So, what is capital punishment? How does it effect us? And, who deserves this verdict? These are good questions, and I will try my best to answer them. Though, to make it easier, I restricted myself to capital punishment in relation to the state of Connecticut(mainly do to resent events there).
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| britannica.com |
Capital
Offences are punishable by death in “58 different countries “ (Introducation). This Capital punishment, as it is known, is a
practice that has been used in most societies dating as far back as human
history, though now it is a practice that is carried out under legal systems
and courts. But what is the purpose of this punishment? It is often human
nature to seek revenge for wrong doing. An eye for an eye, if it were. These
countries believe that high crimes, such as aggravated murder, treason, drug
trafficking, and espionage are crimes that can only be paid with the life on
the wrong doer. Capital Punishment is a punishment
that has been a seat for much debate over the decades. There are those who are
in favor and those that strongly oppose capital punishment. Each of the United States has their own set
of laws and regulations regarding this issue. And over the past decade many
states have decided to go out of favor for this penalty. In recent news,
Connecticut has recently gone to become the 17th state to abolish
the death penalty (Introduction). But what was the journey like that got us to
this point?
Let
us explore the history of the death penalty for a bit. Where did it come from?
And when did it first become part of American law? Well, Britain had a lot to
do with it. Britain influenced America’s use of “of the death penalty more than
any other country” (Introduction). European settlers brought the practice with
them when they settled into the new world. And the first recorded execution was
that of “Captain George Kendall in the Jamestown colony in Virginia in 1608”
(Introduction). And, in the state of Connecticut, it has been part of law since
we became a state in 1788. In the time between then, up till 2005, the state of
Connecticut has had 126 executions
(Capital). Many of which consisted of
death by hanging till 1937 when James McElroy was executed by the Electric
chair, and Michael Ross by lethal Injection in 2005 (Capital). The last
execution for rape was conducted in 1817, and the last public execution
happened in 1833. Since 1830, murder is
the only capital crime for which anyone has been executed in the state of
Connecticut. Federal court decisions since the late 1950s, particularly the
strictures of Furman v. Georgia (1972) expanded defendants’ rights. And, for the last half century, Connecticut has
retain the death penalty, but the “appeals process is of such long duration
that only convicts such as Joseph Taborsky in 1960 and Michael Ross in 2005,
who waived their rights and “volunteered” for death, have been executed”
(Kirk). The state of Connecticut has had a long and bumpy ride when it has come
to the death penalty.
While the death penalty was recently repealed the death
penalty, it is not the first time that Connecticut has been without it. But
then again, the Furman v. Georgia case had that affect. Connecticut reinstated the death penalty on
January 10, 1973 (Capital). But since that reinstatement, only one person has
been executed, and that was the serial Killer and rapist Michael Bruce Ross on
May 13, 2005 (Capital). Ross was convicted of the “kidnapping, rape, and murder
of four teenage girls in New London, Connecticut in 1983 and 1984” (Michael). Ross
was a serial killer in every sense of the word. This was extremely apparent
when he recounted his murders. But at trial, while Ross confessed to strangling
the woman and sexually assaulting all but one of the them, he pleaded insanity
(Michael). This plea did not hold up in court, and Ross was sentenced to death
under the “statute enacted by the Connecticut state legislature seven years
prier” (Michael). The main problem regarding Ross, though, was his willingness
to die. He demonstrated his instability by appealing many different times to be executed or retried.
When he would do so, he was deemed unfit for execution, since he was not in the
right state of mind. It was not until he
was relatively stabilized on medications, and he no longer showed mental
instability, that the state of Connecticut when ahead with his sentence of
death. And on May, 13 2005, Michael Bruce Ross was executed via lethal
injection.
It is because of murders like Ross that there are just as
many people for capital punishment as there are against it. Advocates of the
death penalty argue that it is an important for preserving law and order. They
believe that it helps to deter crime. Another argument is the fact that the
death penalty, in their opinion, costs less the life imprisonment. An “eye for
an eye honors the victim, helps console grieving families, and ensures that the
perpetrators of the crime” will never be able to cause future harm to others
(Kirk). Pro’s for the death penalty are often labled to be out for revenge, and
at many times this can be true. They want to see an equal justice, in their
eyes, to be dished out.
