According to USA Today, 10 of Ohio’s Catholic leaders, including Cincinnati’s Archbishop Dennis Schnurr and Columbus’s Bishop Frederick Campbell, have signed a statement calling for the end of the death penalty in Ohio. Ohio Supreme Court Justice Paul Pfeifer and former director of the state prisons Terry Collins also support an end to capital punishment in the state. In 2010, eight people in the state of Ohio were put to death ó the most since 1949.
In their statement, the bishops stated that “just punishment can occur without resorting to the death penalty,” and that they believe the death penalty is immoral in almost all cases.
I would have to agree. Certainly we need the justice system to uphold the law and ensure the safety and security of citizens, and I definitely believe that those convicted of crimes need to face consequences, including lengthy jail sentences. However, the death penalty is one consequence that I believe no one should have to face. I consider the death penalty to be morally wrong. I do not feel that anyone has the right to take someone else’s life, no matter what the crime. An eye-for-an eye mentality is no way to create a peaceful and just society.
One of the problems with the death penalty is that it takes away all chances for reform. In my opinion, even if someone is sentenced to life in prison without any chance of parole, they could still learn to be a better person while in prison.
One notable example is Karla Faye Tucker, a Texas woman convicted of murder in 1984 and executed in 1998. Tucker became famous for her conversion to Christianity while waiting to be executed. Her conversion seemed so powerful and real that it led numerous people to appeal to the state on her behalf, including a United Nations commissioner, Newt Gingrich, televangelist Pat Robertson, and even the brother of one of the murder victims. Sadly, their appeals were not granted. If Tucker had been allowed to live, she could have been a source of great inspiration to many others through prison ministry, and she would have served as proof that reform is possible.
Moreover, prisoners sentenced to death often wait extremely long periods for their execution to occur. Tucker waited 14 years. Forcing someone to await their death for long periods of time seems to fit the definition of cruel and unusual punishment, something that is illegal in our society.
On a less ethical and more practical note, the death penalty is also a drain on our economy. According to an article by the Associated Press, many states have found that it is tens of millions of dollars cheaper to convict criminals to life in prison then to execute them. As the state budget is created and debated, Ohio Democratic Representative Ted Celeste plans to make this argument for abolishing the death penalty in Ohio. Celeste also states that many counties avoid the death penalty because of its expense, illustrating that the death penalty does not always ensure equal justice. People charged in different counties face different likelihoods of being sentenced with the death penalty, which is an unjust situation.
However, for me, the worst aspect of the death penalty is that it takes away our hope for the convicted criminal. The presence of the death penalty indicates that we have lost all hope that a person can change for the better. In a world with so much misery and violence, I think that we need to have hope that even the worst people in society can be transformed.
Yet, despite all of this evidence against the death penalty, it is likely that capital punishment will not be abolished without a fight. Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, as well as Ohio Governor John Kasich, are just a few of the many that support capital punishment. While I like the governor and the attorney general, I hope that this is one fight that doesn’t go their way.
Emily Tarr is a Senior Staff Writer for the Voice. She can be reached for comment at ETarr11@wooster.edu.