The Texas Death Penalty Essay Research Paper

The Texas Death Penalty Essay, Research Paper

The Death Penalty in Texas

Few issues in the United States today are as emotionally charged and controversial as the decease punishment. Formally know as capital penalty, the decease punishment has been heatedly debated non merely as a legal issue, but as a spiritual, ethical, and political one, historically every bit good as in the present twenty-four hours. Although many provinces presently administer the decease punishment, Texas has been put in the topographic point visible radiation this past twelvemonth because of the recent presidential race. The moral inquiry of whether or non it is right to kill another human being is ever-present in today & # 8217 ; s society. However, when looking at it from a political point of view, one must besides see whether or non it is even legal. After looking at a combination of Supreme Court opinions and single Texas Torahs, one must reason that it is absolutely legal to transport out a decease punishment sentence. However, there are a figure of things Texas could make to better their capital penalty system.

Thirty-eight provinces soon allow the decease punishment. Alaska, Main, Hawaii, Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Rhode Island, Vermont, Massachusetts, North Dakota, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia do non. Texas and California lead the other provinces with 400 inmates on decease row. Texas leads the state in the figure of executings since the decease punishments revival in 1976 ( Stewart 85 ) .

The decease punishment is legal harmonizing to a Supreme Court opinion, Gregg vs. Georgia. In the opinion, the Supreme Court ruled the decease punishment is non barbarous and unusual penalty. It was ruled that it is non in misdemeanor with the Constitution every bit long as & # 8220 ; guided discretion & # 8221 ; was used ( Almonte 7 ) . In many instances, suppliants have tried to change by reversal determinations by petitioning and keeping up ghastly marks of a adult male & # 8220 ; frying & # 8221 ; ; normally with his eye-balls starting out and blood running down his face. However, this is a really non-factual image. There is really small to no blood in burnings. Second, the method of pick is presently deadly injection.

In response to those who lovingly quote the 8th amendment, the Constitution really makes mention to the decease punishment non one, but twice. The first happening is in the 5th amendment of the Bill of Rights, which says that, & # 8220 ; no individual shall be held to reply for a capital & # 8230 ; offense, unless on a notification or indictment of a Grand Jury & # 8230 ; nor be deprived of life & # 8230 ; without due procedure of jurisprudence & # 8221 ; ( Stewart 21 ) . In other words, the Constitution is stipulating that the decease punishment may be used, but warns that there are certain judicial admissions that must foremost be met. The 2nd mentioning is in the Fourteenth Amendment which says provinces shall non, & # 8220 ; deprive any individual of life, autonomy, or belongings, without due procedure & # 8221 ; ( Stewart 22 ) . Once once more, the same jurisprudence sing the decease punishment is passed on to the provinces. In either instance, the fundamental law is allowing the decease punishment, but saying that there must be a due procedure in which the finding of fact is made.

The decease punishment was legalized in Texas in 1923. It was instituted as an option to lynching and county degree executings. Since Texas was a instead bias province, lynching were common after the abolishment of bondage. After the decease punishment was instituted, the figure of lynchings was significantly reduced ( Bright 1 ) .

The new capital penalty legislative act took consequence the forenoon of February 8, 1924. At 12:09 A.M. Charles Reynolds walked through the door to the burning chair, was strapped in by the guards, and because the first adult male executed in the province of Texas. Reynolds was pronounced dead at 12:16 after three jars of electricity. After Reynolds, there was a speedy sequence of inmates sentenced to decease that dark. Ewell Morris, George Washington, and Mack Mathews followed, and Melvin Johnson was granted a one hr stay of executing. He have no farther respites, nevertheless, and was pronounced dead at 2:00 A.M. , going the 5th adult male to decease in under two hours. All five of theses captives were Afro-american and from eastern Texan counties. These first five executings were coined the & # 8220 ; harvest of decease & # 8221 ; ( Marquart 19 ) .

