Brian Mitchell

If someone told you that the government is killing people to show others that killing is wrong would you believe it? The death penalty practiced by the United States government has killed many people, some being innocent, and is very wrong and should be abolished. The death penalty seems like a good idea up front but it comes with many flaws.

The Death Penalty

The death penalty has ended the lives of about 1,330 American citizens since 1976 and I believe this process should stop being practiced in the United States. This is because of the many flaws that this sentence contains, including wrongful execution, being unconstitutional, and its ineffectiveness at being a deterrent to other criminals. The book The Stranger by Albert Camus displays the practice of the death penalty and how it affects the mind.

Thirty-nine… that’s how many people that should be alive today but are unfortunately not due to wrongful execution. Wrongful execution is when a person is convicted and sentenced with the death penalty and then executed then later evidence proved that they were actually innocent. This occurs because of many different factors including inadequate legal representation. Many defendants who are convicted and may be facing the death penalty are usually poor and cannot afford proper legal representation so they take whatever is given to them which may not be adequate at all. Many lawyers of these individuals are very incompetent by being asleep, drunk or asleep in court which will cause the defendant to be convicted. An example of this is from a case of a man named Jimmy Ray Bromgard. Bromgard, arrested when he was 18 and he spent 15 years in prison accused for the  rape of an eight-year-old girl, a crime post-conviction DNA testing proved he did not commit. Bromgard’s trial attorney performed no investigation, filed no pre-trial motions, gave no opening statement, did not prepare for closing arguments, failed to file an appeal, and provided no expert to refute the fraudulent testimony of the state’s hair microscopy expert. Other than the forensic testimony and the tentative identification, there was no evidence against Bromgard. With any adequate legal representation Bromgard would have been easily proved innocent and not wrongfully convicted. This is shown in The Stranger during Meursault’s trial when Muersault says “In fact, there seemed to be a conspiracy to exclude me from the proceedings; I wasn’t to have any say and my fate was to be decided out of hand.” (Camus, 98). This shows the inadequate legal representation from Muersault’s lawyer because his lawyer is not letting Meursault to do anything and is basically deciding is fate for him. A second factor that could cause wrongful conviction is police and prosecutor misconduct and error. This is when the prosecutor illegally withholds vital evidence from the defendants causing them to lose and giving the false outcome of the case.  According to the University of Missouri-Kansas, police misconduct was a factor in 50% of the DNA exonerations and prosecutorial misconduct was a factor in 45%. With these factors and many others, wrongful conviction and execution are surprisingly more common than most think and shows that the death penalty should be abolished.

Another reason that the death penalty should stop being practiced in the United States is that it is unconstitutional because it violates many amendments. One of the amendments that the death penalty violates is the 8^th amendment where it states, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” As William J. Brennan, Justice of the US Supreme Court stated, “Death is not only an unusually severe punishment, unusual in its pain, in its finality, and in its enormity, but it serves no penal purpose more effectively than a less severe punishment… The fatal constitutional infirmity in the punishment of death is that it treats ‘members of the human race as nonhumans, as objects to be toyed with and discarded.” What Brennan is saying is that the death penalty is inhumane and very cruel and unusual because the government is not treating the people like citizens they’re treating them like objects to do with however they want and that is truly wrong and unconstitutional. Another way the death penalty violates the 8^th amendment is from what is called botched executions where something goes wrong while attempting to execute a person, causing extreme pain and discomfort. An example of this is during the execution of Romell Broom by lethal injection in 2009. What had happened was according to Death Penalty Information Center, “Efforts to find a suitable vein and to execute Mr. Broom were terminated after more than two hours when the executioners were unable to find a useable vein in Mr. Broom’s arms or legs. During the failed efforts, Mr. Broom winced and grimaced with pain. After the first hour’s lack of success, on several occasions Broom tried to help the executioners find a good vein. “At one point, he covered his face with both hands and appeared to be sobbing, his stomach heaving.” This is very cruel and unusual, no matter how rare these occurrences are, happening once should be enough to realize that something needs to be done.  Another amendment that the death penalty violates is the 14^th amendment where it states that all persons will have equal protection under the law. In 2001, the New Jersey Supreme Court released a report stating that the death penalty law is more likely to proceed against defendants who kill white victims. Also, in 1997 there was a study among death eligible defendants in Philadelphia and it concluded that there was a 38% increased chanced to receive the death penalty if the accused was black.

