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Should a life on Death Row exist? A moral debate over whether the death penalty is a successful deterrent and reasonable punishment.
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Contents Where is the Death Penalty still used in the States? ...................... 3 Who and Why? ................................................................................ 4 Arnold Prieto: was this the right punishment? ................................. 5 Troy Davis: end an innocent persons life? ...................................... 6 Amnesty International: fighting for justice ........................................ 7 Working on the front line: face to face with death ............................ 8 People do want the Death Penalty! ................................................. 9 Letters and Writings from Death Row ..............................................10 Chris Burger’s last ever birthday ..................................................... 11 The Death Penalty works ................................................................ 12 Reprieve .......................................................................................... 13 Kelly Gissendaner: The lawful killing continues .............................. 14 Sign for your death on the dotted line ............................................. 15 The Death Penalty is a worthy punishment .................................... 16 A crime is a crime, punishment is vengeance ................................. 17 What I believe .................................................................................. 18 What do you believe? ...................................................................... 19 Bibliography ..................................................................................... 20
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The Death Penalty, where is it used in the States? There are now 19 states without the Death Penalty Mostly used for Texas has the highest
murder.
execution rate.
14 States allow rhe prisoners to choose
There are five methods
their preffered execution
of execution still used today
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Who and Why? Before I dive into the case studies that I have decided to work on, I would like to briefly explain why I chose them. The first is of a man named Arnold Prieto, the first man to be executed in 2015 at Texas Bexar County Jail. I followed his case extensively and read the blogs that he wrote. His writing was eloquent and gripping and his story was a fascinating one. He did not blame anyone working in the prison system nor the people who gave him his sentence. He did not at one point deny that he was guilty, and he confidently voices his opinion clearly and strongly about his views of the punishment that was handed to him. He also highlights a very important issue that needs bringing to light.
“I find it very odd that almost everyone here on the row are first timers and have been here on the row without as much as a threat towards another inmate. I just cannot see how the jury or state can see into their crystal balls and see a youngster of 19-20 continuing to be a threat to general population. Maybe the crystal ball was cloudy during those days” The second case study I am going to be talking about in depth is that of Troy Anthony Davis. A man wrongly convicted of a crime and being punished with death for his supposed actions. This is a strong case study to act against the death penalty as it shows that innocent people’s lives can be lost with the flick of a switch. And finally Chris Burger whose letters to his pen pal were very moving.
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Arnold Prieto
Arnold Prieto, was arrested when he was 21, with no prior prison record. However his crime landed him with the Death Penalty. I cannot deny that his crime was horrendous; Arnold was convicted in a robbery and thus the murder of three people, two of which were his relatives – his great uncle and aunt. Arnold and two other assailants fled with money and jewellery. At no point did Arnold deny that he was involved however he showed repentance.
“On Death Row I saw men whose lives had regained some degree of promise, yet they died the same death as the unrepentant” On may the 12th 2014, after 24 years of being incarcerated, Prieto was handed the letter that would bring sorrow to many people’s hearts, the most of course, to his. Prieto had no qualifications nor did he have a job, he was of a lower social class status, he was also a father. With no income it seemed to him that the only thing he could do was to steal, which in itself is sad.
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Troy Davis
The story of Troy Davis is a tragic and complicated one however I shall explain it as strike against the death penalty. Troy Anthony Davis was convicted and executed on the 21st of September 2011 for the murder of police officer Mark MacPhail. Troy supposedly shot MacPhail at night in an empty car park. The case against Davis consisted entirely of eyewitness testimonies and even at the time that the trial was conducted there were inconsistencies and doubts in them. According to Amnesty who worked extensively with Troy throughout the whole arduous ordeal, all but two of the witnesses recanted (took back) their testimonies and said that they were pressured and coerced into saying what they did. Nine of these witnesses actually identified another man named Sylvester Coles as the perpetrator.
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Amnesty International is an organisation that works towards helping those who have been denies ‘justice and truth’. Troy Davis communicated a vast amount with Amnesty who did all they could to help fight his battle.
These organisations are vital in fighting for equality and offering support to those who need it. Although I am focusing on the work that they do to prevent the death penalty, they also do lots of other work in order to help people in need - ‘Since 1973, 151 people ave been released from death rows due to evidence of their wrongful convictions’
“he climbed onto the gurney without hesitation and lay back, he remained rigidly still, his eyes filling with tears, the fear no longer hidden” – Rev. Carroll Pickett
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Working on the front line Bobby Allen When Allen was 22 he started to work on Death Row, monitoring the condemned men, and this is his account of what it was like working inside the waiting room for death. His words are very poignant for me, as they show the contrast between people’s coping mechanisms within the very challenging environment. “Allen tried not to let his personal feelings get involved as he interacted with death row inmates. He never tried to think about their innocence or guilt, but he says those years were extremely confusing and he eventually developed internal "emotional issues" as well as a heavy drinking problem.”
