The Death Penalty If you've been following stories on DNA testing... ...you know that since 1989, 160 people have been released from prison... ...some awaiting execution on death row... ...because DNA testing has shown them to be innocent. Let me repeat that: One-hundred sixty people who have been sitting on death row awaiting execution... ...sometimes for decades of their life... ...were later shown to be innocent. To add insult to injury, out of the people released only 17 received any type of compensation from the states that convicted them. It is estimated that more than 20* people have been executed over the years... ...who were later shown to be innocent. The actual number is undoubtedly higher... ...but we tend not to delve into these things after the fact.** Over the years about a dozen people have been exonerated days or even minutes--yes, even minutes--before they were scheduled to be executed when... ...another person confessed to the crime... ...someone uncovered new evidence, or... ...inadvertent clerical or procedural errors delayed things long enough for new evidence to surface. Anyone who takes the time to delve into the DNA testing... ...and who has the smarts to understand the science and statistics involved... ...which rules out some juries... ...knows that the possibility of error is next to impossible. Even so, the vast majority of states are refusing to open cases when sentences were handed down before the advent of DNA testing... ...even when legally requested to do so... ...and even when the original DNA evidence hasn't been destroyed... ...which is has been in many instances. A major fear is that DNA testing will demonstrate the fallibility of the legal system. Better to put innocent people in prison, and even execute a few... ...than to find out you were wrong... ..or call into question the politically popular issue of the death penalty... ...or uncover some police-planted evidence (Can you spell LAPD?) I talked to a pro-death penalty acquaintance about all this... ...told him that it was far easier to win the lottery than to disprove a DNA test. "I don't believe in any of that scientific hocus-pocus," he said. He's scheduled for jury duty in two weeks. April, 2003 Editor's notes: *The number may be closer to 100, according to more recent estimates. The latter figure is derived from number of people executed since 1976, when capital punishment was reinstated in the United States, divided by the ratio of people we are now finding are innocent through DNA testing, which is one in seven. In August of 2004 it was discovered that one large city in Texas had a long record of major errors in it's DNA testing procedures— errors that have thrown into question thousands of convictions. At the same time Texas has the highest capitol punishment rate in the nation. In England it was recently discovered that a 27 year-old man who had been put to death for rape and murder was actually innocent of the crime. In the United States a man who was executed was also apparently innocent of the crime, although evidence of that is still being debated. According to the Los Angeles Times for every seven persons on death row one is eventually found to be innocent. As just one example, Anthony Porter of Illinois served 17 years on death row and was within hours of execution when the real killers confessed to the crime. In some cases judges and DA's have refused to reconsider death sentences, even though major evidence surfaces that seems to clearly show the innocence of the person convicted. A high percentages of convictions are based on a single eyewitness. A recent study found that a very high percentage of eyewitnesses mistakenly identify people, resulting in their conviction. (Los Angeles Times, Sept. 1, 2003.) Does the death penalty reduce homicide rates? FBI figures compiled over the last 20 years show that states that have the death penalty have murder rates from 48 to 101% higher than states that don't. ** A case recently came to the attention to officials in one state; however, even though they have DNA evidence that could prove the person who was executed was innocent, officials refuse to submit the evidence for testing. They reportedly feel that the results could potentially undermine the political popularity of the death sentence in that state. |
