Last Saturday, Illinois Governor George Ryan emptied the state’s death row, declaring the system “arbitrary and capricious—and therefore immoral.” Governor Ryan commuted 167 death sentences to life in prison. This bold move by the governor came at the conclusion of three years of study of the death penalty system in Illinois that was spurred on by the discovery of 13 innocent convicts in the state’s death row. One of those convicts, Leroy Orange, was a mere 48 hours away from his scheduled execution by the time his innocence was proven.
While the governor’s decision was heralded around the world as a positive step for human rights, in the United States it produced mixed emotions. The International Commission of Jurists, which represents members of the judicial community in 60 nations, supported Governor Ryan’s decision while prosecutors, police, and death penalty advocates in the United States voiced their disapproval. While Governor Ryan received praise from such august international figures as Nelson Mandela and Mexicn President Vicente Fox, his own wife was angered by the decision.
While the death penalty has been abolished in most of the civilized world, the United States executes more than one person each week. In fact, our country is the only democratized nation that still utilizes the death penalty. America is one of just a handful of countries that still executes minors. We are the self-proclaimed leader on human rights issues yet appear to be woefully behind the curve in this instance.
Since 1973, 102 people sentenced to death in the United States have been found to be innocent before their execution. It is troubling to imagine just one innocent person being sentenced to death, but it is appalling to think of 102. The fact is that no system works 100 percent of the time, so there will always be the chance of executing an innocent person. Unless humans suddenly become perfect, innocent people will be lost in the margin.
There is irrefutable evidence that the way the deathpenalty is imposed in the United States is grossly unfair. While whites and blacks are victims of homicide in almost equal numbers nationally, less than 20 percent of death sentences involve a black victim. Also, while 178 black people have been executed for killing a white person, only 12 white people have been executed for killing a black person.
In addition, the quality of legal representation is dependent on whether or not one can hire a qualified attorney. In most cases the defendant does not have the resources to hire an attorney at all but is forced to use overworked public defenders as their sole legal counsel.
President George W. Bush has consistently justified his use of the death penalty by claiming that it has a deterrent effect. However, almost every scholarly study on the subject says otherwise. In fact, the results would seem to indicate that the death penalty actually decreases public safety and increases the likelihood of violent crime. In a ten year period from 1975 to 1985, almost twice as many law enforcement officers were killed in death penalty states as in non-death penalty states.
Increasingly the United States finds itself at odds with both allies and the international community in general over its policies regarding capital punishment. Religious leaders and heads of state have long decried the use of the death penalty in the United States. John Paul II has declared capitol punishment our “culture of death.”
The problem of the death penalty is not just a problem in Illinois—it is a problem for America and for societies everywhere. It is difficult to admit you’re wrong, especially when you’ve been wrong for a long time, but a struggling governor from Illinois had enough courage to admit just that. The death penalty has been a part of our culture since the very beginning. It will continue to be if nothing else is done, and the United States will continue to fail on this critical human rights issue. Governor Ryan has set the tone, and it’s up to us to follow.
Christian Keeney is a junior in the Washington Semester Program. He knows he’s a government major.
