Throughout history and across cultures capital punishment has been the answer to certain crimes. There were points in time where it was believed that theft was a good enough reason for being put to death, and even today there are parts of the world where a state will kill on the basis of adultery or even homosexuality. It is not hard to make life a trivial thing, and often it is the easiest answer to satisfy a desire for justice, or more often the emotional needs to victims when a crime is violent and shocking. The Christian Bible at times speaks of an eye for an eye, and at other times tells of Christ’s belief in forgiveness. I will not preach to those in pain on the power of forgiveness as that is only theirs’ to consider. But concerning the ethical development of policy I will say that law based on punishment rather than protection which denies individuals their basic human rights does not serve the people. If we as a society spend our efforts matching the depravity of others we only grow in depravity. In the words of Mahatma Gandhi; “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.”
There is also a danger in using the force of a state in making the ultimate decision on an individual’s life. There are trends in our modern American political culture which vehemently proclaim that the power of the state on its citizens must be limited. This is a powerful philosophy which should be considered in the idea of death being doled out by the hands of a government bureaucracy, if for no other reason than for the fact that all bureaucracies make mistakes.
What is often lost in the conversation over the death penalty are the stories of those individuals who have been wrongly convicted and have either been forced to waste years of their lives on death row or who have lost them due to the fault of the system. There is approximately one wrongful conviction for every eight executions carried out in this country (Witness to Innocence, 2011). This fact is startling and adds just another layer of ethical violations to the already weighty issue of human rights in capital punishment. Out of this injustice have come organizations such as Witness to Innocence, which is composed of exonerated death row survivors, their friends, families, and advocates. This group of people has devoted its work to freeing individuals who have been wrongly sentenced to death. There have been over 150 individuals on death row who have been exonerated across the country (Witness to Innocence, 2011), and this is in no small part due to the work done by this organization despite many obstacles.
“We can’t give new trials to everyone who establishes, after conviction, that they might be innocent. We would have no finality in the criminal justice system, and finality is important.” Judge Sharon Keller, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
Not long ago I sat down to talk about the issue of capital punishment with Delia Meyer, a member of the Austin Human Rights Commission. Commissioner Meyer is an individual who has spent over a decade fighting this issue on the side of justice, and her knowledge is drawn from both a career of advocacy and the power of personal experience.
In 1999 Commissioner Meyer’s brother Louis was wrongly convicted of the murder of Cynda Barz, Stay Mitchell, and Michelle Fulweiler. Mr. Meyer has now spent over a decade on Texas’ death row despite the fact that 43 unidentified fingerprints were discovered at the scene of the crime and were never tested; that his DNA was not found on any of the murder weapons; and it was documented that the Austin Police Department requested that materials sent to the Department of Public Saftey on this case would only be searched for Louis’ DNA. The details of this case portrays a process where a guilty verdict came about through assumption, inadequate evidence, and a focus on expedience. There are half a dozen other examples of prosecutor and defense attorney misconduct in this case, and Louis’ family has struggled for a decade to bring these appalling inadequacies to light. It is easier to judge and demonize a man than it is to consider his humanity or to take the time and expense to adequately examine a crime. We have a system which doles out death through bureaucracy, and in the case of Louis Meyer it is a struggle of humanity and truth against the structure of that bureaucratic process. Mr. Meyers still sits on death row waiting for the day the state allows him a chance for justice or decides to commit his murder.
But it is in the most appalling of circumstances that the strongest nature of human character shows itself vibrant. As I was sitting listening to Commissioner Meyer tell her story I was filled with an element of respect and gratitude. She, along with her family, has spent a decade in a struggle with emotional layers and difficulties an outsider can only guess at. But she has harnessed her energy and passion to speak out against injustice. She has worked to educate whoever will listen, not only about her brother’s story but also about countless individuals whose lives have been affected by these state sponsored human rights violations. It is passion which changes the world, and passion can best be harnessed through the voice of experience and struggle.
Capital Punishment is an issue that has haunted the moral nature of Texas for decades. The rate in which the state puts its citizens to death is an embarrassment in the face of a national and global community steering away from such an antiquated practice. Whether through the courts or through the legislature history is moving towards change, and we are certain to get there through clarity of the issues and an acknowledgement of the fundamental human rights of all citizens of the state. But through persistence we will get there.
European Parliament. (2011). Charter of Fundamental Rights. www.europarl.europa.eu
Meyer, D. (2011). Interview. Austin Human Rights Commissioner. April 7, 2011.
Witness to Innocence. (2011). www.witnesstoinnocence.org
United Nations. (2010). GA/SHC/3996. United Nations Department of Public Information. www.un.org.
Campaign to End the Death Penalty. (2011). www.nodeathpenalty.org.
Texas Legislature Online. (2011). www.capitol.state.tx.us
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