About The Death Penalty

And so the execution of Troy Davis has come and gone. The black twitterverse and Facebook realm was alight with commentary about this execution and about the death penalty in general. I want to take the time out to discuss my opinions in regards to the death penalty.

The death penalty as "punishment" or "justice" has been around for about as long as humans have been on the planet. I would suppose that other species have death penalties but I don't know that they are actually capable of projecting the concept of "justice" into the future as a consequence of past behavior. Various means of implementing such punishment has come in many forms. The Guillotine being particularly famous but also including death by burning, drowning, stoning, etc.

What generally separates the death penalty in the past from today is that in the past such a punishment was meted out by the community and in front of the community. The consequences of actions that warranted death were generally known and approved of by the community and so there was often not a problem with implementing it. Witness stoning: Done by a community. Burnings: Community events. Also many times the bodies of those who have paid this price are left in public areas as reminders to the community that the community will deal will those who break the rules. It cannot be argued that such a participatory punishment and public reminder had a deterrent effect on those who were more amenable to visual re-enforcement.

A lot of these same societies also didn't have prisons the way we have them now. Personally I think it was due to the clear example of "community justice". Rather than pay to have people locked up somewhere punishment for crimes usually came in the form of servitude (Note that this is how many African-Americans got to the Americas). Those crimes that were deemed too horrible for such punishment ended up being executed. This was often for the safety of the community. You can't have someone who is determined to kill just wandering about.

Today though we house death row inmates away from the eyes of the public. Out of sight out of mind until perhaps the day of execution where there is a news report about it. The place where the condemned is strapped to a table (or chair) behind a partition. A few people, reporters, victim's family and perhaps some state officials get to watch the actual execution. The public can go their entire life not having actually seen the execution much less have to bother with actually participating in the act supposedly done on their behalf and safety. But that's not so strange for a modern society that is very removed from the facts of life. Rather than actually killing our meat for consumption we "outsource" it to farmers and we just have to walk into a store and pick up the end result. Never do we have to actually have our hand in the process. This disconnect from the actual process of execution and it's original intent in small communities (where everybody knows your name) is part of why we can question the practice.

This brings us to the common comment that the death penalty does not deter crime. Proponents of this line of thinking believe that since crimes that qualify for the death penalty still occur (or increase) that therefore there is no deterrent. The problem with this line of thinking is that I have not seen any research presented where they have actually found people who have not committed a crime because they knew the consequences. That is we simply do not know who among us has thought of committing a crime and thought 'you know what...shit's not worth it." For example, there are many people who have considered killing their boss. Some have ruminated on how it could be done and most of those are stopped by the realization that they are likely to get caught and killed (death penalty) and therefore they quit their job and go onto greener pastures. These persons are not included in the "deterrent" argument because they are not included in the research.

Furthermore; how many people who have been convicted of crimes like robbery with a weapon committed the felony with a gun with no bullets because they did not want to trigger harsher punishment? How many people were in a group committing a felony like assault but were put off when a member of a group actually kills the victim? How do we know that person was not aware that such an action has now put him or her in jeopardy of far worse punishment, like the death penalty, than the "simple" assault would have resulted in?

How many suspects who upon discovering that the crime they are being charged with is a capital offense then give up valuable information as to the actual person who committed the crime in question? Is that not an "effective use" of the death penalty?

Furthermore no amount of laws will stop a person who is hell bent on doing whatever it is he or she wants to do. There are plenty of laws against child pornography. Well known too. Still though men get caught with images of children on their computers and they KNOW that it is illegal. Should we scrap laws against possession of child pornography because a segment of the population isn't deterred?

There is a law against assault. Well known. No death penalty involved. Yet and still thousands of assaults happen every year. Perhaps we should scrap the punishment for that since clearly it's not stopping people from committing that crime.

I could go on and on like Badu but the point is clear, deterrence is about the general population and signalling those who may be considering crossing the line. No punishment or consequence will deter those who simply don't give a damn. And personally I don't want those who don' give a damn walking around.

The third argument I've seen put forth against the death penalty is the "redemption" argument. People change and therefore killing them is immoral. I think this argument holds little water. People who like to kill rarely show redemption until the full consequences of their actions are brought to bear. As a matter of fact I argue that in general people are not redemptive until they have consequences brought to bear. Still though I agree that people can change while in prison. I simply do not agree that such a change constitutes a valid argument against the death penalty. I think a person who has redeemed his or herself after the fact ought to come to grips with the idea that they still have caused harm to the community and that by accepting the consequences of that harm they serve as an example to the rest of the community that there is no escape from such consequences.

