Post by sclcookie on Jun 2, 2006 1:17:21 GMT -5
Wisconsin reconsiders the death penalty
The Wisconsin State Assembly recently voted to include an advisory
referendum on the November ballot on whether Wisconsin should reinstate
the death penalty, which was abolished in 1835. As of press time, the
State Senate has yet to take up the matter, but is expected to pass it.
The Legislature would still then have to vote the bill into law.
A recent poll conducted by the St. Norbert College Survey Center and
Wisconsin Public Radio found that 61 % of Wisconsinites favor reinstating
the death penalty. So it would seem that public opinion is firmly in favor
of capital punishment. But is this a good reason to reinstate the death
penalty?
Proponents like to refer to the death penalty as the ultimate punishment.
They argue that capital punishment is a strong deterrent to crime and that
it costs taxpayers less than life sentences. The truth of the matter,
though, is that the research on capital punishment as a crime deterrent
indicates that states that have capital punishment and account for most of
the state-sanctioned executions in the country have higher homicide rates
overall than states that do not allow capital punishment or use it less
frequently. Death penalty cases are also not less expensive than non-death
penalty cases.
Then there is the question of race. Nationwide, a disproportionately hight
number of inmates on death row are African-American. Will Wisconsin be
able to administer capital punishment without such a racial bias? Lastly,
and most importantly, theres the larger moral question of whether the
state should be in the business of putting its citizens to death.
Crime and punishment
There is much disagreement over whether capital punishment is a deterrent
to violent crime, but when one compares the crime rates of states with the
death penalty and those without, the argument in favor appears weak.
According to 2003 FBI Uniform Crime Rates Data, 10 of the 12 states
without capital punishment have homicide rates below the national average
- 4.74 homicides per 100,000 people. Wisconsin came in at just under 3.5.
Texas, the poster child for capital punishment, had a homicide rate almost
twice that of Wisconsin, just under 6.5.
As a whole, the South tends to execute more inmates than any other region
of the country. However, the South also tends to have the highest homicide
rate. Consider also that the homicide rate in Wisconsin has been on the
decline since 1993.
Proponents of capital punishment also advance the argument that life
sentences cost taxpayers far more than executions. In actuality, death
penalty cases cost taxpayers more than non-death penalty cases. A 2003
Kansas legislative audit found that death penalty cases were costing the
state 70 % more than non-death penalty case average, $1.26 million from
trial to execution. The average cost for a non-death penalty case from
trial to the end of incarceration was $740,000. But cost is not an
acceptable argument for or against capital punishment as far as I am
concerned. There is something patently vulgar about reducing human life to
dollars and cents. Taking all this into account, it is difficult to
understand just why we need capital punishment or even why we are having
this debate.
Racial disparity
There can be little dispute that African-Americans make up a
disproportionately high percentage of the death row population. According
to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, in 2004, 1,390 - or 42 % - of the
3,315 total death row inmates were African-Americans. Whites made up 1,850
- or 56 percent - of total inmates on death row. African-Americans, I
remind you, make up only 12 % of the total population.
In Wisconsin, the incarceration rate of African-Americans far exceeds that
of whites. According to a 2002 U.S. Bureau of Justice report, Wisconsin
leads the nation in incarceration of African-Americans. This is true
despite the fact that African-Americans make up only 5 % of the population
of Wisconsin.
As much as we'd like to believe that justice is blind, it is not. It is
certainly not color blind. The unfortunate truth is that the race of the
victim and the race of the offender matters. A 2001 University of North
Carolina study found that the odds of being sentenced to death increased
by 3.5 percent if the victim was white. A Department of Justice study
conducted in 2000 found that between 1995 and 2000, 80 % of federal cases
seeking the death penalty involved people of color. In light of all this,
do we really believe that Wisconsin will be able to administer the death
penalty more fairly? 10 years from now, will we be talking about the
disproportionate number of African-Americans on death row in Wisconsin?
An eye for an eye
The larger question about capital punishment is whether the state should
execute its citizens. The ethical issues are clear. If we as a society
believe that murder is wrong, how do we reconcile this belief with capital
punishment? There are those who say that heinous homicides warrant the
execution of the offender. I can appreciate this argument. It is a natural
emotional reaction to want to kill those who kill, particularly for the
family of the victim. I imagine this is one reason we dont allow people
emotionally invested in a case to sit on the jury. But in the end, it is
simply hypocritical and ironic to punish people for murder by murdering
them.
Let's be honest about why we're having this discussion over capital
punishment. Its not about deterring crime or making the streets safer for
law-abiding citizens. It's about retribution. If Wisconsin overturns its
more than 150-year-old ban of capital punishment, it will be clear that
we'd prefer to dispense vengeance rather than justice.
(source: Commentary, Vital Source Magazine----Frizell Bailey - Frizell
Bailey is a freelance writer and reporter currently pursuing his Masters
of Journalism at UWM. He also writes for The Guardian.
