Capital Punishment

A man named Troy Davis was executed in Georgia. I don't know much about the case other than he was accused of killing a police officer who had tried to rescue a homeless man from people who were beating him. I came to the case late, and only know that thousands of people who took the time to read about the case signed petitions asking for a stay of execution because they thought there was new evidence that showed Troy Davis might be innocent. It seems to me there is always time to wait to execute some one. The state of Georgia isn't going to die of old age before it carries out its mission of judicially sanctioned revenge. What would it have cost to wait? Money and the chance of embarrassment for officials who might have arrested the wrong man. Not much in a country that professes to hold each individual life as precious.

I'm opposed to the death penalty as I sure you've guessed. It's one of those things a history teacher hears debated annually so I've heard all the arguments many times. The death penalty doesn't deter crime and the justice system is too sloppy to ensure an innocent person isn't put to death. I don't mean sloppy in a critical way; it's just that broad human error can creep into our current system at every stage of the process. One can argue effectively that the justice system is also too sloppy to ensure a dangerous person isn't released from prison to kill an innocent. Thus, I also oppose parole in capital cases.

While Mitt Romney was governor he proposed reinstating the death penalty in Massachusetts only in cases where there was incontrovertible scientific evidence to link the defendant to the crime. No one could be executed on eyewitness testimony like those that were made and recanted in the Davis case. A person could still be convicted under those circumstances, but the sentence would be life without parole. I think this proposal might be the best we can humanly do. Is it good enough? That depends on whether you believe that governments somehow have an inherent right to decide issues of life and death. One of the great ironies of American government is that so many people who say they believe in "limited government" support the death penalty.