Virginia, Texas still execute the most
Executions decreased across the United States for the third straight year, but Texas, Virginia and the South again led the country.
This year, 37 killers have been put to death in the U.S.; no executions are set for the rest of the year.
Of the total, 18 were executed in Texas and four in Virginia. Just two people were executed outside the South, according to a report being released today by the Death Penalty Information Center.
The number of executions in 2008 is a 14-year low. A de facto moratorium on executions last year continued into this year as the U.S. Supreme Court considered a challenge to the constitutionality of lethal injection. Executions resumed in May.
Since 1976, when the Supreme Court allowed the death penalty to resume, the most executions in a year was 98 in 1999. Since then, there has been a gradual decline.
Death sentences are also down; the center estimates that 111 people will be sentenced to death this year, the fewest since 1976. Death sentences have dropped by more than 40 percent in all areas of the country since the 1990s, according to the center.
The number of murders in the U.S. during that time also has dropped.
Texas and Virginia lead the U.S. in total executions since 1976 -- Texas with 423, and Virginia with 102.
In all, there have been 1,136 executions in the country since 1976.
Spokesmen for Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine -- who personally opposes the death penalty but has let executions proceed -- and Attorney General Bob McDonnell declined to comment on the center's report.
Beth Panilaitis, executive director of Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, which is in favor of a moratorium, said that public support for the death penalty is declining.
An October Gallup poll showed support for the death penalty at 64 percent, down from 69 percent last year. In 1994, 80 percent of those polled by Gallup supported it, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
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Dillonbeach: The standard of proof is “proof beyond a reasonable doubt,“ not “perfect certainty.“ Although I haven’t studied each of the “exoneration” cases in detail, I’m prepared to accept the possibility that an “innocent” person is, occasionally, erroneously convicted and executed. Especially in this era of DNA evidence and organizations of lawyers and others that seek to overturn death sentences, those situations occur less frequently.
Is the death penalty “justice” for committing a capital crime? Not perfect justice; in the same way that killers serving life without parole are not completely “contained and neutralized.“ They still present a threat of escape, as well as violence against other inmates and prison staff. These are people who have demonstrated that they have no regard for human life. I do believe that the threat of execution gives a thinking person pause to consider the potential consequences of their actions, and those who don’t pause, or who commit those crimes irrespective of the potential consequences, should have those consequences visited upon them. It makes the threat credible and is far preferable to individuals seeking revenge or vendetta.
Can we “do things to be a far less violent society, and prevent having to take care of it on the back end? Perhaps, but not without sacrificing our basic liberties. If the alternative is having the government control a person’s behavior “upfront” or allowing that person, within the law/rules that society sets, be free to pursue his/her interests and punishing that person, on the back end, if they violate the law, I’ll opt for the latter, as did the founders of the nation.
I don’t know Eleazar, the poll was done by Gallop, right? I don’t know if their survey methodology stands up to “going with two out of three” but let’s concede that the drop in support news is merely pretext to the larger debate anyway.
And you’re right that it was incorrect use the technical oxymoron “legally murder” as I would hate to infer any equivalence between the injustice of murdering an innocent person with putting to death a convicted killer. I guess the only way it would be “legal murder” is if we were to kill an innocent man who was sentenced to death. There is the point you haven’t addressed - 130 exonerations means at least a few innocent folks (wiki Earl Washington, Jr.) who came real close to being murdered by the state. Well, as Justice Scalia might say, it shows the system is working. And hey, they only had to spend half their life on death row before being freed to join the big wide world.
Justice? You think there can ever really be justice for murder? And that government violence after the threat has been contained and neutralized will get everyone a little closer to that justice? Are the innocent really aided by the death of the guilty? Perhaps so, but I think killing the worst among us is a way of ignoring the fact that we could do things to be a far less violent society and prevent having to take care of it on the back end.
Common sense says that if people had to kill what they ate, there would be alot of hungry people. Yet, obesity is a major problem. The taking of life to sustain life is out of balance on “fantasy island”. Out of touch people are making decisions they have no business in. Send everybody a death row expense report. Include housing, meals, and toilet paper. Then watch support for the death penalty rise. I’m sorry teachers, we can’t give you your cost of living raise, Charles Manson needs a new roof, Mcnuggets, and some Charmin. So cough up the dough and don’t squeeze the Charmin! And we have to lay off some of you nice folks, you wouldn’t want us to take the “max” out of maximum security would you? Doesn’t max rhyme with tax? The judicial system is not about justice anymore. It’s a business. Good people are in it, but you can’t stop the money wheel.
The fact that dillonbeach didn’t address my first point, that the death penalty is having the desired effect, is instructive.
Beach notes the reported reduction in public support for the death penalty. Beyond the fact that we don’t know what questions were asked or the level of confidence that the survey methodology would support, I’ll take the support of almost 2 out of 3 Americans.
Beach also uses words like “legally murder” (an oxymoron to be sure and inappropriate use of the word “murder”), retribution and vengeance; I prefer the word justice to describe the punishment of convicted murders. I can think of no other punishment for someone who intentionally plans and commits a capital crime, kills a police officer in the performance of his/her duties, or who is responsible for the murder of a child like Caylee Anthony. Any lesser punishment would, in fact, be injustice.
The death penalty needs to be used more often in the State of Virginia. The death penalty in the state of virginia is mostly opposed by bleeding heart liberals and quakers. I for one say let the executions begin and let’s get these criminals off the tax payers dime. Texas has the right idea. It’s time for Virginia to follow suite with the death penalty and proceed with haste.
The comments posted by englishsunset, whether made in jest or sincerity, are terribly sad and rather frightening for those who may come into proximity with this clearly unstable wingnut.
As to the newsworthiness of the article, while it isn’t a major newsflash that public support for capital punishment has been declining, I think the declining numbers are pretty stark and worth a mention.
Not noted in the article, but maybe an underlying reason for the polling numbers is that more people are learning capital punishment is more expensive for taxpayers than life in prison without parole. So, beyond the morality issue of the state being allowed to legally murder its citizens, the death penalty doesn’t even pass the common sense test. Yes it would be cheaper if we led them to the death chamber immediately following the verdict. But then those 130+ who’ve been exonerated would be dead… You want to see capital punishment outlawed forever? The quickest way to do it is to take away those appeals and end up putting an innocent man to death. That would be a national shame, and the last execution in the United States.
As much as we want revenge and feel the family deserves retribution for atrocities committed against us, the system often creates more pain for murder victim families (mvfr.org) and lessens us all as hypocritical advocates of violence as a means to an end.
Hmmm. Capital crimes are down; so death sentences are down; so executions are down…sounds like the system is working. Reading this article, I’m reminded of the late Clara Geller, whom Burger King made famous in the 70s with her “Where’s the beef.” More and more, when I open the Times Dispatch, I ask myself, “Where’s the news?” Or was Frank Green just paying his periodic tribute to Tim Kaine the Death Penalty Information Center and Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, (which, (surprise surprise) “is in favor of a moratorium.”) And why did he find it necessary to tag Kaine’s name with the extra, “who personally opposes the death penalty but has let executions proceed?” Why not tell us what Bob McDonell’s position is as well? Looks to me like Green took a press release from the Death Penalty Information Center, threw it together with some recycled opinions (can’t really call them news) and threw together yet another slanted screed.
Go Virginia, Go Texas. Let’s start importing death row inmates from around the country. There has to be money to made on executions. While we are on the subject, I’m sure there is still plenty of scumbags in Virginia that we can get rid of and off the state meal ticket.
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