“The death penalty is a symptom of a culture of violence, not a solution to it.” - AMNESTY He then goes on to mention how others act, do you think this is a way of dealing with the situation or a genuine attitude towards the punishment? “I remember one of the officers singing Annie's 'Tomorrow' song, but changing the lyrics to 'We're going to burn John Smith tomorrow.'" Allen also remembers some officers proposing an "electric couch" instead of "electric chair" so that "we can do more than one at a time." "The coldness stuck with me throughout the years.”
“There was a time in my life when I embraced the idea of putting murderers to death” - Rev. Carroll Pickett. You Gov conducted a survey in 2010 which showed that 51% of the British population said that they would back the reintroduction of the Death Penalty,
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which shows that modern day views in Britain where the death penalty was long abolished still feels that it acts as a worthy punishment. Now although I am focusing on the death penalty in America this statistic about Britain shows that attitudes are very strong and as the death penalty is still in use in America we could surely infer that the views are even stronger over there and as I have found out, a large majority of people agree with it as a worthy punishment. Since 1973 over 130 people have been executed in the States.
“I support the death penalty because I believe, if administered swiftly and justly, capital punishment is a deterrent against future violence and will save other innocent lives." – George Bush
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Letters and Writings from Death Row When on Death Row it is not uncommon for the family members or friends to lose contact with you, “so I’m on my own now”. “My family haven’t once written or visited in a few years so I don’t know where they live, or even if they’re still alive.” Correspondents with people across the world may be the only letters and communication with the outside world that they have; “Your friendship is like a long arm of warmth reaching across skies and oceans to embrace a man on Death Row, bringing an enormous amount of happiness and peace in his life”
Should someone be completely disconnected from the outside world and, not only be confined in a small cell for 23 hours a day, but be confined to the depressing atmosphere that surrounds them, an eeriness of death awaiting them. Surely they need some happiness in their final months, weeks, days, and hours.
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Chris Burger
Chris Burger was 17 when he committed his crime, and started to write to Michaela Conway – extracts from ‘Welcome to Hell’ by Jan Arriens Chris’s penpal organised a birthday party for Chris - I like the idea of you having the party early so that I will be able to have all the photo’s in time for my birthday proper. I know that you are hosting the party for me, but I would still like to send you, Rob and Gale an invitation. Chris’s appeals had by this time reached a critical point. He wrote: - There is something else I would like you to do, all of you. This request will be tougher......I want you to have this party for me and yourselves no matter what. If things go bad for me at the beginning of october and I am not around physically by Oct. 26th, I’d like for you all to still have my party for me, ok? - It’s my PARTY DAY!!!!! I just spent the last hour sitting talking about my birthday party, and laughing wondering what you were all doing right now. November 10th 1993 - Man! I can’t believe all this mail today! That was a party! I’m so touched that you all wrote to me during it, telling me everything that was going on and making me feel a real part of it. Less than a month later, Chris was dead.
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The Death Penalty works The Death penalty offers closure to families of the victim or the victim themselves as there is no way for the person being executed to reoffend and they no longer have to worry about it. Some also argue that the criminal justice system offers more sympathy to the criminals as opposed to the victims and therefore the Death Penalty is the ultimate form of punishment which goes to prove that the ega system cares just as much for the victims. On a more economic level, it means that it can deal with the overpopulated prisons as in the States. Over two million people of the American population are incarcerating resulting in completely cramped prisons which can cause more crime from within the walls. Not only this but with modern technology and the increase in knowledge of science, DNA analysis and other methods of modern science can eliminate almost all uncertainty as to whether a person is innocent or guilty thus ruling out the possibility that we could execute an innocent person like before.
“Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves; and, under a just God, can not long retain it.� – Abraham Lincoln
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Reprieve is a small organisation that works with a group of committed human rights defenders. It was founded by Clive Stafford Smith in 1999 who waa human rights lawyer at the time. Reprieve offer free legal support to those who are in dire need of it and at the hands of the government being sentenced to death.
“We help people who suffer extreme human rights abuses at the hands of the world's most powerful governments” Reprieve work on death penalty cases all over the world, making sure that their trials are fair and appealing their sentences. They also work with released people from Guantanamo Bay making sure that they have a ‘safe release’. Altogether they are fighting for justice, similarly to Amnesty, they have corespondents working all over the world, two in America, 2 in Pakistan and many more. Organisations are crutial for gathering a following to abolish the death penalty and help those in need. Reprieve doesn’t just focus on America, they are also working on cases in Egypt, Ethopia, Indonesia, Kenya and Pakistan. This organisation is a strong and powerful one that allows you to donate to prisoners on Death Row through this link: Donate to Reprieve
“Hope does not flourish in prison” – Rev. Carroll Picket
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Kelly Gissendaner Kelly was accused of orchestrating the murder of her husband, and was thus sentenced to death in the State of Georgia. At this time she was the only woman on Death Row in Georgia. She never denied asking Gregory Bruce Owen to murder her husband and she voiced this clearly in her court cases. Owen was given a life sentence and could be paroled in 8 years after stabbing Douglas Gissendaner to death, whereas Kelly received the death penalty when she had not actually carried out the murder hersef.