Let me pause here and state that this is against what most people who are Christian believe in. That is that man is redeemed by the blood of Christ who bore the death consequence of sin thereby allowing the sinner (criminal) a reprieve from these consequences. I refute this particular belief based on the the events at Calvary. When Christ was crucified he was hung with two thieves (I don't think theft should result in capital punishment). The thief on the cross made his last minute statement of belief and Jesus said something to the effect that the thief was "with him" in glory or heaven or whatever. That is that the thief was essentially forgiven and had secured himself a place in the afterlife. However; the thief STILL had to pay the earthly consequences for his actions. Jesus didn't up and say "In that case, my man... come up off this cross right here and sin no more. I got you."

So I think the Christian argument of redemption falls short even if it pulls at the heartstrings and concepts of righteousness.

Lastly we have the issue of racism. It was of particular interest to me that while folks were up in arms over Troy Davis they had little to say about the killer of James Byrd Jr. who was also executed that night. If one is entirely against the death penalty then my twitter timeline and Facebook feed ought to have been filled with equal amounts of dismay over the state execution of Byrd Jr's killer. it was not. The reason for this is that I don't think people are really that bothered by the death penalty. Only a handful of people, including myself raised major opposition to the summary execution of Osama Bin Ladin. Which is relevant because again, if the state has no business executing a murderer, then the US military had no grounds to execute OBL. Gotta be consistent folks.

But the racism angle is important. It is a fact that black men and women face harsher penalties for various crimes. It is a fact that the poor, which black men and women are disproportionately classified do not get the kind of representation in court that could result in far different sentencing (see OJ Simpson and DSK as recent examples of the wealth effect). Knowing this many oppose the death penalty because it is unfairly practiced. Of course the question then is the problem the death penalty or the racism? I say that the problem is the racism and that when you address the racism you then address the disparities in it's implementation. There are a number of things that can be done to accommodate the racism that people bring to the criminal justice system. And let me stress this because people make the mistake of saying the justice system is "racist".

Indeed there was a time when the justice system was specifically racist. There were actual laws on the books directed specifically at black folks. Laws specifically made to regulate black folks behavior and to decriminalize negative behavior towards them. Under such a system there was no doubt that the system itself was racist in fact and in intent. I challenge people to find such laws on the books today. The fact is that the racism we see in the justice system stems specifically from the persons within it. The DA's, the court appointed lawyers and the policeman on the street. But more than anything, the justice system is classist. The better represented you are the more likely you will successfully navigate the system. Success being the lightest possible punishment if any. Clearly those with money and access have more means to vigorously assert their rights and privileges, while those who do not have to depend on the whims of those holding the keys. That is, the laws are neutral, the implementation of them is subject to the machinations of the people. It's like the argument that people have about Taxes. Taxes aren't bad, it's what's done with them that's an issue.

There are those who will say I'm full of shit because prisons are full of black men and women. I only point out the class status of the majority of those persons, not to mention that by the numbers there are not only equal numbers of whites and blacks in the federal system (state is a whole other beast) but those persons represent a relatively small portion of the black population as a whole. And yes, I am aware of The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander. I'm not saying that you don't have a process, starting roughly in early schooling, that makes a path to prison more probable. That is certainly and indisputably the case. It is simply my contention that the 'justice system is racist" is an easy out for the complex interplay of situations that lands one in prison. For example: Why was Troy Davis hanging out with people who beat up on homeless people? or apparently got into fights with people? Do you hang out with folks like that? No? That's why you're not in prison. Generally speaking, in America racist use the justice system for their own ends, like any other organized group.But that is getting off the point.

The point being I don't think it's proper to predicate one's objection to the death penalty on the basis of racism. Oppose racism simply because it infects everything it touches, but you don't cut off your arm because your finger has gangrene. I don't see many of these folks arguing for elimination of the police because they are racist.

Lastly we have the non-violence principle argument against the death penalty. I'll only buy that argument from people who take that non-violence seriously. And to take that seriously that means you offer no resistance, zero, nada, to anyone who seeks to harm you. That would also mean eliminating any firearms for police. I don't know too many people who are so principled in their attachment to non-violence that they are willing to not defend themselves against assault. If you are one of those persons then I will not argue about the death penalty because at least you are being consistent.