I want to introduce my topic of the DEATH PENALTY DUN DUN DUN!
I chose this topic because it has been something I have struggled with as a topic for a long time. I am very passionate about criminal justice reform and how our current system exploits the poor and POC in a horrific way, and I feel called to work to reform our policy and end systematic violence. I am a social work major, and after I graduate with my BSW (inshallah), then I will move forward with my MSW and hopefully specialize in criminal justice reform. This is a topic I feel motivated to discuss and it felt perfect for this assignment.
I chose this book, Debating the Death Penalty: Should America Have Capital Punishment? The Experts on Both Sides Make Their Best Case, because I felt that I had formed an opinion based on little evidence, and I felt that the best way to ensure that I was being informed in an objective way (but is there even such thing as an objective reality???). This felt like the best book that I could find because each chapter focuses on the arguments of people in various sectors of life or careers who have in some way been impacted or impacted the justice system/death penalty.
This ties in to my vocation because this is obviously something I am interested in and it plays a massive role in our society today, so I need to be informed on the topic. This topic definitely poses a variety of ethical questions, so it is relevant to the discussion and goals of our class.
My book, Debating the Death Penalty: Should America Have Capital Punishment? highlights key arguments made on both isles of the discussion. Each chapter alternates between a pro-death penalty and an anti-death penalty proponents. Over the course of the next 4 summaries, I will address 2 chapters each - giving the reader a view of both arguments.
Chapter 1 - Tinkering With Death - Alex Kozinski
This chapter is from the perspective of a judge in Virginia named Alex Kozinski. He is pro-death penalty. In this chapter, he explains his experience as he waits for the death of a prisoner he ordered the death sentence for. Kozinski writes this essay during the night a constituent of his territories was scheduled to die. As he tossed and turned all night, he struggled with whether or not he had made the right decision. He argues that the Supreme Court has legitimized and legalized the death penalty and by not upholding it and carrying it out appropriately , any opposing judge is technically breaking the law and the oath that they swore when they took bench. Additionally, he considers himself an advocate for the victims and their families - by not allowing perpetrators reduce their sentences and, by upholding the death penalty, he is allowing the victims to truly get the justice that they deserve. he feels a responsibility to those who cannot advocate for themselves, and he feels call to do unto murderers what they would do unto their prey. After all, he says, victims and their families are usually the strongest supporters of the death penalty. However, something that I thought was interesting for him to mention was his lack of experience watching an execution. He spoke with a lawyer that had witnessed his client executed, but he himself has not ever lived that experience. He mentions that it is unsettling how he can have a hand in signing the death warrant for so many lives and yet he does not have the courage to watch one himself. He also points out that people are quite fascinated by the show of the death penalty, but he makes the argument that maybe more should be done in the way of preventative measures rather than creating hype around executions - he used the example of a Vietnam War veteran who sexually assaulted two of his platoon-mates before coming home and assaulting 4 more boys, then raping and murdering 14 boys and leaving their bodies next to the highway. Kozinski states that while it may be helpful to end murderers' lives post-crimes, it has to be more helpful to look at the signs and address them before things escalate. So while he seems like a proponent of the pro-death penalty case, it seems to me that he has some qualms with this issue himself. He seems to be in favor due to legal obligation, and maybe moral obligation (to the victims), yet he does not seem to think it is the perfect or only solution.
Chapter 2 - An Abolitionist's Survey of the Death Penalty in America Today - Hugh Adam Bedau
Hugo Adam Bedua, one of the two editors of this book, writes this next essay discussing the death penalty from the perspective of an anti-death penalty proponent, or an abolitionist. In this essay, Bedau gives more historical context to the death penalty, tracing all of the way back to before the start of our country. Bedau makes the argument that death penalty supporters rely on the notion that the punishment of death is reserved only for the accused offender/convicted prisoner, and that it respects the laws of justice. However, Bedau adds in a very sassy way, 'no one acquanited with the facts (YIKES) can rest comfortably in such a belief". He points out the ways in which race and social economic status plays a role into who receives the death penalty. There are three issues that he notes with the way the death penalty is structured across the "Death Belt": the jury's decision can be based on assuming taht the criminal is a continuing threat to society which a jury is not convened to discuss - juries are meant to decide appropraite punishments for the crime committed, not for ones not committed or assumed to be committed in the future. Next, the discusses how some juries' decisions are given as suggestions and the judge has the final say which can be off of arbitrary judgements. Lastly, he discusses that the criteria for classifying a capital death is vague and can be applied to most murders, if not all. This is misleading and can be confusing for jurors, and he worries about the effectiveness of a jury that do not have clear guidelines. He also discusses that America is one of the few modern countries that still practices the death penalty which is considered a violation of human rights - and we are accompanied by China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (not wonderful).
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