The Death Penalty Debate

Introducing the Debate

Death Becomes Us: Why Americans Support Capital Punishment by Michael Manville
An analysis of why the U.S., unlike other industrialized nations, continues in its use of the death penalty.

"Angel on Death Row" | Text-only Sister Helen Prejean's controversial 1993 book Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States detailed her experiences as a spiritual advisor to death row prisoners in Louisiana's Angola State Prison. A 1995 film based on the book, "Dead Man Walking", garnered several Academy Award nominations, one resulting in a Best Actress Oscar for Susan Sarandon, who played Sister Prejean. In 1996 the public television program Frontline went behind the scenes to examine the real life situations portrayed in the book and film and explore the debate on the death penalty. This site includes a transcript of the Frontline program, interviews with principals in the cases and those involved with the book and film, pro and con statements on the death penalty, links to capital punishment sites, and a chronology of the death penalty in the U.S.

• Pros and Cons | Text-only
• The Ultimate Punishment: A Defense: by Ernest van den Haag. 99 Harvard Law Review 1662 (1986).
• Against the American System of Capital Punishment: by Jack Greenberg. 99 Harvard Law Review 1670 (1986).

Sr. Helen Prejean and Dead Man Walking

Dead Man Walking by Sister Helen Prejean and the movie based upon it have become important foci of the current death penalty debate in the U.S. Sister Prejean visited Alaska in January 1998, speaking in both Anchorage and Juneau.

• Speech of Sr. Helen Prejean: 24 January 1995. Delivered at an inter-religious service to protest the death penalty in Albany, New York.
• Interview with Sr. Helen Prejean: At Frontline's "Angel on Death Row" site; see also interviews with others involved in the case of Robert Lee Willie, one of the men for whom Sr. Prejean acted as spiritual advisor prior to his execution for the rape, murder, and torture of Faith Colleen Hathaway.
• "Sympathy for the Devil: Sister Helen Prejean talks about the condemned men who inspired 'Dead Man Walking'": by Marc Bruno. Salon 6, January 27-February 9, 1996.
• "What Love Requires (A Profile of Sister Helen Prejean)": by Judy Pennington. Common Boundary May/June 1996.
• "The Voice of Dead Men: Interview with Sister Helen Prejean": by Vicki Quade. ABA Individual Rights and Responsibilities Section, Human Rights 23(3), Summer 1996.
• "Would Jesus pull the switch?": by Sister Helen Prejean. Salt of the Earth, March/April 1997.
• "Dead Man Walking and Death Penalty Litigation": by David George. Court TV, 1997. Discusses the mechanics of death penalty litigation as portrayed in Tim Robbins' film.

Talk of the Nation
The daily National Public Radio program maintains an archive of shows aired from 1995 to the present, including some on the death penalty. The free Real Audio player is required to hear the shows.

• January 13, 1998: Susan Boleyn, Senior Assistant Attorney General of Georgia (a death penalty state) and Richard Dieter of the Death Penalty Information Center discuss capital punishment in the light of recent high profile federal capital cases, such as the Oklahoma City bombing and the Unabomber case.
• February 11, 1997: The second hour of the program features two sitting federal judges, Judge Alex Kozinski and Judge Steve Reinhart, both with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, discussing the role of federal judges in the imposition of death sentences and the effect of a judge's personal opinion on capital rulings.
• July 2, 1996: A discussion with criminal defense attorney Sean O'Brien and Susan Boleyn of the Office of the Attorney General of Georgia (a death penalty state) on the use of capital punishment since the U.S. Supreme Court lifted the moratorium on its use in 1976.

Focus on the Death Penalty
American Bar Association, Focus on Law Studies 12(2), Spring 1997. Eight scholars from law, the social sciences, and the humanities discuss and debate capital punishment as a matter of scholarship, public policy, and classroom teaching. The portions included here are edited versions of a two-week online dicussion in February 1997.