Even with all the criminals being executed today, the death penalty is not a very good deterrent to other criminals.  A recent study by Professor Michael Radelet and Traci Lacock of the University of Colorado found that 88% of the nation’s leading criminologists do not believe the death penalty is an effective deterrent to crime. This is a surprisingly large number and shows that the death penalty really is not as effective as most people think. Along with the same study, Radelet and Lacock discovered that nearly 78% of those surveyed said that having the death penalty in a state does not lower the murder rate. In addition, 91% of respondents said politicians support the death penalty in order to appear tough on crime. Both of these statistics strongly show that the death penalty is not the best thing for the United States. Politicians use it to become more favorable among the people and may not even personally believe in it and that most of the leading criminologists think that the death penalty does not deter other criminals from committing crimes. The ineffectiveness of the death penalty at deterring criminals can also be seen in The Stranger. In part one, chapter six when Muersault kills the Arab he does not think about being punished and sentenced to the death penalty showing that the death penalty is not an effective deterrent. These examples from real life statistics and from The Stranger show how ineffective of a deterrent the death penalty is and should be removed from the United States as a punishment.

People who are in favor of the death penalty will say that the death penalty gives the victim’s family closure and peace. This is true but, being locked up for life gives just as much closure and peace, knowing that the criminal is eternally stuck inside a prison cell. Also, to most people it is more of a punishment to be locked in a cell for life than to be killed and put out of the pain of sitting in a cell for life. Also, People who are for the death penalty will say that it works very well at keeping other criminals from committing crimes because it will scare them from doing anything illegal. But, most criminologists say that the death penalty is not a very good deterrent. Another point that pro death penalty people might say is that race has no influence but this is not true, as said earlier, just by being a minority there is a drastic increase in chance that you will be convicted.

The death penalty should be removed from the United States because of its many flaws. The three main flaws that the death penalty has is wrongful conviction and execution, to many people are dying wrongful deaths. Also, it is unconstitutional; the death penalty violates many amendments of the constitution. Lastly, it has very little effect on other criminals as a deterrent; criminals will still commit crimes even if the death penalty may be their demise. The death penalty has little benefits when put up against all the faults that it has and needs to be abolished from the United States.

Matt Coppola

The Death Penalty is an acceptable form of punishment for perpetrators of especially heinous or diabolical crimes. It acts as a deterrent, gives the victim a sense of closure and is more cost effective than sentencing someone to life in prison without possibility of parole. The essay focuses on these three key points and then explains how opposition of the Death Penalty is misinformed on the actual facts.

The Death Penalty is an Appropriate Punishment

 

The legality and ethics of the death penalty has been questioned since the conception of organized society. The death penalty is a form of punishment in which a person who has been convicted of a serious crime is executed under the precept of the criminal justice system. The death penalty has been in existence for thousands of years and is currently used in 21 countries, China, Iran and Saudi Arabia executed the most inmates in 2012. In the US, it is legal punishment for capital offenders in 32 states. A capital offender is someone who commits one of the 41 Federal capital offenses, the 41 offenses are somewhat consistent between all users of the death penalty. Some examples of capital offenses include 1st degree murder, treason, and terrorism. The Death Penalty is an appropriate punishment for perpetrators of especially heinous and diabolical crimes. It effectively deters crime, victims gain well deserved closure, and it is far more cost effective to execute than it is to house in prison for life.

Death is a far more severe punishment than imprisonment for life. Death is a common trepidation between humans and even the most hardened criminals fear it. As Ernest Van Den Haag Late Professor of Jurisprudence at Fordham University stated, “Murderers clearly prefer it to execution — otherwise, they would not try to be sentenced to life in prison instead of death.” Earlier this year, Ohio man Ariel Castro was accused of the rape, kidnapping and 10 year imprisonment of 3 other Ohioan women. In order to avoid the Death Penalty, Castro agreed to plead guilty to 937 counts of his 977 count indictment. The plea bargain stated Castro would spend his life in prison without parole plus spend an additional 1,000 years and in turn, he would avoid the Death Penalty. In another instance, Colorado movie theater shooter James Holmes also accepted a plea deal in which he would spend the rest of his life inside a mental institution rather than be put to death, James Holmes, killer of 25, accepted the guilty plea after submitting it to prosecutors. New Mexico shooter, Jared Loughner pleaded guilty to 19 counts at his court hearing, which ultimately spared him the death penalty. The sentence could not include the death penalty, because the guilty plea bargain was made with an assurance that it would not be sought. Felons who commit heinous crimes will do anything to get out of a Death Penalty conviction. This shows that felons are not at all willing to die for their crimes. This correlates with a statement made by Michael Summers, PhD and author of the book “Capital Punishment Works”. He stated “recent research … conducted by the FBI… shows that each execution carried out is correlated with about 74 fewer murders the following year… The study examined the relationship between the number of executions and the number of murders in the U.S. for the 26-year period from 1979 to 2004.” There is an obvious negative trend of murders when executions increase. Based on Justice Bureau statistics, when the Death Penalty was reinstated in the US after continued debate in the late 1970’s there was a drop in the number of murders committed. When the numbers of executions began to diminish, the murder rate began to increase. Since 2001, there has been a decline in executions and a rise in murders. These cold hard facts and statistics are proof that the Death Penalty effectively deters criminals from committing crime.

