Pope says No Death Penalty

Believe it or not, I am all for the separation of church and state. Nonetheless, I complete agree with the Pope on this one, especially after reading Bryan Stevenson’s book- Just Mercy. Stevenson is a lawyer who moved to Alabama to handle the trails of, mostly black, men who were facing the death penalty. While that sounds like a normal thing to do, as a lawyer, the catch with all of his cases is that most of the prisoners he encountered had been wrongly convicted and sentenced to death. I will not give away the ending.

Returning to the Pope, he is asking rulers all over the world to abide by the “Holy Year of Mercy” and place a one year moratorium on the death penalty. The death penalty in itself is inhumane, no matter if it is an electric chair, firing squad, or a needle. Personally, I feel that the death penalty is a human rights offense. I think like the rules for the death penalty, universally, but especially in America, need to be tightened. Like the people in Stevenson’s book, one can be executed without proof that a crime was committed. That’s cruel.

The Pope’s end goal is to end capital punishment. Lamentably, this thinking may align too closely with the liberalism school of thought because I really do not think that every state would give up their power to execute people as they please. Also, I have to take cultural relativism into account because deviant behavior (rape, murder, etc.) are not weighted the same way in every single culture.

Maybe this is cruel of me, but isn’t it better to let people wallow in the memory of their actions, rather than just kill them? Yes, some killers/convicts feel no remorse, but I would argue that many do. Apparently, prison is not a fun place, but that’s a story for another post.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/21/world/pope-death-penalty-moratorium/index.html

4 Responses to "Pope says No Death Penalty"

Karen Yamasaki says:

March 1, 2016 at 3:33 pm

Hi Ivana, I agree that death penalty should not be allowed. as you pointed out, there is a high possibility that prisoners convicted are actually innocent. according to the guardian, 4% of the defenders in the US who are sentenced to death is innocent. it is horrifying how many innocent people are killed in death penalty.
I personally do not care so much about condemned criminals get punished with death penalty, but only if they are 100% guilty, even though you may right it might be violation of human rights.

what I would focus on here is, which case, life in prison or death penalty costs more, as well as psychological effect on the executioners.

According to NBC, although the cost always depends on the case, death penalty is likely to be more expensive than life in prison. (http://www.nbcrightnow.com/story/15519792/what-costs-more-the-death-penalty-or-life-in-prison) I am not saying that just because it is cheaper they can kill the offenders, but it would be one of the factors when you consider the issue of death penalty.

Also, execution impacts the executioners psychologically. Many of them suffer from psychological disorder such as PTSD suffered from the killing experiences.
It would be already overwhelming for them to think that they have punished and killed many people. Now what if the person he/she believed criminal and he/she has executed were innocent?
It is horrific to even think about.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/28/death-penalty-study-4-percent-defendants-innocent
http://www.nbcrightnow.com/story/15519792/what-costs-more-the-death-penalty-or-life-in-prison
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/get-psyched/201401/it-s-time-kill-the-death-penalty
1. Aleah Fedorciw says:
  
  March 24, 2016 at 2:20 pm
  
  Hi Ivana and Karen, I agree with your points in regards to the death penalty. After viewing the film “Dead Man Talking” at the French Film Festival, I saw in an in depth way, the way which the Death Penalty can be manipulated by the state and the adverse effects that it can have on the executioners.
  
  Throughout the course of the film, the viewer watches the mental deterioration of the death row warden and executioner. As all of this goes on, the man on death row himself tells his life story and how he ended up in the position he is currently in. Throughout his tales, the viewer sees how he lacks remorse for his actions and would act the same way if put in the situation again. Maybe if he had been given more time, and as Ivana said, left to “wallow in the memory”, he would have seen the error in his ways.
  
  After reading Karen’s article from Psychology Today, https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/get-psyched/201401/it-s-time-kill-the-death-penalty, the author makes the points that you both have about who is targeted by the death penalty and cost effectiveness, but also states that the death penalty “models the behavior that it seeks to prevent”. If a punishment for murder can be murder, the cycle is merely perpetuating itself. What example is being set when an action is viewed as negative and a crime in one light and yet in another light that same action is used to reprimand and enforce justice?
Naomi Sand says:

April 18, 2016 at 2:00 pm

Hi again,

I definitely agree that we should not allow the death penalty. During my first year at UR, I took an FYS called Wrongful Convictions, where we discussed the legacy of wrongful convictions in America. We also talked about the blatant racial undertones of many of these convictions, focusing on the Central Park Five and other racially skewed convictions. Through this class, I learned about The Innocence Project, a group that works to exonerate those who have been wrongfully convicted. They do really great work across the U.S. (here in Richmond, too!) http://www.innocenceproject.org/.
Sarah Iversen says:

April 29, 2016 at 9:37 pm

Hey Ivana, I also read Just Mercy, which I thought was a wonderful book and extremely eye opening. That book alone should be evidence enough for the death penalty to be abandoned. The clear injustices in our society when it comes to legal representation and prosecution are immense. It is good to see the Pope address these issues, even if he has to go about it in a religious angle in order to obtain this goal. I think my main concern is the fact that innocent people are too often dying or people that do not deserve the death penalty like children or mentally disabled. I applaud the Pope for being so liberal in his social policies, but I agree with you Ivana and think that the actual implantation of this policy is next to impossible.

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