• Unedited Death Penalty Forum (WordPerfect document): The entire two-week online discussion, unedited, in a downloadable WordPerfect 6.1 document.
• "The ABA Calls for a Moratorium on the Death Penalty: The Task Ahead -- Reconciling Justice with Politics": by Leslie A. Harris. American Bar Association, Focus on Law Studies 12(2), Spring 1997. By a vote of 280 to 119, the American Bar Association House of Delegates in early 1997 called for a moratorium on capital punishment until greater fairness and due process are assured.
• Recommendation 107: American Bar Association, 3 February 1997. The American Bar Association calls for a moratorium on capital punishment until severe problems with its application are addressed, specifically regarding the provision of counsel to defendants in capital cases, state post-conviction and federal habeus corpus proceedings, the elimination of racial discrimination in capital sentencing, and preventing the execution of the mentally retarded or persons under 18 at the time of offense. The resolution states also that "in adopting this recommendation, apart from exiting Association policies relating to offenders who are mentally retarded or under the age of 18 at the time of the commission of the offenses, the Association takes no position on the death penalty." This page offers for download a WordPerfect version of the report upon which the recommendation is based.

Flashbacks: Who Deserves to Die?
Atlantic Unbound presents articles on the death penalty that have appeared in past issues of The Atlantic Monthly and gives readers the opportunity to discuss the death penalty in its online conferencing area.

• "Capital Punishment" by George Bernard Shaw. The Atlantic Monthly, June 1948. "But the ungovernables, the ferocious, the conscienceless, the idiots, the self-centered myops and morons, what of them?" asks the famous playwright. "Do not punish them. Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill them."
• "Is the Death Penalty Necessary?" by Giles Playfair. The Atlantic Monthly, September 1957. The London barrister answers: No. The justice system should, rather, aim at prevention, rehabilitation, and reform.
• "Sentencing: The Judge's Problem" by Irving Kaufman. The Atlantic Monthly, January 1960. Kaufman was the judge who pronounced sentence on Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, executed for espionage in the early 1950s.
• "Let's Get Real About Executions in America: Three Easy Steps" by James Carroll. The Boston Globe (op-ed piece.), May 31, 1994. An anti-death penalty opinion piece focusing on methods of execution and the presumed "humane" alternative of lethal injection.

Capital Punishment: Life or Death?
This project by members of a university composition class at University of Texas, sharply divided in their stand on the death penalty, presents statements on all the major pro and con arguments, plus papers written by the students on various aspects of capital punishment.

Kansas State Collegian, 2 February 1995.
Two university students respond to the reintroduction of capital punishment in Kansas in 1994. Kansas provides the death penalty in cases of capital murder given one of seven aggravating circumstances; persons determined to be mentally retarded are excluded from capital sentencing. As of yearend 1996, no one had been executed or sentenced to death in Kansas under the 1994 statute. Kansas executed 15 persons between 1930 and 1967, when an unofficial moratorium on executions began.

• "Death Penalty Serves Justice to Victims": by John Hart.
• "Capital Punishment Accomplishes Little": by Dan Lewerenz.

"Capital Punishment: Arguments For Life and Death"
by Jennifer C. Honeyman and James R.P. Ogloff. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science 28(1), January 1996. Despite capital punishment having been abolished in Canada 20 years ago, the majority of Canadians continue to favour the death penalty as a sentencing option. This Canadian study investigates the effects of argument position (for or against the death penalty) and type of justification for punishment (deterrence, morality, rehabilitation, incapacitation, economic, and possibility of mistake) on participants' sentence recommendations for a defendant found guilty of first degree murder.

Ethics Updates: Punishment and the Death Penalty
Part of a general Ethics Updates site designed primarily for ethics instructors and their students, this page provides resources on the death penalty, plus links to an online forum, one of several provided in order to facilitate serious and reflective dialogue on difficult moral issues.

The Case Against the Death Penalty, 3rd ed.
by Hugo Adam Bedeau. American Civil Liberties Union, 1997. A pamphlet for the ACLU's Capital Punishment Project presenting all the major arguments against the death penalty by a well-known professor of political philosophy. An earlier version (July 1992) of the pamphlet is available through the World Policy Institute web site.

