Post by Anja Nieser on Sept 10, 2006 22:33:29 GMT -5
BOTTOM LINE ON THE DEATH PENALTY
With the execution of Derrick Frazier on August 31, 2006, Texas has
carried out 375 executions by lethal injection since the death penalty was
resumed by the state in 1982. Seven more executions are currently
scheduled through the end of the year. Most people would agree that Texas
knows how to kill its unwanted citizens like no other state in the Union.
Most people would also agree that the state's criminal justice system is
anything but perfect. It is a well-documented fact that innocent people
have been sent to death row, and there is strong evidence that a number of
innocent people have actually been executed. Recently the cases of Ruben
Cantu, Cameron Todd Willingham and Carlos DeLuna have surfaced thanks to
excellent investigative reporting by the Houston Chronicle and Chicago
Tribune.
Specific problems with the Texas criminal justice system have been well
documented, including:
* Ineffecive legal assistance for people who can't afford their own
private attorneys
* Police and prosecutorial misconduct
* Racism in the selection of jurors and in the punishment phase of a trial
* Inaccurate testing by crime laboratories
* Inaccurate testimony by eyewitnesses and by "experts" called by
prosecutors
* False confessions
By any measure, Texas is not any better off by carrying out these
executions. They have not made us safer. They have not reduced the crime
rate. In fact, they continue a cycle of violence that can only be bad for
the citizens of the state. And looking at the cost of executions versus
life in prison, it is clear that the death penalty has cost the taxpayers
of the state millions of dollars that could better be used for true crime
prevention measures such as improved educational programs, child
protective services, mental health services, drug and alcohol
rehabilitation programs and gang prevention programs.
Let's face the facts. The Texas politicians who support the death penalty
are doing a grave disservice to the citizens of the state. Their arguments
that the death penalty is needed to protect society, reduce violent crime,
or bring "justice" to victims are blatant falsehoods. The death penalty is
a politically motivated form of vengeance, pure and simple. And vengeance
is not a good societal value.
I believe that the citizens of Texas will one day reject the death
penalty. They will look back on this time in Texas history as a "dark age"
when the state was incapable of solving its crime problem using civilized
methods. The "bottom line" is that we can have a safer society, a better
society, without the death penalty.
(source: Letter to the Editor, David Atwood, Texas Coalition to Abolish
the Death Penalty)
With the execution of Derrick Frazier on August 31, 2006, Texas has
carried out 375 executions by lethal injection since the death penalty was
resumed by the state in 1982. Seven more executions are currently
scheduled through the end of the year. Most people would agree that Texas
knows how to kill its unwanted citizens like no other state in the Union.
Most people would also agree that the state's criminal justice system is
anything but perfect. It is a well-documented fact that innocent people
have been sent to death row, and there is strong evidence that a number of
innocent people have actually been executed. Recently the cases of Ruben
Cantu, Cameron Todd Willingham and Carlos DeLuna have surfaced thanks to
excellent investigative reporting by the Houston Chronicle and Chicago
Tribune.
Specific problems with the Texas criminal justice system have been well
documented, including:
* Ineffecive legal assistance for people who can't afford their own
private attorneys
* Police and prosecutorial misconduct
* Racism in the selection of jurors and in the punishment phase of a trial
* Inaccurate testing by crime laboratories
* Inaccurate testimony by eyewitnesses and by "experts" called by
prosecutors
* False confessions
By any measure, Texas is not any better off by carrying out these
executions. They have not made us safer. They have not reduced the crime
rate. In fact, they continue a cycle of violence that can only be bad for
the citizens of the state. And looking at the cost of executions versus
life in prison, it is clear that the death penalty has cost the taxpayers
of the state millions of dollars that could better be used for true crime
prevention measures such as improved educational programs, child
protective services, mental health services, drug and alcohol
rehabilitation programs and gang prevention programs.
Let's face the facts. The Texas politicians who support the death penalty
are doing a grave disservice to the citizens of the state. Their arguments
that the death penalty is needed to protect society, reduce violent crime,
or bring "justice" to victims are blatant falsehoods. The death penalty is
a politically motivated form of vengeance, pure and simple. And vengeance
is not a good societal value.
I believe that the citizens of Texas will one day reject the death
penalty. They will look back on this time in Texas history as a "dark age"
when the state was incapable of solving its crime problem using civilized
methods. The "bottom line" is that we can have a safer society, a better
society, without the death penalty.
(source: Letter to the Editor, David Atwood, Texas Coalition to Abolish
the Death Penalty)