Troy Davis’s execution has been set for September the 21st. This is a travesty of justice in the particular case of Troy Davis, and the fact that death penalty is still used as a form of punishment in the USA is as lamentable as it is anachronistic.
If you are against the death penalty in all circumstances, and support our campaign to save Mr Davis’s life, then Amnesty needs your help. Sign our petition here, and see here for how you can do your part to organize for Troy.
If you do not know the specifics of the Troy Davis case, then this will show you that there are large swathes of doubt over Mr Davis’s guilt. For twenty years, Mr Davis has pleaded his innocence, and now many key witnesses no longer defend their original testimonies, which they say they were forced to sign by police officers.
If you are in favour of the death penalty, or do not know where you stand on the issue, then we hope that these facts will convince you to support Amnesty’s cause.
1. The death penalty is the ultimate sentence. There is no chance of reprieve, so the evidence on which the judgment is made must be unambiguous and water-tight. All too often, however, people like Troy Davis are sentenced to death without incontrovertible evidence against them. Many of these people are innocent of the crimes for which they are convicted. Indeed, since 1973, over 130 people that have been sentenced to death have been released from death row due to wrongful convictions.
2. Unfortunately, there is strong evidence to support the fact that the application of the death penalty is discriminatory. Defendants are more likely to be sentenced to death if they are not white, or if the victim of the crime is white. Although the USA has a strong legal system that guarantees many fundamental legal rights, it is nevertheless the case that prejudice can creep in and significantly affect the judgment and punishment of a case.
3. Although the death penalty is promoted by many as a deterrent, there is reason to believe that it is not effective in this regard. Firstly, murder rates are highest in those states that, on average, execute more people. This alone does not show that the death penalty is not an effective deterrent, but it does hint at the fact that there are far more factors that affect levels of crime than merely the lack of strong deterrents. In addition, it is plausible to believe that the death penalty in fact increases the gravity of many crimes: if one faces life imprisonment for a crime, one will likely attempt to run or hide. If, instead, one is likely to face the death penalty, one may attempt to ensure that this eventuality does not arise by killing all possible witnesses to the original crime.
4. The death penalty is increasingly seen as immoral around the world. More than two-thirds of all countries no longer use the death penalty. In fact, the process of putting someone to death has been described as cruel, inhuman, and unusual punishment. Extradition of US citizens from Europe back to the US, when there is the possibility of the death penalty being faced, has been forbidden by the European Court of Human Rights on the grounds that the circumstances of living on death row are similar to torture, and thus such extradition would violate international law. For full legal proceedings and all due process to be fulfilled, those on death row frequently spend many years in isolated cells, alternating between hope and despair, and facing unimaginable psychological trauma. Even if one argues that the death penalty itself is justified due to the gravity of some crimes, the application of the death penalty is simply immoral.
5. Finally, if the above arguments are not persuasive, perhaps the fact that the death penalty is extremely costly will be so. The cost of putting someone to death exceeds by far the cost of instead seeking and then convicting someone of life imprisonment. Depending on the state, life-imprisonment may be ten or even twenty times cheaper than the death penalty. In an age when money is short, it is only prudent to abolish the death penalty. Not only do many states face budgetary problems, but the use of extra funds to put someone to death diverts those funds that could be better used to prevent crimes in the first place.
For more information, facts, and figures on the death penalty and Amnesty’s work to end it, go to Amnesty’s website.
- Cameron Charles Russell
Amnesty International USA Midwest Office Intern