Many critics of capitol penalty argue that because felons receive different punishments for the same offense, the decease punishment discriminates. It is argued that wealth, race, gender, and geographical location all consequence who gets the decease punishment and who doesn & # 8217 ; t. When presented with the facts, one may happen that more inkinesss than Whites have been executed in Texas, and many agree that it is the instance in many other provinces as good. In 1987, the Supreme Court ruled on the instance of McCleskey v. Kemp, a race instance. Warren McCleskey was a black adult male who had been convicted of killing a white constabulary officer. He claimed the Georgia & # 8217 ; s decease punishment Torahs were prejudiced. McCleskey argued that because he was black and his victim was white the prosecuting officer was more likely to seek the decease punishment. The tribunal disagreed. It said that those who asked for the decease punishment, in McCleskey & # 8217 ; s instance, were non making so on the footing of racial favoritism. However, in general, it can be really hard to turn out when person is intentionally seeking to know apart ( Almonte 25 ) .

When looking for racial motive, one must see many other elements before judging the Texan tribunal system. Just under half of the 421 wrongdoers sentenced to decease in Texas between 1974 and 1988 were convicted in counties that define the six major metropolitan parts of the province. About 60 per centum of the capital liquidators were in their mid-twentiess during the clip of their apprehension. Six wrongdoers were 17 old ages old when arrested. The oldest, Margarito Bravo, was 55 when arrested in 1976 for killing a constabulary officer. These inmates were equally split between Anglo and non-Anglo males ( 36 per centum were Afro-american, 14 per centum were Hispanic ) . Two-thirdss were individual or divorced at the clip they committed their discourtesy. Almost all of them had committed old discourtesies. Those on decease row were chiefly unskilled labourers ( 68 per centum ) or craftsmen ( 13 per centum ) , with less than a high school instruction ( merely less than 90 per centum ) . Over half of those convicted after 1972 had one ore more belongings offense strong beliefs. Fifty-six per centum had a violent offense strong belief. Merely over half of the captives had been antecedently sentenced to prison for other discourtesies. Murder in the class of a robbery was by far the most common offense committed, with a sum of 207 inmates on decease row. The following closest are 77 captives convicted of rape/murder. One tierce of the robbery liquidators were from Huston. Sixty-five per centum of those one decease row used a gun to kill their victims. Forty-seven per centum had aid in perpetrating their discourtesy ( Marquart 135-137 ) . After analyzing these statistics, one must reason that there is no outstanding Numberss to turn out any racial motive for condemning.

Harmonizing to the Chicago Tribune, in a survey of the 145 executings under Bush, it was found that in 40 of the instances the defence lawyers made no existent defence. Tonss of suspects were compromised by undependable grounds. An illustration would be in the instance of Gary Gram. Gram was convicted of killing Bobby Grant Lambert in a Safeway parking batch. He was found guilty after merely two yearss. If this wasn & # 8217 ; t adequate to enrage dissenters, no slaying arm was found, nor were there any fingerprints, blood, or DNA lucifers. He was identified by a adult female who picked him out on a 2nd opportunity line-up. Gram was the lone adult male to look in both line-ups ( Black 1 ) . Gram was merely a teenage at the clip of his strong belief and his executing was postponed eight times. He was eventually put to decease at age 36. He was the hundred-and-thirty-fifth individual put to decease in Texas since George W. Bush became governor ( Arnold 1 ) .

The choosing of court-appointed councils has besides been called into inquiry in Texas. In Gram & # 8217 ; s instance, the appointed lawyer, Ron Mock, had been disciplined for unprofessional behavior four times. He has ne’er won a slaying instance ( Black 1 ) . Texas has no statewide system of public guardians. It is up to local Judgess, elected head you, to name attorneies to hapless suspects. Traveling by the record, these assignments tend to be ill qualified. In one instance, the attorney really slept through the test. The justice in this instance stated that & # 8220 ; the Constitution doesn & # 8217 ; Ts say the attorney has to be awake. & # 8221 ; The Texas legislative assembly voted for a public guardians system, but Bush vetoed the measure ( Hunter 1 ) . It is of import to recognize that these Judgess responsible for naming Judgess are elected. Because they are elected, remaining in office requires maintaining the populace, i.e. the electors, happy. In Texas, and other southern provinces peculiarly, the people want to see decease punishment strong beliefs. This could take to Judgess delegating under qualified representatives to guarantee a strong belief ( Bright 3 ) .

