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In this post, starting again with a few highly-plausible Kantian metaphysical, moral, and political premises, I want to present two new, simple, step-by-step arguments which prove decisively that the ownership and use of firearms (aka guns) and capital punishment (aka the death penalty) are both rationally unjustified and immoral.
Every year, on December 10, UN Human Rights Day commemorates the day in 1948 on which the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Although the Declaration itself said nothing about the death penalty, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) that incorporated its values in 1966 made it clear in Article 6(6) that ‘nothing … should be invoked to delay or to prevent the abolition of capital punishment by any State Party to the … Covenant,’ which now has been ratified by all but a handful of nations.
Today, we pause to consider the considerable changes that have taken place in the use of capital punishment around the world over the past quarter of a century, changes which have shifted our pessimism – believing that in many regions of the world there was little hope of worldwide abolition occurring soon – towards increasing optimism. Since the end of 1988, the number of actively retentionist countries (by which we mean countries that have carried out judicial executions in the past 10 years) has declined from 101 to 39, while the number that has completely abolished the death penalty has almost trebled from 35 to 99; a further seven are abolitionist for all ordinary crimes and 33 are regarded as abolitionist in practice: 139 in all. In 2013 only 22 countries were known to have carried out an execution and the number that regularly executes a substantial number of its citizens has dwindled. Only seven nations executed an average of 20 people or more over the five year period from 2009 to 2013: China (by far the largest number), Iran (the highest per head of population), Iraq, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, the United States, and Yemen. The change has been truly remarkable. Indeed, we have witnessed and recorded a revolution in the discourse on and practice of capital punishment since the fall of the Berlin Wall.
We have witnessed and recorded a revolution in the discourse on and practice of capital punishment since the fall of the Berlin Wall.
This year’s Human Rights Day slogan – Human Rights 365 – encompasses the idea that every day is Human Rights Day. It celebrates the fundamental proposition in the Universal Declaration that each one of us, everywhere, at all times is entitled to the full range of human rights, that human rights belong equally to each of us and bind us together as a global community with the same ideals and values. What better day then to reflect on the dynamo for this new wave of abolition – the development of international human rights law and norms.
Arising in the aftermath of the Second World War and linked to the emergence of countries from totalitarian imperialism and colonialism, the acceptance of international human rights principles transformed consideration of capital punishment from an issue to be decided solely or mainly as an aspect of national criminal justice policy to the status of a fundamental violation of human rights: not only the right to not to be arbitrarily deprived of life but the right to be free from cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment or treatment. The idea that each nation has the sovereign right to retain the death penalty as a repressive tool of its domestic criminal justice system on the grounds of its purported deterrent utility or the cultural preferences and expectations of its citizens was being replaced by a growing acceptance that countries that retain the death penalty – however they administer it – inevitably violate universally accepted human rights.
The human rights dynamic has not only resulted in fewer countries retaining the death penalty on their books, but also in the declining use of the ultimate penalty in many of those countries. Since the introduction of Safeguards Guaranteeing Protection of the Rights of those Facing the Death Penalty, which were first promulgated by the UN Economic and Social Council resolution 1984/50 and adopted by the General Assembly 30 years ago, there have been attempts to progressively restrict the use of capital punishment to the most heinous offences and the most culpable offenders and various measures to try to ensure that the death penalty is only applied where and when defendants have had access to a fair and safe criminal process. Hence, in many retentionist countries juveniles, the mentally ill, and the learning disabled are exempt from capital punishment, and some countries restrict the death penalty to culpable homicide.
There has been some strong resistance to the political movement to force change ever since the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1989. Attempts by the abolitionist nations at United Nations Congresses, in the General Assembly, beginning in 1994, and at the Commission on Human Rights, annually from 1997, to press for a resolution calling for a moratorium on the imposition of death sentences and executions met with hostility from many of the retentionist nations. By 2005, when an attempt had been made at the Commission on Human Rights to secure sufficient support to bring such a resolution before the United Nations, it had been opposed by 66 countries on the grounds that there was no international consensus that capital punishment should be abolished. Since then, as the resolution has been successfully brought before the General Assembly, the opposition has weakened as each subsequent vote was taken in 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2012, when 111 countries (60 per cent) voted in favour and 41 against. Just three weeks ago, 114 of the UN’s 193 member states voted in favour of the resolution which will go before the General Assembly Plenary for final adoption this month. The notion behind Human Rights 365 – that we are a part of a global community of shared values – is reflected in this increasing support for a worldwide moratorium as a further step towards worldwide abolition. We encourage all those who believe in human rights to continue working towards this ideal.
