As I sip my first cup of java this morning, I am mulling over capital punishment after this week's execution of Daniel Lee Lewis.
Daniel Lee Lewis was the first Federal prisoner executed in 17 years on Tuesday. This, of course, signals a return to this process by the current AG. I'm not going to debate Lewis' guilt or innocence, specifically, for I have no idea, but I will comment on the death penalty in general. It is no secret that I have a long-standing opposition to the death penalty much to the chagrin of some of my "law and order" cohorts. Truth is that I have no issues with putting capital murderers to death on moral grounds. Most probably more than deserve to meet their maker. However, I do have a very strong distrust of the legal system that determined their "guilt." With a system with so many flaws which is full of legal maneuvers, and a stacked deck in favor of those with money to 'buy' their freedom, how can you not believe that some percentage of those put to death were not some trophy for an over zealous D.A. and, in fact, were not guilty?
The Innocence Project, founded in 1992 is a legal organization committed to exonerating individuals who it claims have been wrongly convicted. In the time since its founding, over 1500 convictions have been overturned with new evidence while over 156 death row inmates have been exonerated since 1973 - that's one in ten. Sadly, 70% of the wrongful convictions were minorities - another testimony to structural racism and racial bias in the legal system. The Innocence Project estimates that 2 to 5% of people behind bars are wrongful convictions. Get your head around that number. With 2 million people incarcerated in the U.S. that means that somewhere between 40,000 to 100,000 innocent people are behind bars. The fact that we have over 2,000,000 prisoners in this country warrants an entire discussion of its own.
Once you are executed there are no "mulligans." You don't get a 'do over' if you screwed up. There is no further appeal because they found the DNA of the actual murderer. I know our legal system is suppose to way better than most parts of the world, but 'better' isn't good enough. The wrongful execution of one innocent person is inexcusable, but we are probably talking way more than 'one' innocent person.
So, at the risk of being labeled a 'bleeding heart liberal,' I will remain opposed to the death penalty because the system which got to the death row end-point is far from perfect, and I am unhappy with snuffing out a life for judicial convenience.
On that note, I am making more coffee this morning.