The Death Penalty is a Step Back

The Death Penalty is a Step Back
Coretta Scott King
Although I have suffered the loss of two family members by assassination, I remain
firmly and unequivocally opposed to the death penalty for those convicted of capital offenses.
An evil deed is not redeemed by an evil deed of retaliation. Justice is never advanced in the
taking of a human life. Morality is never upheld by legalized murder. Morality apart, there are
a number of practical reasons which form a powerful argument against capital punishment.
First, capital punishment makes irrevocable any possible miscarriage of justice. Time
and again we have witnessed the specter of mistakenly convicted people being put to death in
the name of American criminal justice. To those who say that, after all, this doesn’t occur too
often, I can only reply that if it happens just once, that is too often. And it has occurred many
times.
Second, the death penalty reflects an unwarranted assumption that the wrongdoer is
beyond rehabilitation. Perhaps some individuals cannot be rehabilitated; but who shall make
that determination? Is any amount of academic training sufficient to entitle one person to
judge another incapable of rehabilitation?
Third, the death penalty is inequitable. Approximately half of the 711 persons now on
death row are black. From 1930 through 1968, 53.5% of those executed were black
Americans, all too many of whom were represented by court-appointed attorneys and
convicted after hasty trials. The argument that this may be an accurate reflection of guilt and
homicide trends instead of racist application of laws lacks credibility in light of a recent Florida
survey which showed that persons convicted of killing whites were four times more likely to
receive a death sentence than those convicted of killing blacks.
Proponents of capital punishment often cite a “deterrent effect” as the main benefits of
the death penalty. Not only is there no hard evidence that murdering murderers will deter
other potential killers, but even the “logic” of this argument defies comprehension. Numerous
studies show that the majority of homicides committed in this country are acts of victim’s
relatives, friends, and acquaintances in the “heat of passion.” What this strongly suggests is
that rational consideration of future consequences is seldom a part of the killer’s attitude at the
time he commits a crime.
The only way to break the chain of violent reaction is to practice nonviolence as
individuals and collectively through our laws and institutions.


Works Cited
King, Coretta Scott. "The Death Penalty Is a Step Back." San Joaquin Delta College. Web. 15 Feb. 2011. .

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