By: Zachary Fleming, Staff Writer
Is it time to kill the death penalty? Recent news suggests that it is time that that we seriously consider it. Just recently, the ABA Journal reported that Ricky Jackson, an Ohio native, was released from prison after spending 39-years on death row.[1] He almost met his unjust demise based on the testimony of a then 13-year old witness.[2] To compensate him for his unjust 14,178-day incarceration, the State Controlling Board awarded him $1,008,005.80, a whopping $71.10 per day of wrongful incarceration.[3] It is debatable whether this was a just compensation for an unjust incarceration (I know where I stand on the matter), but there is no denying that an innocent man was almost executed for a crime he did not commit. For that reason, perhaps it is time to reconsider this country’s stance on the death penalty issue.
Perhaps even more troubling is the story of 74-year-old Cecil Clayton, who was executed on March 17 for the 1996 murder of a sheriff’s deputy.[4] The concern surrounding Mr. Clayton’s death is that, according to his lawyer, Clayton was missing 8% of his brain, including a fifth of his frontal lobe (the brains judgment and impulse control center).[5] This injury resulted from an injury sustained in a sawmill accident in 1972.[6]He also had an IQ of 71, and believed that he would “travel the country playing the piano and preaching the gospel” after God rescued him at the last minute.[7] While his mental incapacity does not make the crime he was convicted of any less heinous, one has to question whether Clayton acted with the requisite intent to even commit the crime he was convicted of. According to Clayton’s attorney, psychiatric evaluations concluded Clayton did not understand the significance of his scheduled execution or the reasons for it.[8] This, according to Clayton’s attorney, made Clayton ineligible to be put to death.[9]
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, in 2013, the murder rate for states, which have a death penalty, was 4.4 murders per 100,000 people. On the other hand, states without a death penalty had only 3.4 murders per 100,000 people in 2013.[10] The same trend was true for 2012, where states with a death penalty statute had a murder rate of 4.7 murders per 100,000 citizens while those without such a statute had 3.7 murders per 100,000.[11] This trend has remained consistent since at least 2008.[12] While correlation does not prove causation, that is, while we cannot say for certain that lack of a death penalty statute proves that a state will have a lesser murder rate, it suggests that having a death penalty may not be as dissuasive as we would hope.
While the above may suggest that the trend is to continue on relying on the death penalty, recent judicial and legislative action suggests otherwise. For example, the United States Supreme Court has agreed to determine whether it is constitutional for Florida judges to decide whether a defendant is mentally disabled rather than jurors as it relates to cases involving the death penalty, which petitioners allege is a violation of the Sixth and Eighth Amendments.[13] Furthermore, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf citing countrywide exonerations and concerns regarding the costs and effectiveness of the death penalty has temporarily ordered a halt on all executions in the Commonwealth.[14]
While I do not call for the absolute abolishment of the death penalty, I do believe that we need to seriously consider its effectiveness at deterring crime. However, the notion that we run the risk of executing innocents (such as Ricky Jackson) or those who are incapacitated regarding such a sentence (Cecil Clayton) poses serious concerns that should make us consider whether this penalty should still be on the table. Furthermore, if we are to keep this penalty, perhaps we should reconsider the application of the penalty, reserving it only for the most monstrous of offenders (such as the Timothy McVeighs and Ted Bundys of the world).
In summation, it may not be time to kill the death penalty, but it is certainly time to put it on trial regarding its efficacy.
[1]http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/once_on_death_row_man_gets_1m_for_39_years_of_false_imprisonment/
[2] Id.
[3] http://www.wkyc.com/story/news/local/cuyahoga-county/2015/03/19/exonerated-cleveland-murder-suspect-granted-1m-for-wrongful-imprisonment/25036731/
[4]http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/missouri_inmate_missing_8_percent_of_his_brain_is_executed_scotus_denies_st
[5] Id.
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8] http://www.thecrimereport.org/news/crime-and-justice-news/2015-03-mo-execution
[9] Id.
[10] http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/murder-rates-nationally-and-state
[11] Id.
[12] Id.
[13]http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/scotus_to_consider_constitutionality_of_florida_capital_sentending_judges_d
[14]http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/governor_temporarily_halts_all_pennsylvania_executions
