When the subject of capital punishment comes about, like many other topics in today’s society, most people have an immediate, strong opinion on the matter. With recent “botched” executions, has the time come to revisit capital punishment in order prevent cruel and unusual punishment, or is death a diplomatic solution that adequately punishes these foul criminals?
At this point, a valid question one might ask themselves is, “Who even came up with the concept of death as a punishment?” According to a Capital Punishment Timeline published by the ProQuest Staff, “Death Penalty laws can be traced back as far as the 18th century B.C. when the Code of King Hammurabi of Babylon established death as the penalty for 25 different crimes” (ProQuest par. 1). In this time of history, numerous methods of execution were used by authoritative figure to carry out a death sentence. The ProQuest staff writes that a few of these methods include, but are not limited to, “beating to death, burning alive, crucifixion, drowning and impalement” (ProQuest par. 1). While there is no available information on what crimes were punishable by death back in these days, one can infer that the slightest suspicion of adultery, theft, or any kind of dishonesty could land a person in some life-threatening territory. As time passed, so did the execution techniques. By the sixteenth century, a few of the known methods of the death sentence were “boiling alive, beheading, burning at the steak, hanging, and drawing and quartering” (ProQuest par. 2). Since then, means of execution have varied from a shooting squad, the electric chair, to the now widely used, lethal injection. While the capital punishment procedure continued to evolve, the spectrum of punishable crimes dwindled greatly. From stealing, conspiracy, and witchcraft, to present day, where murder and a select number of rape cases are the only crimes liable to be punished by death.
One of the biggest problems opponents of capital punishment bring to light, is the risk of killing the innocent. For example, in Mark Hyden’s essay, “The Death Penalty Should Be Abolished”, Hyden tells the story of Glenn Ford, who after living on death row for thirty years, was proved innocent and exonerated. While the hazard of punishing the innocent is a rather large issue, this is not the only problem challengers have with capital punishment. The question as to whether the death penalty violates the Eighth Amendment’s restriction on cruel and unusual punishment, is also a point of contention among challengers of the death penalty. In Hyden’s essay, readers are also informed of Clayton Lockett’s execution, where Lockett expired 30 minutes after the “botched” execution from a heart attack shortly after the execution was postponed on account of his failure to die within ten minutes of the drug cocktail being injected (Hyden par. 9). Another large problem people have with capital punishment is the alleged biasness in the handling of cases. Anthony Fisher claims in his essay “Death at Any Cost”, that since the “modern death penalty era” began about forty years ago, “about 5 percent of the over 8,000 death sentences levied have been overseen by just five prosecutors” (Fisher par. 1). Fisher continues by saying that, “Given their zeal to put people to death at any cost, it should come as little surprise that four of the five prosecutors presided over cases where the condemned defendant was eventually exonerated” (Fisher par. 4). With key points of controversy such as these, adding the factor that a person’s morals are truly being tested, there is no surprise the major backlash that comes with the topic of capital punishment.
While those who are against capital punishment do have valid points of debate, there are a few rather large misunderstandings. Admittedly, execution of the innocent is a legitimate concern, especially for those with strong moral compasses. A simple solution for this rather problematic issue is to make sure those being charged with the crime have a considerable amount of concrete evidence, such as DNA or a reliable eyewitness, against the alleged perpetrator. Concerns of the validity of capital punishment against the eighth amendment also frequent the list of issues people have with execution. While any form of execution holds the possibility of pain, the amount of pain the victim and their family pales in comparison to the small, brief pain felt by the criminal. The real “cruel and unusual punishment” is the postponements and uncertainties these inmates face. Challengers of the the death penalty also charge the courts with being overly zealous when handing down capital punishment verdicts. The truth is that Anthony Fisher’s stats only account for about four hundred of the death sentences. Understandably, this is a rather large figure, but not nearly as large as the seven thousand six hundred cases being processed by others. Honestly, if these same five prosecutors were truly biased in the four hundred cases they did come into contact with, somebody in authority would have taken some action?
Possibly the most knowledgeable people on this subject matter are the people who are directly effected by capital punishment, the inmates themselves. Paige St. John, the writer of the essay “Surprising Views on Death Penalty Among Inmates” recently interviewed inmates of the San Quentin State Prison in San Quentin California. Some of their answers are capable of surprising and could come as a shock to a few opponents. To give an idea of the state of things at this prison, only thirteen have been executed since 1978, and “none since 2006” (St. John par. 5). St. John claims that, “To some, the prospect of life without parole actually is worse that staying in limbo on death row” (St. John par. 3). Granted, not all death row inmates embrace capital punishment. Some fear that without capital punishment, they could not only be looking at a lifetime sentence, but also possibly sharing a cell with another inmate. One of the individual convicts St. John interviewed, Clifton Perry, explains that after living by himself for twenty years, he is not sure if he could “handle a bunkie” (St. John par. 6). Another inmate St. John questions is James Thompson, who favors keeping capital punishment, but advocates speeding up the process of appeals (St. John par. 14). “If you are going to execute me, execute me, but if you are going to let me go, let me go.”, Thompson comments exactly (St. John par. 15).