philip). This graph represents California, the state with the most death row inmates in America
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(The Cost of Death). This is the same case for nearly all of the 35 states that still enact the death

penalty. By spending money when there is a much more affordable option, we are taking the

harder path and making these states responsible for themselves. Numerous studies have found

that death penalty criminal litigation costs taxpayers far more than prosecutions seeking life

without parole. For example, in Colorado,

where the Holmes jury now has to spend the

next several weeks hearing evidence, the state

will shell out approximately $3.5 million, as

opposed to an average of $150,000 if the state

had not sought the death penalty, according to

the American Civil Liberties Union (Holloway,

Philip).

As well as being very expensive, it

can be very difficult for families and people

“The Cost of the Death Penalty.” The Cost
related to the subject to cope when the
of Death, 9 Dec. 2011,
judicial system comes across a mistake every once and awhile, like executing an innocent. An

example of this happening is with a witness against the death penalty before the Senate

committee last year named Earl Charles. He spent over three years on a Georgia death row for

murders he did not commit. Another witness remarked that, had Mr. Charles faced a system

"where the legal apparatus was speedier and the death penalty had been carried out more

expeditiously, we would now be talking about the late Mr. Charles and bemoaning our error”

(Meehan, Mary). Imagine what would of happened if the death penalty was carried out on Earl
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Charles? Then the issue comes about having to cope with the potential widow and child/children

of the innocent person convicted.

In an interview with current Blackman Township Police Officer, Rick Gillespie, he talked

about how he deals with convicted felons every year and has strong opinions on the death

penalty. When addressing the issue of innocent people mistakenly being executed and the

possibility now being eliminated, he responded, “If there is a reason that I would be against the

death penalty, this would be it; executing an innocent person. This has happened and it’s the

worse thing that could ever happen. If I knew there was a possibility of executing one innocent

person, I would abolish the death penalty all together. To answer the question though, I'm not

certain the possibility has been eliminated. Remember, its guilty beyond a reasonable doubt,

which is not an absolute. There will always be human error.” In a short poem written by Alan

Balter called “Death Penalty” a stanza states:

A jury found him guilty in two hours,

And no one wondered if the fault was his or ours

No delays or stays of execution

How sweet they are, revenge and retribution

These short sentences put the families of the accused and the victims thoughts into words.

The fact is that innocent people are convicted and sometimes end up on death row. There are

multiple horrible stories of victims who were convicted of crimes they did not commit. There

have been 154 verified cases of death row exonerations since 1973 (Holloway, Philip).

Deterrence of crime has also failed by using capital punishment, other than what some

people say. "It is very clear that deterrents are not effective in the area of capital punishment,"
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said Dr. Jonathan Groner, an associate professor of surgery at Ohio State University College of

Medicine and Public Health who researches the deterrent effect of capital punishment. Deterrents

may work in instances where the punishment is obvious and immediate, neither of which are true

for the death penalty (DPIC). Speaking on this subject, this is why this punishment is also very

hard for families of the accused. Death penalty cases on average take 25 years or so to reach the

ultimate conclusion, whether it be the punishment of the death sentence, a reversal or something

else (Holloway, Philip). Many family members and loved ones of murder victims often find

themselves caught in the justice system for an extremely long time. In fact, in Colorado, the trial

portion of the process alone is six times longer than if the state were seeking life without parole

(Holloway, Philip). In the song “Ellis Unit (U1)”, the writer Steve Earle sings a melody from the

view as a prison guard working at a prison in Huntsville, Texas. He addresses the sounds before

execution and the pain those close to the convicted feel. A line specifically sung says, “And I've

heard their mamas cryin' when they heard that big door slam. And I've seen the victim's family

holdin' hands”.

Gillespie also talked about the hard question of if the death penalty really does put a stop

to crime. “In some instances I’m sure it is a deterrent, but overall I don’t believe it would be. The

death penalty for the most part only applies to murder, except for a few federal offenses. In

saying that, murder is typically a crime of passion or is impulsive and can even be out of

necessity for the criminal (at least in their minds). Therefore they are more than likely not

concerned about the consequences or believe they will not get caught, which means it probably

wouldn’t be a deterrent. There are countries that will sentence you to death for a lot less, without

due process, so I'm certain it's a deterrent there.” Along these lines, Heather Mizeur spoke on the

house floor when attempting to appeal Maryland’s death penalty and stated, “A national survey
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to our chiefs of police ranked the death penalty as one of the least effective ways to reduce

violent crime”.

Many people believe that the death penalty is wrong, while many others believe it is the

proper punishment for certain crimes. What if there was a way to create a compromise to protect

the innocent by reducing the punishment and those who believe that the death penalty is

necessary for certain crimes? In a Bilerico Project article, Don Davis discusses if we really can

find a compromise and suggests his opinion, “If you want to execute someone who is facing an

aggravated murder or other capital charge, instead of ‘guilt beyond a reasonable doubt’ require

‘guilt beyond all doubt’ He goes on to explain that if you can’t get guilt beyond all doubt, but

you can prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, then you shouldn’t be allowed to impose a

sentence to a criminal any harsher than life without parole. This argument is prone to backlash,

since a large amount of proof is needed before invoking the death penalty. This will make it

almost impossible to have executions at all. “The entire purpose of this plan is to make

executions an extraordinarily rare occurrence and to move just about everyone on Death Rows

nationwide to a ‘life without parole’ future” (Davis, Don). Life without parole is technically a

solution to the death penalty, and one of the only logical ones. The problem with this is that

many argue against this so called “solution” saying it is not a harsh enough punishment. This

argument once again brings this back to a neutral possible solution to the issue between what is

too much, and not enough. Many believe that these solutions are somewhat irreconcilable, but

Edward Blackadder gives an abnormal, but technically possible solution that we can think on.

