Is This Justice?

Later this week, a man named Troy Davis(pictured below) is set to be executed in Georgia. Davis was convicted of killing a police officer in Savannah in 1991. The hard evidence against him was pretty much non-existent. There was another man involved in the situation that was more than likely the killer, but the police department had apparently made up their minds and convinced nine witnesses to testify against Mr. Troy Davis. Since the trial, 7 of the 9 witnesses have recanted their testimony. Due to this and the lack of physical evidence, a date for execution has been set four times. The previous three times the execution was cancelled due to the doubt surrounding his case. For more information on Mr. Davis case go to justicefortroy.org.

I have a big problem with the death penalty for many reasons and I wanted to write about a few of them.

Death Is Permanent! When you kill someone as a means of justice you are telling this person that he is not forgiven, his life no longer holds value, and that there is no chance that the accusations could be false. Those are pretty tough things to prove to me. I don't know any proven examples, but I wonder how many people have been executed by the government for crimes they did not commit.

There are examples, however, of people on death row being released. One example of this was in Arizona, Ray Krone spent 10 years in prison before being released in 2002 on a murder charge. DNA tests proved his innocence.  According to Amnesty International, he was the 100th person to be released from death row since 1973.

In my personal opinion, one innocent man killed by the government is unacceptable. There is no reason to take that chance when life in prison is an option. Convictions of innocent people do happen, this is unfortunate, but we shouldn't pretend it doesn't. Due to this fact, the death penalty should be off the table.

It costs more money to execute a prisoner. The costs of trying cases in which the death penalty are higher than those that are not seeking capitol punishment. Even without the costs of all the appeals after the convictions, the costs are higher.
According to Amnesty International about my home state of Kansas:
"A 2003 legislative audit in Kansas found that the estimated cost of a death penalty case was 70% more than the cost of a comparable non-death penalty case. Death penalty case costs were counted through to execution (median cost $1.26 million). Non-death penalty case costs were counted through to the end of incarceration (median cost $740,000)."

I don't want to turn this into a religious debate, but I wanted to point out a few things regarding popular religions. Most of the major religions in the world(quite possibly all of them) believe in forgiveness. Christianity is the religion claimed by most Americans. Christianity follows the teachings of Jesus Christ. One of the more profound quotes credited to Jesus was when he came across a person about to be stoned to death. He told the crowd that "He without sin shall cast the first stone." This is very clear. According to Christianity, we are born with sin, therefore, only God himself can put to death anyone. Another teaching of Jesus was to "turn the other cheek."

I know there is a difference between punishment and security. I believe, as a society, we are able to do things that ensure the safety of its people, which is why having people in prison was begun. This is not always successful, but when someone is believed to be a threat to society, they should not be allowed back in it. At times, we have moved toward a "mob mentality" when it comes to punishing criminals and we forget about the fact that these are people too. It is also easier as a society to condemn people to death when we do not see it or hear about it. How would we feel about it if each execution were broadcast throughout the country on NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX?

There are eight, yes 8, people scheduled for execution in the US this month, including four this week. Of those four, two are in Texas, one in Alabama, and Mr. Davis here in Georgia. There are 3 more executions scheduled for next week. Most likely, most of these people did commit the crimes they were convicted of, but what authority are we giving our own government when we give other human beings the legal right to kill its citizens?

Abolish the death penalty throughout the US. It is not worth it. As for those who are on death row, it's simple. They can be given life sentences without parole and still not be a threat to society. If you agree that the death penalty is wrong in all circumstances, help write to policy makers in your state if it is still legal. If you agree that the death penalty should be used less, but still reserved for certain cases, make sure your voice is heard as well. Our leaders do not know your views unless you tell them. Write, vote, and spread the word.

UPDATE: Troy Davis was executed Wednesday night in Jackson, GA by lethal injection. Right before his execution, before the family of the slain officer, with nothing to lose or hide, he again claimed he was innocent as he has since being charged with the murder.

Please, don't let this happen again.