If capital punishment is used to punish a person for
doing such horrid crimes, like Michael Ross did, then why the constant stream
of protests against it? Some people believe that the death penalty “violates
the constitutional ban against cruel and unusual punishment and the guarantees
of due process of law and of equal protection under the law” (Bedeau). This was
extremely apparent when execution was done by hangings, and later by electrocution,
since both forms caused pain to the individual and did not always work the
first time around. Some people make the argument that the state should not play
God in determining who has the right to life or not. Then we have the criminal
justice system itself. Many times when it comes to such a sentence, it comes
down to the “skill of a defendants attorneys, the race of the victim, and where
the crime took place”
that will play a major role on whether they will be charged with life or the
death penalty (Bedeau). To many people, they argue, are wrongly sentenced to
death as well due to this. And other then
the morals behind the sentence, people protest that it is a waste of taxpayers’
money. Often these criminals are in jail
for a long period of time before they ever get executed.
Many of these issues have led to the repeal of the death
penalty in the state of Connecticut; though it took some persuasion to get
there. Connecticut legislature passed a bill to abolish the death penalty in
2009, but that bill was vetoed by Governor M. Jodi Rell. And then once again,
it was brought up by legislature in 2012, and this time it passed
(Introduction). On April 25, 2012, Governor Dannel Malloy signed the bill into
law that repeals the death penalty; thus making Connecticut the 17th
state to do such. This new law “does not apply to the 11 inmates who are
currently on death row in the state” though (Kirk).
Because of this repeal, criminal can no longer be
sentenced to death, but those eleven will still be. Most notable of those
eleven, are Steven Hayes and Joshua Komisarjevsky , the two men guilty of the Cheshire Home
invasion that took place in July of 2007 (***).
Steven was convicted in October 2011 while Joshua was in January 2012. These
criminals planned on simply robbing the house, but instead it turned into one
of the worst multiple murders that the state of Connecticut has ever seen
(Cheshire). They beat William Petit at gun point, and restrained him. They then
forced Hawke Petit to withdraw $15,000, and purchase $10 in gasoline. When
Hawke was taken back to her house, it was to be raped by Hayes, and witness her 11 year old
daughters sexal assault. Hawke was then strangled by Hayes when he learned
that her husband,
William, had escaped. They then set fire to the house after tying the
daughters, still alive, to their beds.
It is one the worst crimes that the state of Connecticut has seen, and
it will do down in history, for both its horridness and for being the last
crime committed that led to the death penalty (Cheshire).
The state of Connecticut has a long history with capital
punishment, from the early days of the first colonies in America, to recent
tragic events. While some crimes have been so horrid that they have called for
the death penalty. It can to the states conclusion that the benefits did not
outweigh the costs. While, in my opinion, criminals like Michael Ross and the
Cheshire home invaders deserved what was handed down to them, there have been
so many other cases where the defendant was innocent, or it all came down to
the skills of an attorney. Those against it argued that it was a waste of tax
money, that it offered no type of deterrence to future criminals, and that it
often can lead to the death of innocent parties. While, at the same time, those
that are for it argue that an “eye for an eye” is the only way to go about this
punishment. They strongly believe that it will act as a deterrence for future
criminals . When it came down to the fact, Connecticut decided to do with that
that offered up the most benefit. A majority if the voters in the state of
Connecticut So, it has come down to the fact that the
state of Connecticut has repealed the death penalty for the benefit.
Work Citied:
Bedeau, Hugo. “The Case Against the Death Penalty.”ACLU. American Civil Liberties Union
2011. Web.
01
April 2012.
“Capital Punishment in Connecticut.” Connecticut State Library. Connecticut State 2002-2012. Web.
02 May
2012.
“Cheshire Home Invasion Archive.” Courant. Hartford Courant. 2012 Web. 05 May 2012.
“Introduction to the Death Penalty.” Death Penalty Information Center. Death Penalty Information 2012.
Web. 25 April 2012.
Kirk, Michael. “The History of the Death Penalty in
Connectiucut.” UConn Today.
University of
Connecticut
2012. Web. 3 May 2012.
“Michael Bruce Ross.” Clark
Prosecutor. Clark Prosecutor. 2012. Web. 26 April 2012.