Bush has besides vetoed other important measures sing the decease punishment, including one to censor executings of the mentally disabled. He late resided over an executing in which the captive was transported from the intensive-care ward straight to the topographic point of executing after trying self-destruction ( Hunter 1 ) . However, the Supreme tribunal held that the Constitution does non forbid the executing of the mentally retarded, with a 5-to-4 ballot. John Paul Penry & # 8217 ; s sentence was set aside because the jury, in his instance, was non instructed to take into consideration his deceleration ( Bright 1 ) .

Although much of the old information does describe really approvingly of Bush, there are many positive facets of the Texan decease punishment system. First of wholly, the harsh system helps to discourage offense. A really conclusive study was filed by research worker Isaac Enrlich, who found that based on statistics from 1933 to 1969, each executing prevented about seven or eight people from perpetrating slaying. A small subsequently, in 1985, Mr. Stephen K. Layson published a survey claiming that, on norm, every executing of a liquidator deters 18 liquidators who would hold otherwise killed their victim. Besides suggested by the survey is that if the figure of strong beliefs for decease row addition by merely one per centum, it would forestall 105 slayings from happening. Presently, merely 38 per centum of all slaying instances in the United States consequence in a strong belief. Of these convicted slayings, merely.1 per centum are executed ( Guernsey 67-68 ) .

Many critics do non see how the decease punishment can hold any consequence on a possible liquidator. How

of all time, in an article in the National Review, Steven Goldberg, a sociology professor, tried to sum up the logic in the undermentioned few sentences:

& # 8220 ; Potential slayings merely act ; the deterrent consequence of the decease punishment, if there is one, acts upon them. If it acts with sufficient strength, it prevents their going murderers. & # 8221 ;

Although he is non saying that in every instance the decease punishment stops people from perpetrating slayings, he is stating that if the decease punishment means anything to the individual, there & # 8217 ; s a good opportunity it could halt him. It would non be difficult to understand if Bush argued he was forestalling many more deceases of guiltless victims so he was seting felons to decease ( Guernsey 69 ) . With the highly high possibility of acquiring handed the decease punishment, one would hold to believe twice earlier perpetrating a slaying. Besides, in Texas there is small possibility of acquiring a sentence commuted, so if one was sentenced to decease in Texas, it is most improbable one would be able avoid the chair.

The following president of the United States will hold a large impact on the legality of the decease punishment. Under his term, the president will be more than probably be able to name at least two justnesss to the Supreme Court. If Governor Bush was to go president, he would probably name justnesss that favored the decease punishment. Many of the tribunals most of import capital penalty determinations have been decided on a 5-to-4 ballot. In these instances, the make up one’s minding ballots have normally been those of Sandra Day O & # 8217 ; Connor and Anthony Kennedy. Scalia, Thomas, and Rehnquist are besides normally the other make up one’s minding ballots. Bush has expressed his esteem for Scalia and Thomas, who maintain that the Constitution allows provinces to put to death its captives. As you can see, the following President will likely alter the balance of power in the Court & # 8217 ; s reappraisal of capital instances. The tribunal could either play a larger function by curtailing the usage of the decease punishment, or they could give the provinces & # 8220 ; free reign & # 8221 ; to transport out their executings ( Bright 1 ) .

