Hot Topic (8/22): The death penalty--"sick, barbaric folly"?

[Cafe GroupAdmin]

 From the NYDailyNews.com (opinion page): 

Here's a good case for killing the death penalty

Thursday, August 20th 2009, 4:00 AM

Opponents of the death penalty have reason for hope this week. Two high-profile cases are exposing the sick, barbaric folly of execution in America.

When the U.S. resumed executions in 1977, only 16 nations had abolished the death penalty; the number has since grown to 92. Five nations now carry out more than 90% of the world's executions: Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, China - and the United States.

We're in pretty grim company.

But this week, America took a step toward evolving in the direction of the civilized world.

In Georgia, a man on Death Row got an extremely rare ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court.

And in Texas, a high-ranking judge is herself on trial - prosecuted for misconduct after callously refusing to hear the eleventh-hour appeal of a prisoner who was about to be executed.

The latest development in the Georgia case of Troy Anthony Davis is awe-inspiring.

For the first time in 50 years, the justices ordered a federal court to reopen a state murder case - even after a long line of appeals - and hear newly discovered evidence that might exonerate Davis.

As I've written in columns since 2007, the evidence of Davis' innocence is overwhelming. He was convicted in 1991 of the point-blank shooting of a Savannah police officer in a case with scant evidence: There was no murder weapon found, no confession, no fingerprints or other physical evidence.

Davis was sent to Death Row on the strength of nine witnesses. Seven have since recanted in sworn statements, with many claiming police coercion. An eighth witness first told cops he didn't know who the killer was, then "remembered" it was Davis two years later.

And the ninth witness, who originally pointed the finger at Davis, may be the real killer. Three new witnesses now say he was the shooter. (Details about the case are at troyanthonydavis.org.)

It took marches, rallies, media coverage and an active international movement and appeals from well-known people - including former FBI Director Williams Sessions, ex-Rep. Bob Barr (R-Ga.), Desmond Tutu and Pope Benedict - to get the high court to act.

The Supreme Court ruling signals that actual innocence counts for something in a land where so many scream for blood.

Another encouraging scene is unfolding in Texas, where Sharon Keller, presiding judge of the Texas Criminal Court of Appeals, yesterday took the witness stand in her own defense.

Keller has been charged with misconduct by the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct and could be kicked off the bench for her actions on the night in 2007 that the state executed Michael Wayne Richard, a rapist and murderer.

On the day Richard was scheduled to be killed, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered a halt to executions in Kentucky based on a claim that lethal injections might be painful and therefore an unconstitutionally cruel form of punishment.

Richard's lawyers, frantically attempting to stay his execution based on the ruling in the Kentucky case, called Keller's aides shortly before the court's closing time, begging them to keep the court open for 15 to 30 minutes - long enough to allow papers to be filed.

At 4:45 p.m., the request was passed to Keller, who presides over the very last stop for criminal defendants in the Lone Star State.

"We close at 5," she said. Richard was executed at 8:23 that evening. And on the stand yesterday, Keller said that, if faced with the same situation, she'd slam shut the doors of the courthouse again.

That stiff-necked indifference to fairness and justice make Keller - "Killer Keller" to her critics - a poster child, along with Davis, for why we must end the death penalty.

* * *

Your reaction?

What is your opinion of the death penalty?:

Do you think the death penalty is a deterrent to criminals?

 

[CammyLStevens]

You can spout precedence until the cows come home, but when I hear headlines in the news like the one I did today about babies possibly being harmed by their own parents, and over extended periods of time extending beyond even 24 hrs straight of such treatment, and to the point of even death, I am firmly resolved that for some people on the face of this earth, there is a very real possability of NO future redemption of their soul - here on earth or elsewhere.

[SHELL28]

i am in favor of the death penalty...my brother was murdered in 1999..it was a random carjacking and he was killed.... i am going to go to the execution when the time arises which maybe in 2 yrs...i know executing my brothers killer will not bring him back but i don't know why his killer should even be breathing...

the death penalty is far from barbaric!!! the way the perpetrators killed their victims is far more worse then the lethal injection they receive... i wish the law was.."the way you killed your victim is the way you die"  

my brother was carjacked at random, taken to secluded area, shot multiple times left for dead, his killer went back 5 days later and set him on fire...  he has pleaded that he was mentally retarded and it was said he wasnt and he is now on death row..this evil person has caused my family and myself so much pain...not a day goes by i dont miss and think of my brother...

 

[EireLass]

I'm in favor of the death penalty, and feel it's not used enough. I think it should be a public event, as in other countries.  

[nysa76]

When there is a solid case with real evidence, I'm for the death penalty.  Why should Americans spend their hard earned money paying for these violent criminals to live (sometimes better than a  lot of law abiding citizens).  They get 3 meals, cable, weights, educations... for free.  Why should a baby killer/rapist live off  of everyone else?

It's hardly barbaric.  I can almost guarantee that their deaths are a whole lot more pleasant than the ones who suffered at the criminal's hands.

[sassyandy124]

Your reaction? It's unfortunately true that sometimes innocent people are charged, however that doesn't mean the death penalty is bad.

What is your opinion of the death penalty?: It needs to be used FAR FAR more often, and MUCH MUCH quicker.

Do you think the death penalty is a deterrent to criminals? That's a hard question to answer. The popular opinion is no, because death penalty states have just as much if not more crimes than others. BUT until you could actually get a number on how many criminals do NOT commit capital crimes in capital states, it just a guess. There are MANY cases of criminals taking the states death penalty law into consideration before commiting their crimes. i.e. leaving Florida or Tx to commit murder in non death penalty states.

[IhartU]

They should get a fair trial, ONE appeal and then taken right away to await their death. 

[LilCaprica]

I completely agree!!

Quoting CammyLStevens:

You can spout precedence until the cows come home, but when I hear headlines in the news like the one I did today about babies possibly being harmed by their own parents, and over extended periods of time extending beyond even 24 hrs straight of such treatment, and to the point of even death, I am firmly resolved that for some people on the face of this earth, there is a very real possability of NO future redemption of their soul - here on earth or elsewhere.

[mommy2isabella]

If there is strong evidence and or a confession. I'm torn on it. I don't think it should be used for every individual.

But if someone brutally kills someone and shows no remorse then I would hope they would get the death penalty. 

[rocklovinggirl]

I would have said exactly this!

Quoting nysa76:

When there is a solid case with real evidence, I'm for the death penalty.  Why should Americans spend their hard earned money paying for these violent criminals to live (sometimes better than a  lot of law abiding citizens).  They get 3 meals, cable, weights, educations... for free.  Why should a baby killer/rapist live off  of everyone else?

It's hardly barbaric.  I can almost guarantee that their deaths are a whole lot more pleasant than the ones who suffered at the criminal's hands.

[ArmyGal]

I agree with this

Quoting EireLass:

I'm in favor of the death penalty, and feel it's not used enough. I think it should be a public event, as in other countries.