For most of my life I have been in favor of the death penalty, however after several years of careful consideration I have changed my mind. I now believe that if you really, seriously want to punish someone who has committed a horrific crime, and the choices are (A) a relatively painless “parole” via humane execution, or (B) a never-ending term in a lonely, terrifying, hopelessly depressing, hot-in-summer-cold-in-winter, walls-closing-in, no-possibility-of-release, stinking prison cell, then give that person the latter every time.
Let us briefly consider some of the reasons why society even bothers to send someone to prison. There are at least five good reasons for incarcerating someone who has wantonly broken society’s most sacred laws:
Punishment: Those who demonstrate wanton disregard for the lives, rights and property of others deserve punishment of sufficient severity that it grabs their attention and drives home the message: “This will not be tolerated.”
Protection: An individual or family who has suffered a serious loss due to the deliberate criminal act of another, whether it is loss of property or loss of life, deserves assurance that during the perpetrator’s confinement, that victim or group of victims is safe, protected from further damage by that person.
Protection against the miscarriage of justice: For reasons ranging from simple misidentification to deliberate police or prosecutorial misconduct, innocent people have at times been convicted, sentenced and even executed. The growing body of DNA exonerations proves this beyond doubt. There is no way to say “Ooops!” to someone who has already been put to death.
Rehabilitation: It does not happen often, but with or without the existence of a dedicated rehabilitation program it is at least possible for someone entering prison to reverse the direction of his or her life, and emerge as a productive member of society. It may not happen often, but it is at least possible, and therefore the possibility of rehabilitation must not be foreclosed.
Retribution: Ideally, those who are severely victimized can repair and restore themselves, and never need to look back. However, it is understandable that not everyone who has fallen prey to the deliberate and malicious actions of another can do that. Some victims may need to know that “something is being done to avenge my pain.” There are those who would say that the death penalty best fulfills this goal. However, I would say that at some time in every prison term from which there is zero possibility of parole, there dawns a day when the offender says, “Good grief! I wish I were dead. Why didn’t they just execute me!”
That is the day that the individual victim and society as a whole get whatever retribution they may need. Let us hope that by that time, most victims’ healing will have progressed to the point that vengeance is no longer important. However, if it is needed, this is the day on which a victim who needs revenge begins to reap it.
A true life sentence, that is, life without any possibility of parole, is a much better way than the death penalty to punish someone who has committed a horrendous crime.
Doug Glynn, a retired Social Security district manager, lives in Joplin.