The Supreme Court has the right to turn over a decease punishment governing under the Writs of Habeas Corpus. However, the Court has many procedural barriers, forestalling many instances from being reviewed. For illustration, you must register a federal habeas principal request within a twelvemonth of condemning as stated in the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, signed by Clinton in 1996 ( Bright 3 ) . Significant holds on habeas corpus proseedings are caused by consecutive requests to territory tribunals, holds in those tribunals, and insistent entreaties to the tribunal of entreaties. The habeas principal restrictive regulations merely detain the infliction of the decease punishment and render it meaningless as a hindrance. The intents of tough jurisprudence enforcement is best served by full hearings alternatively of leting the procedural pandemonium to get the better of the substantial benefits of capital penalty ( Schonebaum 21 ) .

The decease punishment has been apposed of all time since the Quakers set pes on this land 100s of old ages ago. Since so, in about every clip period, one can happen strong resistance by influential people or parties. The morality has been called into inquiry 1000s of times, associating it to other & # 8220 ; moral offenses & # 8221 ; such as abortion and clemency violent death. Last January, the Catholic bishops of Texas appealed to Gov. George Bush, inquiring him to follow in the footfalls of Gov. George Ryan ( the governor of Illinois ) , and outlaw the decease punishment. His rematch to the bishops was, & # 8220 ; These were people found guilty by a jury of their equals. These are people who have had full entree to the tribunal of jurisprudence. There & # 8217 ; s no uncertainty in my head that each individual who has been executed in my province was guilty of the offense committed & # 8221 ; ( Black 1 ) . To the bishops & # 8217 ; discouragement, Bush did non follow in Governor Ryan & # 8217 ; s footfalls.

It has been argued that, while on decease row, the inmates are non treated reasonably and humanely, hence go againsting their constitutional rights. Death row inmates are kept physically separate from other inmates. They occupy cell blocks on one terminal of the prison, opposite the general prison population. In a sense, decease row is really a prison within a prison. Security here is maximized. Guards follow strict and elaborate processs when transporting death-row inmates. Condemned captives who leave the death-row wing are to be escorted by two prison officers. As they move through the prison, they must wait to unclutter many locked Gatess along the manner. They most frequently alert the officers with the phrase, & # 8220 ; Dead adult male coming through! & # 8221 ; . However, a consent edict signed in concurrence with Ruiz vs. Estelle, one of the most comprehensive captives & # 8217 ; rights instances, changed the conditions on decease row for some inmates. In this edict, prison functionaries agree to sort decease row captives as & # 8220 ; decease row work capable & # 8221 ; or & # 8220 ; decease row segregation & # 8221 ; , as it said in the 1985 & # 8220 ; Death Row Activity Plan. & # 8221 ; As a consequence of this, some decease row captives have entree outside their cell up to five times a hebdomad. Inmates considered menaces to security are besides allowed diversion, but merely in & # 8220 ; diversion cages & # 8221 ; , which are simply outside countries near their cell block ( Marquart 139 ) .

It has besides been debated that whether it is morally right to put to death a adult female, instead than a adult male. The Torahs in Texas refering the decease punishment do non advert gender at all. The ground one may non see really many adult females on decease row is that they seldom commit a offense punishable by decease. Some of these would be: Murder of a peace officer, slaying during a felony, slaying for hire, slaying during a prison flight, and slaying of more than one individual. A lover & # 8217 ; s dispute that erupts in a slaying is non a capital discourtesy. Until late, no adult female had been executed in Texas since 1863. There are presently seven adult females on decease row in Texas. Three of them have been there for more than ten old ages. Another ground for few adult females holding been executed is that the governors used to hold the power to transpose a sentence ( Curtis 1 ) .