 

Secondly, the Death Penalty ensures that the victims of these especially heinous crimes get the appropriate closure they deserve. It’s unfortunate that the emphasis of criminal justice systems worldwide are focused on protecting the criminal rather than the victim. When a criminal gets life in prison he is indiscriminately cared for during his entire sentence while victims are left out to dry, usually without any state support. In Albert Camus’s “The Stranger” the main character Meursault is suspected in the shooting death of an unnamed Arab man. He is provided for and even gains an audience with a priest while the victims family aren’t provided with any support. Judicial systems worldwide have consistently favored the offenders over the victims. The Death Penalty does not only provide retribution for the Victim, it also returns order to society. When a serious crime is committed the order of society is tragically disrupted. As J. Budziszewski, PhD Professor of Government and Philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin stated “Society is justly ordered when each person receives what is due to him. Crime disturbs this just order, for the criminal takes from people their lives, peace, liberties, and worldly goods in order to give himself undeserved benefits. Deserved punishment protects society morally by restoring this just order, making the wrongdoer pay a price equivalent to the harm he has done. This is retribution.” Deserved punishment protects society morally by restoring order and making the criminal pay the price of his crime. Society will return to normal after the criminal has been dealt what he deserves. Life without possibility of parole does not meet the expectation of the crime committed, therefore society will not return to normal. Once the criminal has been awarded an equal and fair punishment for what he has committed, then the victim get well deserved retribution and closure from a dramatic and life changing moment.

Lastly, the Death Penalty is economically superior to life without possibility of parole. As Dudley Sharp, director of the JFA (Justice for All Foundation) stated “Many opponents present, as fact, that the cost of the death penalty is so expensive at least $2 million per case, that we must choose life without parole at a cost of $1 million for 50 years. Predictably, these pronouncements may be entirely false. JFA estimates that LWOP cases will cost $1.2 million, $3.6 million more than equivalent death penalty cases.” It is fact that LWOP cases cost substantially more to process than Death Penalty cases. It is also fact that it costs $69,000 dollars per year to house a prisoner. The Death Penalty is a substantial omission from these great life sentence costs. It costs a fraction of that to execute an offender than to pay $69,000 per year to house, feed and support them. Overall, It costs far less to execute prisoners than it is to provide for them for the rest of their lives.

 

Many people believe that the death penalty is a barbaric and inappropriate form of punishment around the world. They are misinformed and incorrect. In the 1970’s the Death Penalty was subject to evaluation by the US Supreme Court. Justice John G. Roberts stated that “whenever a method of execution has been challenged in this Court as cruel and unusual, the Court has rejected the challenge. Our society has nonetheless steadily moved to more humane methods of carrying out capital punishment.” The courts have consistently ruled that the Death Penalty is completely constitutional. It does not violate any constitutional amendments. People who oppose the Death Penalty also argue that It destroys and does not protect. This is false, the Death Penalty protects other people from crimes that the criminal may commit if he is left alive. Many Death Row inmates are career criminals who have previous records. The Death Penalty prevents these criminals from going on to commit even more crime. Opposition of the Death Penalty are most commonly misinformed about the cost. They believe that the cost of a Death Penalty trial is more than the costs of housing the prisoner for the rest of their life, which is also incorrect.

 

The Death Penalty is a strong and effective punishment for perpetrators of especially heinous and diabolical crimes.  It effectively deters crime, victims gain well deserved closure, and it is far more cost effective to execute than it is to house in prison for life. Once these perpetrators have been executed, order will return to society. People who unfortunately oppose the Death Penalty are usually very misinformed. The controversy and legality should be put to rest as the Death Penalty is superior to Life in prison without possibility of parole.
Matt Coppola

Moriah Calfin

Psychology Profile: Confidential

Profile

Name: Claude Benoît Meursault

Age: 32

Birthdate: 08 January 1914

Address: 66543 Rue Laribi Mohamed Tiaret, Algeria 14000

Marital Status: Unmarried- Relationship with Marie Cardona

Occupation: Clerk at Mediterranean Shipping Co.