“Instead of killing convicted murders, we use modern medical science to place them in an

induced coma for the rest of their lives. This would respect the inviolability of human life, since

we would not kill anyone.” A well thought out suggestion made by Blackadder enables us to
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wake the person up if found innocent, and on the other hand if not, his life would technically be

over because he would be in a coma. This would also help bring closure to the criminals family,

because his body would still be alive and breathing, but to the prisoner, he would be dead by not

living for himself. This is a compromise that most could find satisfactory. Although this could be

a potential solution, don’t count on it coming about anytime soon. This punishment would cost

the government billions of dollars, almost as much, if not more than the death penalty itself.

Capital punishment is a very controversial issue and will continue to be for many years to

come. Some would say that, regardless of what evils a person has done, it is not right to kill him.

They make the argument that you can’t get the person back if you wrongly convict them, and

that it is too expensive. Other people claim that we must take from the criminal something equal

of what they took from their victim. This is done for closer, justice or in order to potentially stop

future crimes. As a society, we know there are alternatives and compromises we can make to try

and suit both sides. In any situation, there will always be people who will fight against whatever

decision is made in the future. J.R.R. Tolkien says in The Fellowship of the Ring, “Many that

live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too

eager to deal out death in judgement.” This food for thought keeps us questioning ourselves as to

what really is the right choice when it comes to capital punishment. The justice system of the

United States, and many around the world are not perfect, and never will be, along with the death

penalty. While the reasons for anti-capital punishment arguments is evident, the reasons for pro-

capital punishment arguments is also very obvious. As a society, we can come to the conclusion

that criminals who have murdered other human beings have, in their actions, given up their rights

as Americans, and deserve some sort of consequence because of their actions.

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Works Cited

Anderson, Dave. “10 Reasons The Death Penalty Should Be Legal in all States.” Top 10 Lists |

ListLand.Com, 21 Feb. 2016,

www.listland.com/10-reasons-the-death-penalty-should-be-legal/

Balter, Alan. “Death Penalty.” Poem by alan balter, 2017,

www.poetrysoup.com/poem/death_penalty_937511.

Blackadder, Edward. “The Death Penalty: A Compromise.” Vox Nova, 29 Apr. 2008,

www.patheos.com/blogs/voxnova/2008/04/29/the-death-penalty-a-compromise/.
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Cohen, Andrew. “The Problems With the Death Penalty Are Already Crystal Clear.” The

Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 5 May 2014,

www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/05/we-already-know-whats-wrong-with-the-death-

penalty/361635/

Davis, Don. “Is There a Death Penalty Compromise?” Bilerico Report / LGBTQ Nation,

bilerico.lgbtqnation.com/2011/09/is_there_a_death_penalty_compromise.php.

DPIC. “Number of Death Row Inmates Declined for Fourth Year

During 2004.” PsycEXTRA Dataset, doi:10.1037/e499792006-001.

DPIC. “Part I: History of the Death Penalty.” Part I: History of the Death Penalty | Death

Penalty Information Center, deathpenaltyinfo.org/part-i-history-death-penalty.

Duggan, Francis. “The Death Penalty Is Murder.” PoemHunter.com, 11 Feb. 2010

www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-death-penalty-is-murder/.

Earle, Steve. YouTube, YouTube, 27 Nov. 2012,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1G3k4iF094.

Gillespie, Rick. Personal Interview. 21 February 2018.

Haslet-Davis, Adrianne. “Why The Death Penalty Should Live.” Time, Time, 28 May 2015,

time.com/3899556/why-the-death-penalty-should-live/.

Holloway, Philip. “Death penalty: Why America needs a rethink.” CNN, 26 July 2015,

www.cnn.com/2015/07/17/opinions/holloway-death-penalty-future/index.html.

Meehan, Mary. “10 reasons to oppose the death penalty.” America Magazine, 14 Dec. 2017,

www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/1982/11/20/10-reasons-oppose-death-

penalty.

Mizeur, Heather Mizeur. YouTube, YouTube, 26 Mar. 2013,

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www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5Jrg4MVPDQ&feature=youtu.be.

Rogers, Rob. “Political Cartoons.” Windows on Death Row, 2005,

www.windowsondeathrow.com/political-cartoons/#/rob-rogers/.

The Cost of Death. “The Cost of the Death Penalty.” The Cost of Death, 9 Dec. 2011,

deathpenaltyfacts.wordpress.com/the-cost-of-the-death-penalty-3/.

Tolkien, J.R.R. “Quotes About Death Penalty (48 quotes).” (48 quotes),

www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/death-penalty.