A story in the News today got me thinking. Apparently, a death row inmate in Kentucky is finally getting his wish to be executed. This man, Marco Allen Chapman, killed two children, stabbed another, and raped and stabbed a woman in her bed. Chapman pled guilty and asked for the death penalty as a way to atone for his sins. His court-appointed attorneys decided to appeal his plea and held that he was incompetent and depressed. Now, three years later, there is only one possible appeal left, and it has been made to the Supreme Court. If this appeal is denied, Chapman will finally have his chance to be executed.
The death penalty is something that has been highly contested in the last few months, with claims of inhumane execution policies. Whether you agree or not (feel free to tell me your position below) one thing is for sure, those on death row are certainly there for a long time. Let’s look at Kentucky, there are currently 37 inmates waiting on death row, and thanks to the power of modern technology you can view them here. The years of their sentencing go as far back as 1982, for crimes as heinous as you can believe.
If these sentencing dates were so long ago, why are they still walking this Earth? Well the answer, my friends, is appeals and interest groups. There are many groups out there than oppose of the death penalty and defend those convicted. These groups, coupled with the appeals that many of them fund, can postpone death for years. Look at Chapman, he wanted the death penalty and yet three years later he is still in court. I think it is ridiculous that so many appeals are allowed for these criminals.
I believe in the rehabilitation power of our justice system (and how much work it does need), but I think that a criminal given the ability to postpone the death penalty for so many years is just postponing justice. While there may be some out there who are innocent, I think that too many people take advantage of the system. If we were to implement stricter precautions (like a speedy appeals process) or limit appeals attempts, we could expedite the process and put these criminals away. That’s what I think. What about you?
|
I don’t have a fundamental objection to the death penalty. I think there are crimes so evil that the criminal deserves to be deprived of his/her life. I’m hesistant to limit appeal rights … if someone’s life is at stake they should be able to fight as hard as they can for it. I also have concerns that there are too many instances I’ve read of where innocent people have been sentenced to death, mainly through flaws in the police investigations or the court processes. At least appeal rights give the accused the opportunity to correct any errors - hopefully they would strike competent lawyers or judges at some level of the process.
I do agree though that the appeals processes need to be sped up. Can’t see why any court trials should take years to even get off the ground.
Comment by Ian — May 10, 2008 @ 7:06 am