State needs to give serious review to death penalty
From The Olympian January 20, 2010
Alice M. Curtis
An Olympian editorial raised a question of critical concern to the citizens of Washington. Do we believe that the death penalty is the most effective and just response to the most heinous crimes in our state?
The Olympia Fellowship of Reconciliation’s Committee for Alternatives to the Death Penalty has been interacting with the public for the past 20 years. I and other members of this committee have engaged in conversations with thousands of local citizens and heard their concerns about capital punishment.
In addition, we conducted a scientifically valid survey in order to learn more about what Thurston County voters think about this issue.
The survey’s major finding was that voters were open to replacing the death penalty with a reasonable and effective alternative. In Washington state, of course, we do have that workable alternative: life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The most troubling aspect of the death penalty for survey respondents was the possibility of executing an innocent person. This was prior to the headline news that Illinois — which had executed 13 persons — had released 12 innocent persons from death row. Nationwide, 139 persons since 1973 have been released from death row because of wrongful convictions.
As we have talked with people at various community events, we have found that many are surprised to learn that the death penalty actually costs more than life in prison without possibility of parole, and that the greatest costs associated with capital punishment occur prior to and during the original trial, and not in appeals. Citizens are dismayed to know that the death penalty diverts resources from programs that would actually reduce crime.
It’s always interesting to welcome foreign visitors to our information tables, and to hear their concern that the U.S. continues to use a method of punishment that European and other nations have long ago abandoned. We are reminded that the death penalty is losing support internationally, and that at least 139 nations have abolished the death penalty in law or in practice.
Visitors to our death penalty information tables often — and understandably — express their contempt for perpetrators of violent crime, and they are surprised to learn that the death penalty is not effectively targeting “the worst of the worst.”
Citizens are disturbed to learn that it’s easier to predict who will be executed by looking at the defendant’s income level, race, geographical location, and the race of the victim, than by considering the nature of the crime. A minority race defendant who is poor and accused of killing a white person is more likely to face execution than a defendant who is white, wealthy, and accused of killing a minority race victim.
Accused persons who are prosecuted in some Washington counties are more likely to be subjected to the death penalty than are persons accused of similar crimes in other counties. The differences often are due to political or budgetary pressures.
We agree with The Olympian that it’s time for a major public examination of the death penalty. We do need to talk about it. More than that, citizens of Washington are looking to their legislators and the governor to provide leadership in overturning capital punishment in our state. There’s an opportunity right now for citizens to voice their support of House Bill 1909 and Senate Bill 5476, which would eliminate the death penalty in favor of life in prison.
Our experience over the past 20 years is that the more people know about the death penalty, the more troubled they are that our state still clings to this expensive, unjust and ineffective response to crime.
Alice M. Curtis, a member of the Olympian Board of Contributors, is a school social worker and social justice advocate.