Why Do We Still Have the Death Penalty? It is a Choice
Who do we think we are? We do not create life, so what gives us the right to take it away? The Supreme Court deemed the death penalty unconstitutional in 1972, ruling it as cruel and unusual punishment. Yet, our worst impulses to punish others, uphold an eye-for-an-eye principle, and to use fear for behavioral control remain deeply rooted in our humanity. The death penalty has a long history, with its earliest recorded laws tracing back to the eighteenth century BCE. Although it was abolished in the USA in 1972, it was ultimately reinstated in 1976.
The death penalty was not only deemed unconstitutional for violating the 8th Amendment in our history and is abolished in over 100 countries, but it also has a troubling history of executing innocent individuals in the USA. The death penalty carries the inherent risk of executing an innocent person. Since 1973, at least 200 people who were wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death in the US have been exonerated. Given that the death penalty is viewed as "unusual and cruel punishment" and considering the documented cases of wrongful convictions that have led to innocent individuals being placed on Death Row, one must wonder: why does the death penalty still persist?
The death penalty is a human rights issue and it's hard to fathom that we inhabit such a brutal world. Reflecting on my upbringing, I realize I was conditioned to accept the death penalty without question, thinking, "They must have deserved it." How did such a belief take root in my mind as a child? As a Black child? If I experienced this, what does it say about the broader society? How did I come to believe that someone deserves to face cruelty, torture, and ultimately death, based solely on an one-sided, often racialized narrative? It's alarming to note that approximately 40% of those executed in the U.S. are Black, reflecting the racial disparities that exist in the criminal justice system. When we choose to take a life, we inflict devastation on the many lives connected to that person, including our own. Don't we realize that in doing so, something within all of us collectively dies, whether we choose to acknowledge it or not. State-sanctioned executions are nothing more than modern-day lynchings. Why does the death penalty still exist?
Why do we choose death? Why don’t we prioritize rehabilitation? Why is prevention not our choice? Many individuals in prison or on death row are often labeled as anti-social, violent criminals. When the truth is that they often reflect the anti-social environment surrounding them. There is a significant absence of comprehensive community programs for teens, support initiatives for families and single mothers, and minimal funding for vocational or trade education, summer job opportunities, and mentoring programs. Additionally, there is insufficient funding for holistic mental health care.
What’s antisocial is the government’s/our choice to prioritize funding for war, policing, and the prison system over education and community programs. What’s antisocial is those who choose death over life. What’s antisocial is believing you have the moral authority to take the life of another. What’s antisocial is spreading propaganda that dehumanizes individuals based on their skin color. What’s antisocial is the current criminal justice system. What’s antisocial is genocide. What’s antisocial are the deaths of Freddie Owens and Marcellus Williams.
May Freddie Owens, Marcellus Williams, and countless others murdered by this system find eternal peace. The use of the death penalty reflects our priorities as a nation. What if we united to abolish the death penalty and consciously choose to invest in life? What if we prioritized prevention through mental health care, trauma-informed support, and economic & healing justice? What if we expanded our restorative justice practices? Why do we still have the death penalty? It is a choice.
Statistics about the death penalty:
As of January 2024, there are 55 countries that still enforce the death penalty, whereas 112 countries have completely abolished it. Countries that continue to implement the death penalty include the United States, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, China, India, most Islamic states, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Somalia.
In the USA, twenty-one states have the death penalty. They are: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Wyoming
The death penalty was essentially deemed unconstitutional in the U.S. between 1972 and 1976 following the Supreme Court's ruling in Furman v. Georgia. In this landmark case, the Court found that the application of the death penalty was arbitrary and capricious, violating the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. This ruling resulted in a de facto halt to executions. Subsequently, in 1976, the Supreme Court approved revised death penalty statutes in Gregg v. Georgia, permitting states to reinstate executions under updated guidelines.
In 1994 the “Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act” signed into law by then President Clinton expanded the federal death penalty to some 60 crimes some which do not involve murder (In the New Jim Crow, by Michelle Alexander highlights how around 90-95% of criminal cases are resolved through plea bargains rather than trials due to most defendants feel pressured to accept deals)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/10/10/infographic-which-countries-still-have-the-death-penalty
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/05/30/death-penalty-united-states-most-executions/73507428007/
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