Interests: Collecting stamps and cigarettes

 

 

 

 

Confession

Raymond’s friend invited Marie and I to their beach house. Raymond was worried because a group of Arabs, a brother of a past mistress, had been following him around. I agreed to go to the beach house. On Sunday, Marie had to wake me up. I think we were in a rush and I didn’t have time to eat. I had a headache and a cigarette. Raymond’s Arabs were watching us as we waited for the bus, but they never talked to us. Then, Raymond, Marie, and I got on the bus. The bus ride was nice and once we got to the next stop, we went to Masson’s bungalow. We swam, ate lunch, and went for a walk. The heat from the sun was making me sleepy. Raymond and Masson pointed out two Arabs. The Arabs were walked towards us. Raymond said he’d take one guy and Masson could have the other. The sand was scorching. Raymond and Masson beat up the Arabs, but one of the Arab’s had a knife and gave Raymond a nasty cut; one on his arm and the other on his mouth. The sun was blinding as we went home. Masson took Raymond to the doctor, they came back, and we went back to the beach. We saw the Arabs again. Raymond wanted a fight and I took his gun so if Raymond and Masson did fight the Arabs, it would be fair. But, before Raymond had a chance to fight, the Arabs walked away.

Raymond and I walked back to the bungalow. He went inside and I walked back to the beach. The water was reflecting the sun and my feet were burning. I saw a blue overall wearing Arab. He was resting in a cool spring that was surrounded by some rocks. It was so hot that I had chills as I held onto Raymond’s gun, which was in my jacket. The Arab leaned forward and drew out a knife. The reflected light sliced my eyes and a large headache formed. Sweat was pouring off my face as I drew out Raymond’s gun. I didn’t mean to kill him. I hadn’t planned to kill him, but I shot him once and then four times more. He was dead.

The police must have heard the gun shots, because a couple of them arrive at the beach to arrest me. I gave them the gun and then asked if I might sit down in the shade because I felt dehydrated. I asked for a glass of water, but no one gave me any. After, the police took me to the station.

Interview

Officer: *muffled noise* All right. It’s on. This is Officer Anton Pinet. August third. 1946. The time is… 4:26 p.m. What is your name?

Arrestee: Meursault is fine.

Anton: Alright, Meursault. Where do you live?

Meursault: I live at 66543 Rue Laribi Mohamed Tiaret, Algeria 14000. It’s an apartment on the corner of Rue Laribi Mohamed.

Anton: And where do you work?

Meursault: I work at the Mediterranean Shipping Company.

Anton: Could you be more specific? What is your job at the Shipping Company?

Meursault: I’m a clerk. I work pretty hard.

Anton: I see. And lastly, what is the date of your birth and where were you born?

Meursault: January 8^th 1914. And I was born in Tiaret.

Anton: Have you hired an attorney?

Meursault: I haven’t hired one. Is it necessary?

Anton: “Why do you ask (pg 63)?”

Meursault: My case is fairly simple.

Anton: “That’s your opinion. But the law is the law. If you don’t hire an attorney yourself, the court will appoint one (pg 63).”

Meursault: It’s convenient that “the court should take care of those details (pg 63).”

Anton: I agree. It is a good law.

…..

Anton: Officer Anton Pinet. Time is currently 7:34 p.m. and the date the third of August. I am here to finish conducting the interview with Claude Meursault. Meursault, I am going to ask you some questions and I would like you to respond with the best of your ability.

Meursault: I will try.

Anton: First question, where were you on July twenty-second?

Meursault: At the beach.

Anton: What beach?

Meursault: The one in Algiers. Raymond and Marie went too.

Anton: So when you went to the beach, did you have a good time?

Meursault: Yes, I did. But, the sun was so bright and I didn’t have a hat. There was also a pair of Arab’s that Raymond was afraid of. Raymond, Masson, and I saw the Arabs on the beach. I held onto Raymond’s gun and then he and Masson fought with the Arabs. Raymond took one and Masson took the other. They were winning, but Raymond got a sliced by a knife that the Arab had; we didn’t know he had a knife.

Anton: Do you feel responsible for Raymond’s cut?

Meursault: No. It was Raymond’s mistake because he wasn’t paying attention and then got the cut.

Anton: Tell me more about how you were feeling when you walked back Masson’s house.

Meursault: It was hot. And bright out. The sun was so bright and I wish I had a hat that day.

Anton: So you reach the house and watch Raymond walk into the house. And then you decide to wa- … Meursault, what was going through your head when you turned back to go to the beach.

Meursault: I don’t remember. There was this noise in my head, like a buzzing or ringing. And I didn’t want to climb the stairs, but standing at the doorstep was just as bad.