John Stuart Mill: Speech in Favor of Capital Punishment
Speech delivered before Parliament (United Kingdom) on 21 April, 1868, in opposition to a bill that would have banned capital punishment. Mill was a prominent utilitarian philosopher and politician.

"American Justice in America?"
by Ferndando Javier Litardo. April 1994. Comparison of abolitionist and retentionist views concerning the death penalty. The author takes an anti-death penalty position. This document is also available at the ASC Critical Criminology Death Penalty site.

Death Penalty and Sentencing Information in the United States
Justice For All, 1 October 1997. Addresses major issues in the death penalty: the risk of executing the innocent, deterrence, race, cost of the death penalty versus life imprisonment without parole, death penalty procedures, and Christianity adn the death penalty. This site takes a pro-death penalty stance.

• On the Front Line: Law Enforcement Views on the Death Penalty: by Richard C. Dieter. Washington, DC: Death Penalty Information Center, February 1995. A national poll of randomly selected police chiefs in the U.S. indicates that police executives consider the death penalty one of the least effect means of controlling or deterring crime.
• "Requiring the Death Penalty in the Case of a Law Enforcement Officer Killed in the Line of Duty": A resolution of the National Assocation of Police Organizations (NAPO) expressing support for the death penalty for the murder of a law enforcement or correctional officer by a convict under federal jurisdiction.

Religious Positions
Many people's attitudes toward the death penalty are framed by their religious beliefs. The listing included here is not meant to be comprehensive, but simply to provide a starting point for persons seeking answers about religious belief and capital punishment. Suggestions for additional links are welcome.

General Resources

• Capital Punishment: The Death Penalty: Information and links to resources about various religious viewpoints on the death penalty from Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance.
• Links Toward Abolition: Religious Perspectives: A selection of links.
• Statements On Capital Punishment by Religious Organizations: Text of statements by religious bodies calling for an end to the death penalty provided through Deathpenalty.net.

Biblical References
What the Bible has to say about the death penalty is of particular importance to Judaism and Christianity, the dominant religious traditions in the U.S.

• What the Bible Says About the Death Penalty/Capital Punishment. Descriptions and citations of the biblical verses of activities requiring the death penalty according to the both the Hebrew and Christian scriptures; from Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance.
• What the Bible Says About Punishment, Death Penalty: Summaries of biblical statements concerning punishment by death. Verses can also be read directly and within the context of the chapter and book where they are found, in several translations. See also What the Bible Says About Punishment, Death Penalty, Modes of Execution of Death Penalty. Provided as a service of Logos Research Systems.

Catholicism
Numerous Catholics in the U.S. support the death penalty, but the Catholic Church has officially opposed it for two decades.

• Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life): Relevant passages from an encyclical issued March 25, 1995 by Pope John Paul II, world leader of Roman Catholicism, after four years' consultations with Roman Catholic bishops throughout the world, stating that execution is only appropriate "in cases of absolute necessity, in other words, when it would not be possible otherwise to defend society. Today, however, as a result of steady improvement in the organization of the penal system, such cases are very rare, if not practically nonexistent." The complete encyclical is also available under the title On the Value and Inviolability of Human Life through American University's archive of encyclicals and other papal documents.
• Statement on Capital Punishment: U.S. Catholic Bishops, November 1980.
• "The True Road to Justice": by the Most Rev. Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., Archbishop of Denver, 6 June 1997. Discusses the death penalty in the wake of the sentencing of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh under the federal death penalty law.
• CatholicMobile: The Death Penalty: A valuable resource listing of Catholic resources, including statements of Catholic bishops on capital punishment, along with resources from other religious viewpoints on the death penalty. Part of CatholicMobile, a comprehensive directory to resources in all aspects of Catholic life.
• Catholics Against the Death Penalty: Seeks to promote greater awareness of Catholic teachings on capital punishment; includes a quarterly newsletter and a list of List of Statements by U.S. Catholic Bishops on the Death Penalty.

