The death penalty in the United States fails to serve the American people. Capital Punishment in the United States (and around the world!) does not deliver any viable consequences. While its advocates claim that the Death Penalty is a successful deterrent, cost-effective, effective, unarbitrary and FAIR, those that oppose the death penalty realize that these arguments are simply ineffective when one looks at the amount of evidence that points to the contrary. Furthermore, we believe that the Death Penalty is an ultimate Human Rights violation, and the sanctioning of it brutalizes us all and cheapens the value of Human Life, leading to a perpetual cycle of violence. As long as the death penalty continues in the United States, we must recognize that its mere existence requires our complicity in state sponsored killing.
Whatever side of the fence someone is on and whether they like it or not, executions happen in our states and, as we can see from this summer's schedule, won't be going away too soon. But is that something that you would want to witness? On June 4th, Georgia put Curtis Osborne to death, despite Osborne's racist defense lawyer and reformed life in prison. AP writer Greg Bluestein was there to witness it, and wrote an incredibly eloquent article in which he recognized Osborne's humanity even as he was watching his death in a botched execution. You can read it here.
Testimony given by murder victim's families who have witnessed executions for closure have left them reeling over the violence inflicted on their loved one's killer. The emotional toll of watching someone die and being a witness to their death is definitely a memory, and not one that many would like to have. As the bumper sticker says, "Why do we kill people who kill people to show that killing people is wrong?" Seems sort of like a twisted cycle and sick sense of justice, right?
A Florida DOC employee stated that any time an execution is looming, or a case is even being heard, the office receives a few dozen volunteers to play executioner. Medical and Nursing Ethics prohibit professionals from participating, so instead you can receive some state training, which is just as good! Here's the requirements for the state of Florida to be competent and experienced enough to execute: 1) Picked by warden. 2) Must be 18 or over. 3) Must get training. 4) Pay of $150. 5) Wear black hood (to prevent against retaliation and guard identity).
Sort of cheap for such a task for a public employee, right? But as Sue Carlton argues in an editorial, we don't need to hide his identity. After all, if they work for the state, shouldn't we know their identity, qualifications, and competency? Besides, with people VOLUNTEERING to EXECUTE, it doesn't seem like it would matter.
Emily
DPAC
Taken from the Death Penalty blog of ai USA, June 17th, 2008
No comments:
Post a Comment