Anton: *papers shuffling* So, you went back to the beach and saw one of the Arabs…

Meursault: I took Raymond’s gun and shot him. He died instantly.

Anton: The medical reports say the victim had five gunshot wounds.

Meursault: Yes, I shot him four times after the first.

Silence for twenty seconds.

Anton: Do you have anything else you want to say or add?

Meursault: Might I get a cigarette?

Anton: I don’t know. I can ask but I think the answer is no.

Scraping noise as chair is pushed back. Steady footsteps as Meursault starts to walk away. Slight pause and then jingling noise as curtain is pulled back. Footsteps fade.

Anton: The time is now 8:02. Recorder is turned off.

Psychoanalyst Report

Claude Benoît Meursault is a man that shows signs of psychopathic behaviors and I fear that Mr. Meursault is stuck in the sixth stage of Erikson’s physiological stages. I have read Mr. Meursault’s confession, the police reports, and have sat one room over during the police interrogations. To say that I have not become fascinated with Mr. Meursault would be a lie. This man shows no signs of emotion whatsoever. His Maman died recently and reports are that there was no empathy, no desire to see his mother one last time, and at the funeral itself, his gaze was uninterested. Mr. Meursault was not able to provide for his mother, although he has a steady job at the Mediterranean Shipping Company. He stated, “I work pretty hard” and I have seen his income; it is a decent amount. The caretaker, whom I have talked with, said he told Mr. Meursault that there was no shame. Maman needed someone to take care of her and Mr. Meursault could not give his support. Mr. Meursault had not seen his mother in years and when he did- she was dead. This makes me question Claude’s childhood. Was his relationship with his Maman unstable? I do not believe I will ever get an answer because Mrs. Meursault is dead and Claude does not give emotional answers. This branches off to his interview with Officer Anton Pinet.

I specifically had Anton ask Claude about how Meursault was feeling when he was at the beach. I will describe the setting. Claude, who calls himself Meursault, was sitting in a chair. His body posture, I must point out, was quite impressive. He sat up straight, his shoulders were relaxed, and he did not tap his foot. Meursault’s manners were perfect. I bring up the Maman again- Was she the one to teach him such polite manners? Anton told me when he questioned about killing the Arab, Meursault squinted as if it were bright out. Pointedly, Meursault described both the funeral and the beach as being hot days with “bright” glares. I have deducted that Mr. Meursault killed the Arab because of the sun. Do not take this as child’s play- the sun has caused a man to murder. Since Meursault was not able to take care of his mother, and he felt the pressure- I am positive he did when he did not look at his mother’s dead body- he showed his strength by killing the Arab man. This was not an act of revenge for his friend Raymond. I believe Meursault does not have emotional feelings for his Raymond or Marie. “The sun was bright. My feet hurt. I was so hot.”- Meursault. Meursault, Meursault, Meursault. Where is the conscious thought for others? There is no fight for others. No love. No emotion. Only isolation. Thus, Erikson’s sixth stage.

Erik Erikson, genius of developmental psychology, stated in the sixth stage, that the main idea is intimacy versus isolation. The age group for this stage is 19-40 (Meursault is 32) and focuses on love. As I have stated before, I do not think Meursault is able to love- he has not shown signs of true love, only physical relationships. Erikson states that a person is not fully developed until they can form a romantic relationship. The goal is to relate to another person intimately and by doing so, the given person will put aside their needs and put thought into another person. The fear of love is isolation. Meursault has shown signs of isolation by being present, but not mentally and emotionally present. He is also not able to fulfill the commitments that have been given- Taking care of Maman. The sixth stage is about forming relationships. Has he maintained a relationship? To Marie? Maman? No and no. This man is deeply lacking in developmental progress, shows signs of failure, and most importantly, no effort to improve.

To conclude this psychological report on Claude Meursault, I leave this question. Who did he kill for? I know the answer. Clause Benoît Meursault killed for himself. There was no intent to protect Raymond. His fear of love has pushed his actions to murder. Meursault will not accept his responsibility to commit effort in forming relationships. I recommend he starts treatment right away. His time for completing the goal of intimate relationship in the sixth stage is almost past. I fear though that Meursault will not be able to show any signs of emotions and if this is the case, there is no point to why he might not be put in jail or even sentenced to death. I do not take this lightly, but there is no evidence pointing toward innocence. When one dies, they feel nothing. Is not Meursault already there?

Sources Used:

–                   My imaginative brain

–                   The Stranger

–                   Into to Psychology. Teacher: Frank Gallow.