“The outcome illustrates one of the fundamental flaws with the death penalty -- it's applied arbitrarily. Prosecutors like to say that death penalty is reserved for the "worst of the worst," but the reality is often very different.” – Steven W. Hawkins (executive Director of Amnesty International USA) This goes to show that although many agree with the Deth Penalty it can be biased and it can be easily affected by factors such as the age, class, geography, quality of legal representation and even the political aspirations of judges and prosecutors. All of these can have a negative effect on the outcome of someones trial. You can hear her moving final words from the execution chamber here: http://www.11alive.com/story/news/2015/09/30/audio-recording-hear-kellygissendaners-final-words/73097368/ This woman had to say goodbye to her children and lose her life while the man who carried out the crime still lives and will continue to live in the wider world.
“We chose to try and save her life, and they still denied us” Kayla Gissendaner
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Sign for your Death on the dotted line
SUMMARY OF RULES AND PROCEDURES Offender Name DOC Number I am ____________________, warden of the _______________________________. You have been sentenced to die for the crime of Murder at _______ on __________________________. The purpose of this meeting is to inform you of the rules and procedures to be followed for the next thirty-five (35) days and to discuss certain privileges you may be afforded. When this meeting is over, you will be placed in a special cell where you will remain until the time of the execution. While in this cell and until the time of the execution, you will be under constant surveillance by correctional officers. This is the beginning of the exact form that the warden has to fill out and sign and is under the name ‘summary of rules and procedures’. The Warden would have a meeting with the prisner on Death Row and read the exact rules and once the prisoner agrees and says he understands the form is signed and the decision is final. Sign to say you acknowledge that you will be
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killed, on a certain day at a certain time.
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The Death Penalty is a worthy punishment
Although is a prisoner who is executed has not got the opportunity to rehabilitate, there is strong evidence for them taking the opportunity before they are executed to repent, show remorse and in a lot of cases find a srong spiritual belief to support them in the afterlife. The strongest argument that is used a lot of the time is that it now means that the guilty person is now unable to commit any further crimes and has had a worthy punishment ‘a life for a life’. The reason it is called a ‘punishment’ is because it’s main aim should be to act as a deterrent to other committing these crimes, but again does this work? The state of Georgia houses 97 Death Row inmates. And that is just in Georgia.
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A crime is a crime, a punishment is vengeance Free will. If a person commits a felony, then they have had the free will to make that decision, they are not forced into it. However to counter balance that, there may be the issue of mental health issues or being under the influence of chemicle substances. Another point is that people fear death, and using it as a punishment deterres people from committing a crime that could result in the end of their life. The death penalty is ‘legalised’ murder which in many people’s eyes seperates it completely from the crime of murder itself that someone is being punished for. An eye for and eye.
Makes the whole world blind.
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My opinion Although throughout this Ebook I have argued both for and against the Death Penalty, my personal opinion is that there is no rational or reasonable explanation for it. Recently I became increasingly interested in the Death Penalty as a form of punishment, and I started to do extensive research into it. This included watching an unsurmountable amount of documentaries and following certain prisoners whilst on Death Row up until the day they were executed. I feel that the Death Penalty is a clear example of how barbaric society can be at times, the idea of killing someone to teach them a lesson seems ridiculous to me, and after hearing and reading people’s accounts of being at the execution the result is always the same. They feel no different, the person they have lost is still gone, the pain is still there except another life has been taken. The Death Penalty ends the crime for the prisoner not the family. Also we cannot glaze over the fact that many of these people on Death Row have repented, have found faith, have learnt things and changed their life, and as Arnold said and I quoted earlier, how can someone know how another person will behave in twenty or so years? What evidence do we have that the crime they committed when they were 20 is how they will always be? And yet we kill them, they are young, some of these people are in their twenties and have not been able to experience life, positive social interaction in some cases because they have been sat in a cell for 24 hours on their own with only a guard there to make sure that they don’t kill themselves before they get killed. In my eyes, it seems remarkable that this still happens, in a world where equality and understanding is ever growing. I will always want this to stop, and I will always do what I can to help these prisoners and act, however small my part may be, to stop this.
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What is your opinion?
“I saw the painful loss suffered by the families and friends of the victims. I wept at their grief and marveled at their courage. I also saw bad men die deaths less horrible than those they had inflicted. And I saw people killed who I was convinced were not guilty of the crimes which they were accused. I met those who lacked the basic intelligence to even comprehend the system that had doomed them. And I saw men die who had changed from angry and irresponsible youths into good and thoughtful adults, put to death only for revenge and political gain. And I wondered each time: what good was being acomplished?” – Rev. Carroll Pickett
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Bibliography