Headline image credit: Sparrow on barbed wire. Photo by See-ming Lee. CC BY 2.0 via seeminglee Flickr.
Like most Connecticut residents, I watched with a mixture of fascination and horror the trial of Steven J. Hayes. Hayes is one of two defendants accused of the particularly gruesome home invasion murders in July, 2007 in suburban Cheshire, Connecticut. Hayes has been found guilty; the jury has sentenced Hayes to receive the death penalty.
Like everyone who followed this trial, I have both admired and sympathized with Dr. William Petit, Jr. whose wife and two daughters were brutalized and killed by Hayes. Unsurprisingly, Dr. Petit wanted the death penalty in this case as would I had I been in Dr. Petit‘s position. So compelling have been the facts exposed at Hayes’ trial that many normally outspoken opponents of the death penalty have remained silent as the jury assigned that penalty to Hayes for his truly evil crimes.
During the Hayes trial, I also spent much time thinking about Ricardo Beamon. Mr. Beamon too was killed in July, 2007 in Connecticut. Mr. Beamon had led a troubled inner-city life which he had turned around by founding, in the words of the New Haven Register, a “high-end urban clothing” store. Mr. Beamon, who left a two year old daughter, was killed in a robbery. In a plea agreement, Mr. Beamon’s murderer agreed to a twenty year prison sentence. Mr. Beamon’s murder has occasioned relatively little public attention.
Undoubtedly, distinctions can be drawn between these two cases. However, the similarities are great as well. Both the members of the Petit family and Mr. Beamon are gone, leaving their respective loved ones to grieve for their undeserved losses.
In this context, I have been thinking as well of my nephew Brandon who was killed last summer by a negligent car driver. I am angry about the loss inflicted on us. If I could, I would like to take matters into my own hands. Instead, he will receive a prison sentence and then resume his life. Our loss is no less because the individual who killed Brandon acted negligently, rather than intentionally.
Under these circumstances, I cannot say that we inflict the ultimate penalty of death in a principled fashion.
One other family member has influenced me as I mull these issues, my late uncle, Justice Seymour F. Simon of the Illinois Supreme Court. Seymour was a consistent dissenter in his court’s death penalty cases. The legal basis for his dissent was, at one level, quite technical, namely, that the Illinois death penalty statute permits excessive prosecutorial discretion and violates the separation-of-powers provision of the Illinois state constitution.
However, Seymour came to be a profound critic of capital punishment. Seymour did not oppose the death penalty out of a soft-minded sympathy for those who commit horrible crimes. Rather, sitting atop a large state judicial system, he became convinced that we inflict the death penalty in an unprincipled manner.
I suspect that, when she grows up, Ms. Beamon will agree.
I can’t oppose the death penalty in all cases. Capital punishment was appropriate at Nuremberg. The Israelis were right to hang Adolf Eichmann. If we catch Osama bin Laden, I would favor, in Abe Lincoln’s famous phrase, hanging him like Haman “upon the gallows of [his] own building.”
