Hidden on the law section of CNN's Web site this morning was a sad milestone: Texas Executes its 400th inmate since the 1972 Supreme Court ruling allowing the ultimate penalty to exist in our country.
The irony of George W. Bush's past as governor of Texas is not lost on me.
Our country once stood for freedom from state-sponsored terrorism. Revenge is not a part of justice. Punishment techniques that don't reduce crime have largely been eliminated. That is all a pipe dream in our country today. Not only are we the largest purveyor of colonial terrorism on the globe, but we continue to use the barbaric and ineffective death penalty in 38 out of 50 states. Shame on us.
The United States stands pathetically alone among western countries in using the death penalty as a "solution" for murderers, kidnappers and domestic terrorists. The international company we keep is chilling: China, Yemen, Sudan, Iran, Iraq...ring any bells? All known to harbor terrorists or repress the rights of their citizens.
Besides the fact that the death penalty has never been proven as a deterent to crime, it is also the most costly disposition of murder cases in the United States. Each death penalty court case costs more than 70% more than a normal non-death penalty case, not even including the costs between conviction and carrying out the sentence. California has racked up costs of more than $250,000,000 per execution for each of the last 11 death penalty cases they have tried.
There are also documented cases around the world of innocent people being executed and exhonorated afterwards. Dozens of Americans have been released from death row after their sentences have been overturned by DNA evidence. Legal students and their professors have even investigated and presented contrary evidence to the courts, leading to the release of innocent people.
There is no doubt in my mind that there are people who have committed heinous crimes. They should not be allowed to walk among us. Lock 'em up and throw away the key. Life in prison is a much saner, less expensive and more moral solution than the death penalty.
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