The Wisconsin State Assembly recently voted to include an advisory
referendum on the November ballot on whether Wisconsin should reinstate
the death penalty, which was abolished in 1835. As of press time, the
State Senate has yet to take up the matter, but is expected to pass it.
The Legislature would still then have to vote the bill into law.
A recent poll conducted by the St. Norbert College Survey Center and
Wisconsin Public Radio found that 61 % of Wisconsinites favor reinstating
the death penalty. So it would seem that public opinion is firmly in favor
of capital punishment. But is this a good reason to reinstate the death
penalty?
Proponents like to refer to the death penalty as the ultimate punishment.
They argue that capital punishment is a strong deterrent to crime and that
it costs taxpayers less than life sentences. The truth of the matter,
though, is that the research on capital punishment as a crime deterrent
indicates that states that have capital punishment and account for most of
the state-sanctioned executions in the country have higher homicide rates
overall than states that do not allow capital punishment or use it less
frequently. Death penalty cases are also not less expensive than non-death
penalty cases.
Then there is the question of race. Nationwide, a disproportionately hight
number of inmates on death row are African-American. Will Wisconsin be
able to administer capital punishment without such a racial bias? Lastly,
and most importantly, theres the larger moral question of whether the
state should be in the business of putting its citizens to death.
Crime and punishment
There is much disagreement over whether capital punishment is a deterrent
to violent crime, but when one compares the crime rates of states with the
death penalty and those without, the argument in favor appears weak.
According to 2003 FBI Uniform Crime Rates Data, 10 of the 12 states
without capital punishment have homicide rates below the national average
- 4.74 homicides per 100,000 people. Wisconsin came in at just under 3.5.
Texas, the poster child for capital punishment, had a homicide rate almost
twice that of Wisconsin, just under 6.5.
As a whole, the South tends to execute more inmates than any other region
of the country. However, the South also tends to have the highest homicide
rate. Consider also that the homicide rate in Wisconsin has been on the
decline since 1993.
Proponents of capital punishment also advance the argument that life
sentences cost taxpayers far more than executions. In actuality, death
penalty cases cost taxpayers more than non-death penalty cases. A 2003
Kansas legislative audit found that death penalty cases were costing the
state 70 % more than non-death penalty case average, $1.26 million from
trial to execution. The average cost for a non-death penalty case from
trial to the end of incarceration was $740,000. But cost is not an
acceptable argument for or against capital punishment as far as I am
concerned. There is something patently vulgar about reducing human life to
dollars and cents. Taking all this into account, it is difficult to
understand just why we need capital punishment or even why we are having
this debate.
Racial disparity
There can be little dispute that African-Americans make up a
disproportionately high percentage of the death row population. According
to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, in 2004, 1,390 - or 42 % - of the
3,315 total death row inmates were African-Americans. Whites made up 1,850
- or 56 percent - of total inmates on death row. African-Americans, I
remind you, make up only 12 % of the total population.
In Wisconsin, the incarceration rate of African-Americans far exceeds that
of whites. According to a 2002 U.S. Bureau of Justice report, Wisconsin
leads the nation in incarceration of African-Americans. This is true
despite the fact that African-Americans make up only 5 % of the population
of Wisconsin.
As much as we'd like to believe that justice is blind, it is not. It is
certainly not color blind. The unfortunate truth is that the race of the
victim and the race of the offender matters. A 2001 University of North
Carolina study found that the odds of being sentenced to death increased
by 3.5 percent if the victim was white. A Department of Justice study
conducted in 2000 found that between 1995 and 2000, 80 % of federal cases
seeking the death penalty involved people of color. In light of all this,
do we really believe that Wisconsin will be able to administer the death
penalty more fairly? 10 years from now, will we be talking about the
disproportionate number of African-Americans on death row in Wisconsin?
An eye for an eye
The larger question about capital punishment is whether the state should
execute its citizens. The ethical issues are clear. If we as a society
believe that murder is wrong, how do we reconcile this belief with capital
punishment? There are those who say that heinous homicides warrant the
execution of the offender. I can appreciate this argument. It is a natural
emotional reaction to want to kill those who kill, particularly for the
family of the victim. I imagine this is one reason we dont allow people
emotionally invested in a case to sit on the jury. But in the end, it is
simply hypocritical and ironic to punish people for murder by murdering
them.
Let's be honest about why we're having this discussion over capital
punishment. Its not about deterring crime or making the streets safer for
law-abiding citizens. It's about retribution. If Wisconsin overturns its
more than 150-year-old ban of capital punishment, it will be clear that
we'd prefer to dispense vengeance rather than justice.
(source: Commentary, Vital Source Magazine----Frizell Bailey - Frizell
Bailey is a freelance writer and reporter currently pursuing his Masters
of Journalism at UWM. He also writes for The Guardian.