But short of these cases,
0 Comments on The Death Penalty: My Personal Journey as of 1/1/1900
I’ve just read John’s ‘Pollyanna’ blog and boy, do I need to hold it in mind right now. Writing fiction? What’s that? Most of my writing time (I also run a youth theatre, am training to be a counsellor and spend far too much time doing school visits!) in the last week seems to have been taken up by sending e-mails, letters and Facebook messages because I have a penfriend, Eric Cathey, on Death Row whose execution date has been set for November 18th. I’ve recently been given the go ahead by his attorney as writing ‘can do no harm’ so am writing as much as I can in an attempt to save his life. The chances of my writing – or anybody else’s writing – making any difference are so slim (this is Texas I’m talking about and they’re executing two a week at present) that I almost feel like not bothering and working on the kids’ novel I’m trying to draw from the horror. (‘Wow! That’ll be a big seller then, Mum,’ says my sixteen year old daughter. ‘For 12-14 year olds? You think?’ She wanders off, shaking her head at her mother’s lunacy.) But my husband, the one who does the real work around here and funds my craziness, is sanguine. ‘You’re a writer. You have no choice. That’s what you’re here for.’ He doesn’t mean the fiction. It was 85 days ago that I heard the news. There are 26 left out of a friendship that has lasted over 3 years. My latest letter arrived yesterday. Eric’s unit is on lockdown (all privileges, including hot meals, withdrawn because someone misbehaved – this isn’t the place for more detail) but Eric rejoices that he has been allowed a visitor, is glad that he is in good health at present and writes: ‘Yesterday my friend 6:6 fixed us something to eat and I swear, I never thought chilli and corn chips ever tasted so good! : ) So I got a chance to eat a good meal while listening to my favourite team win their first game of the season!’ Eric has been in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day for eleven years now, with no TV, just a radio. I think he could empathise with Pollyanna at the worst moments! What a continual and very present reminder he is to me to value my smallest blessings, including, as John points out, the support of my community. (The phone goes – it is a friend, bless him, checking that I am OK. Timing, hey?) Eric values the friends he makes shouting through the doors and the bars of the exercise areas, the few visitors who can visit once a week and talk to him through the plexi-glass and the letters from his eight penfriends. Even on Death Row the survivor makes community. Those that cannot, for whatever reason, lose their minds. So yes, John, let us be deeply Pollyanna-ish in our gladness for whatever we have and most of all for the support of our communities – and, as we are writers, let us be particularly grateful for the communities we make through our writing. If anyone does want to write or e-mail in defence of Eric, I would be very grateful. Personally, I don’t care if he’s guilty or innocent of the murder of which he was convicted; I am against capital punishment. But Eric has always claimed he is innocent and there is doubt about the ‘safety’ of his conviction, which has been the subject of several petitions. The details you will need are as follows:
Governor Rick Perry, Office of the GovernorP.O. Box 12428Austin, Texas 78711-2428
As writers we are 'programmed' to take in experience and use it in our writings--whether sooner or later. Your husband it right, Meg, you have no choice. And whatever happens on Nov 18th (and I pray it won't be the worst), your newly written words and present actions will let Eric live on. I've been quietly thinking of him every day, and have written to Gov Perry by email. Never think that trying to save another human life is anything other than a good thing. And thank you for prompting me to count my own blessings today.
Thank you! As some of you will know, I'm boring on about this on every possible screen space so thank you for bearing with me and for taking action! Eric says, 'Stay positive'!
The awful irony is that, touch wood, the new President elected mere days after the planned execution date is unlikely to be a man sympathetic to the death penalty. What seemed 'right' yesterday may seem very wrong tomorrow...
P.S. Got my dates wrong, the election is of course before that date. Not that I imagine it'll make a lot of difference... I'm not even entirely sure what Obama's stance is, though I imagine he is considerably more liberal on this matter. But Texas is Texas.
I've written and sited Nelson Mandela and Bishop Desmond Tutu as being perfect examples of men... 'who instead of taking violent action against the white people of South Africa, were capable of extending peace through passive action. Execution is an act of violence. Must I bite my child because he bites another? Or must I instil in him a respect for humanity?' Not sure any of this will help but thinking of you these next few weeks, Meg.
Thank you so much, everyone. Have been away for a couple of days celebrating my 25th wedding anniversary which has been a welcome distraction! Too right about the election, Nick! Will just have to wait and see on that. Will follow the petition link, Anne. Is your capital punishment book a novel or factual? Happy to chase on amazon but if you think I need a title, do let me have it! Thanks again everyone. Your support is hugely appreciated.
I have emailed also Meg. I have only been writing to Eric for a short time (unlike yourself) and I truly believe, after reading much on the internet etc, that there is doubt re the 'safety' of his conviction.
As young writers we are taught “write what you know.” But when I became a writer, I found myself much more interested in what I didn’t know. I can think of nothing more exhilarating then tackling a subject that is as far from my life as possible, and then, go on a spectacular treasure hunt for facts and ideas.
I write a lot about dark subjects for young adults. Many nonfiction writers are drawn to tough themes as a way to go beyond the sound bites, the headlines, and the slogans that make up much of our lives. “An eye for an eye....” “Do the crime, do the time.” “Just say ‘no””. Life is more complicated than what these and other sayings imply.
There are a range of ways a writer can go beyond slogans. What works for me is writing books based on interviews. I find it fascinating to interview an individual and then write personal accounts from my subject’s point of view. From these accounts, along with additional background material, I try to shape a coherent story. The final narratives are usually reviewed by my subjects to be certain there are no mistakes. I’ve been doing this for years and no one has ever asked me to change an idea or statement so that he will look good. This method can be used with just about any nonfiction, including biography, current events, and even history.