For a century or more, governors in Texas commuted sentences on a regular basis. Sometimes they had really good grounds, other times small ground at all. From the late 19th century until modern times, Texas governors commuted 20 per centum of the executings in the province, including every executing set for a adult female. However, today the regulations have changed. When the decease punishment was reinstated in 1976, it came back with certain restrictions. In 1983 a constitutional amendment put limitations on the governor & # 8217 ; s power to transpose a sentence. The procedure now follows a system near to this: Near the terminal of the entreaties procedure, the original justice sets a day of the month for the executing. The day of the month is so sent to the governor and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. Two tierces of the board of 18 must urge to transpose the sentence. If the board votes to transpose, the recommendation is sent to the governor, who can so take to transpose the captive or non. Without the blessing of the board, all the governor can make is allow a 30-day stay of executing ( Curtis 3 ) . George Bush has ne’er made any effort to transpose a sentence, nevertheless, none of the seven adult females seem to be likely campaigners. An illustration would be Betty Lou Beets. Beets was convicted in 1983 for hiting her 5th hubby to decease for his insurance and pension benefits. His organic structure was buried in a want good at their place near Gun Barrel City in East Texas. Research workers besides found the remains of her 4th hubby, who had besides been shot, buried under a shed on the belongings. Police began to surmise her when an source said he had gone to a motel with her, both rummy and laughing, and she had said, & # 8220 ; You wouldn & # 8217 ; t believe it was so amusing if you knew that the last boy of a bitch I laid up with I buried in the forepart yard & # 8221 ; ( Curtis 3 ) . Beets was the 121st individual to acquire the acerate leaf in Texas in the five old ages Bush has been governor.

Another possible ground for Bush non seeking to transpose any sentences is that he & # 8217 ; s giving the Texans what they want, and the people of Texas like executings. In the recent Democratic primary for governor in Texas, one campaigner, Mr. Mark White, put out a ghastly commercial in which he strode triumphantly past exposure of the people who had been executed while he was governor in 1983-87. He still lost. However, Jim Mattox, one of the two Democrats who competed in the run-off election for the party & # 8217 ; s nomination on April 10th, tried in similar vena to take recognition for executings even though, as Texas & # 8217 ; s attorney-general, he is involved with civil instances, non condemnable 1s. When his challenger, Mrs. Ann Richards, received unwanted support from a prison newspaper, the Mattox run rapidly adopted the motto: Jim Mattox. There are no indorsements for him on decease row & # 8221 ; ( Brown 2 ) .

From a political point of view, you must reason that the decease punishment is legal, harmonizing to the fundamental law and province jurisprudence, when a captive has stood test and been convicted. However, one must oppugn the manner in which people are being convicted in Texas. With the highest figure of people on decease row, and by far the largest figure

of executings, it is a likely decision that the system in Texas needs betterment. George Bush has done small to rectify the loop-holes in his provinces system, but at that place has been small call to make so from the people he governs. Not until now, with the presidential term on the line, must Bush, along with Texas, face up to their record and make something about it.

Almonte, Paul. The Facts About Capital Punishment. New York: Crestwood House, 1991.

Arnold, Kari. & # 8220 ; Capital Punishment on Trial in Texas. & # 8221 ; Maclean & # 8217 ; s. July 1, 2000. 59.

Black, Johnson. & # 8220 ; A Bush-Gore hedge on Capital Punishment. & # 8221 ; The Christian Science Monitor. June 16, 2000. 11.

Bright, Stephen B.. & # 8220 ; The Killing Machine. & # 8221 ; The Nation. Oct. 9, 2000. v271 i10. 17.

Brown, Howard. & # 8220 ; The Politics of Death. & # 8221 ; The Economist. March 24, 1990. v314 n7647. 25.

Curtis, Gregory. & # 8220 ; Seven Women. & # 8221 ; Texas Monthly. Oct 97. v25 n10. 7-10.

Guernsey, JoAnn. Should We Have Capital Punishment? . Minneapolis: Lerner Publications Co. , 1993.

Hunter, Gardner C.. Against the Death Penalty. Waterloo: Herald Press, 1997.

Marquart, James. The Rope, the Chair, and the Needle. Capital of texas: University of Texas, 1994.

Schonebaum, Stephen. Does Capital Punishment Deter Crime? . San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1998.

Stewart, Gail B. The Death Penalty. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1998.