Protestantism
Protestant denominations are not unanimous in either condemning or endorsing the death penalty. This selection provides statements on both sides of the issue.

Abolitionist "Capital Punishment" by theologian Kenneth Cauthen is excerpted from his book Toward a New Modernism (Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1997), and is one of a series of essays on theology and ethics from a liberal theological perspective. Reflections on the Death Penalty is presented by Plough Online, the online version of a publication of the Bruderhof Communities, an association of Christian communities in the U.S. and England. A complete listing of death penalty articles from Plough Online is also available here. Friends Committee to Abolish the Death Penalty: A national Quaker organization established in 1993 to advocate for the abolition of capital punishment. "Death as a Penalty: A Moral, Practical, and Theological Discussion": by Howard Zehr. N.d. This booklet by the director of the Mennonite Central Committee U.S. Office of Criminal Justice explains the Mennonite's abolitionist stance toward capital punishment; through the Mennonite Central Committee (Canada). "Harsher Punishment for Crime is Not the Answer": by Wayne Northey. 25 April 1995. Addresses calls in Canada for harsher punishments, including the death penalty, in reponse to crime; from the Mennonite Central Committee (Canada). "A Social Statement on: The Death Penalty": Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, 1991. Anti-death penalty statement adopted at the second biennial Churchwide Assembly of ELCA by over a two-thirds majority vote.

Retentionist "Capital Punishment: Is Man a Machine or a Moral Agent?": by Greg Koukl. Transcript of a commentary aired 24 February 1996 on the Christian radio show Stand to Reason responding to a letter to a newspaper about the the execution of William Bonin, the "Freeway Killer" and the third person executed in California after the reinstatement of the death penalty. Report on Capital Punishment: Commission on Theology and Church Relations of The Lutheran Church -- Missouri Synod, August 1980; originally published in The Lutheran Witness, 16 May 1976. An examination of death penalty issues from a Protestant Christian theological standpoint declares that capital punishment is in accord with Holy Scripture and the Lutheran Confession. Prepared to assist the membership of the synod in making decisions regarding capital punishment. "The Bible's Teaching on Capital Punishment": by David L. Brown. Oak Creek, WI: Logos Communication, 1992. Advocates the return of the death penalty to Wisconsin, currently a non-death penalty state, and examines biblical statements on punishment by death, asserting that "Capital punishment IS biblical. It is for today." "Is Capital Punishment Sanctioned by Divine Authority?: by Alexander Campbell. 1846. Campbell's lengthy essay answers yes. See also a "Capital Punishment No. 2" by Tolbert Fanning (Christian Review 4(6), June 1847), which replies to Campbell's essay with the opposite conclusion. Campbell and Fanning were major figures in the nineteenth century Restoration Movement which resulted in the founding of the Churches of Christ, the Disciples of Christ, and others.

Islam
The Qur'an and Sunnah provides the law of retaliation for murder.

• "Spare the Rod?": by Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad. Review of Religions (London), May 1994. A defense of Quranic teaching on capital punishment by the 4th Head of the Ahmaddiya Muslim Association in Islam, a movement for the reformation and renaissance of Islam. (This movement is considered by many Muslims to be an apostasy from true Islam.)
• "Muslim Voices in the Human Rights Debate": by Heiner Bielefeldt. Human Rights Quarterly 17(4): 587-617, 1995. Touches on use of the death penalty in cases of apostasy.
• "Islamic Law: Myths and Realities": by Dennis J. Wiechman, Jerry D. Kenall, and Mohammed K. Azarian. Criminal Justice International 12(3), May-June 1996. Discusses crimes and punishment as defined in Islamic law, touching on capital crimes.
• "Shattering Ten Misconceptions About Islam" - Misconception 7: by the Muslim Students Assocation at University of Southern California. A portion of the text on Misconception 7 discusses Islamic judicial practices and the law of retaliation as applied to murder, standards of proof, and mercy.