Interviews work particularly well when facing dark subjects, such as boy soldiers, Nazi youths, or teenagers on death row. Nevertheless, dark subjects can be difficult on many levels. It can be difficult for the people interviewed in the book. They reveal their lives and bare their souls. Ishmael Beah’s intimate memoir, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, is a comparable case in point. Ishmael’s personal experience during a very brutal time in his country’s history is a clear example of how events affect an individual’s life. He is able to describe the brutal war in Sierra Leone in a way that statistics, and even photographs of thousands of nameless dead, do not.
It can be difficult for the writer who has to maintain objectivity. Susan Campbell Bartoletti has talked about making tough decisions while writing her fascinating book, Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow. Susan interviewed people who had participated in the Hitler youth program before and during WW II. They described the idolization, the camaraderie, and the conformity that helped Hitler come to power. Very few analyses beat the power of those testimonies.
It can be difficult for teachers and librarians who have to deal with the politics of a controversial book. They are on the front lines. They must balance a heavy work load, the possible wrath of their community, and the possible loss for simply standing up for the First Amendment. By the way, we authors do what we can to support them.
It can be difficult for the reader who may have never before had to confront the world that they find in a particular book. A few days ago my book, No Choirboy: Murder, Violence, and Teenagers on Death Row, was published. Readers, especially those who have not been exposed to maximum security prisons and Texas’s death row, have already told me about strong, emotional reactions that they’ve experienced while reading the book. Perhaps this is because the stories, written in their voices, are very personal, raw, and current. It’s not history. It’s happening right now. How about this slogan: “If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.” Now, that’s a saying I can get my teeth into. But it’s still a slogan.
If dark subjects are so difficult for everyone concerned, why are some us drawn to them? Why do we write about civil rights, human rights, famine, strikes, black lists, torture, and death? There was something about teenagers on death row that called to me. It demanded to be heard. I absolutely had to write this book.Why? I haven’t a clue.
Does anyone out there in cyberspace have the answers? Susan Kuklin
As writers we are 'programmed' to take in experience and use it in our writings--whether sooner or later. Your husband it right, Meg, you have no choice. And whatever happens on Nov 18th (and I pray it won't be the worst), your newly written words and present actions will let Eric live on. I've been quietly thinking of him every day, and have written to Gov Perry by email. Never think that trying to save another human life is anything other than a good thing. And thank you for prompting me to count my own blessings today.
Thanks for reminding us of the larger world and that writing is not everything. I too will email, since I consider capital punishment barbaric.
I've emailed too, Meg.
Thank you! As some of you will know, I'm boring on about this on every possible screen space so thank you for bearing with me and for taking action! Eric says, 'Stay positive'!
I just emailed.
The awful irony is that, touch wood, the new President elected mere days after the planned execution date is unlikely to be a man sympathetic to the death penalty. What seemed 'right' yesterday may seem very wrong tomorrow...
P.S. Got my dates wrong, the election is of course before that date. Not that I imagine it'll make a lot of difference... I'm not even entirely sure what Obama's stance is, though I imagine he is considerably more liberal on this matter. But Texas is Texas.
I've written and sited Nelson Mandela and Bishop Desmond Tutu as being perfect examples of men... 'who instead of taking violent action against the white people of South Africa, were capable of extending peace through passive action. Execution is an act of violence. Must I bite my child because he bites another? Or must I instil in him a respect for humanity?'
Not sure any of this will help but thinking of you these next few weeks, Meg.
There's also a world coalition petition you can sign: http://www.worldcoalition.org/modules/news/article.php?storyid=170
I've written to the governor, Meg, and included a few bits from my book about capital punishment.
Thank you so much, everyone. Have been away for a couple of days celebrating my 25th wedding anniversary which has been a welcome distraction! Too right about the election, Nick! Will just have to wait and see on that. Will follow the petition link, Anne. Is your capital punishment book a novel or factual? Happy to chase on amazon but if you think I need a title, do let me have it! Thanks again everyone. Your support is hugely appreciated.
Have signed the petition and urged non-Sassie Facebook friends to do likewise, Meg.
I have emailed also Meg. I have only been writing to Eric for a short time (unlike yourself) and I truly believe, after reading much on the internet etc, that there is doubt re the 'safety' of his conviction.