Looking out: Human beings
By Brandon Astor Jones
"Let us call it by the name which, for lack of any other nobility, will at least give the nobility of truth, and let us recognise it for what it essentially is: a revenge." — Albert Camus
Not long ago, the state of Arkansas shot lethal doses of poison into the veins of three human beings and then called their deaths "executions". Murder is no less murder because you call it something else. Some of the prison officials boasted that killing more than one at a time "saves money".
Earlier this year, that same state murdered two other human beings in one evening. We ought not to be surprised that there are those who hope that soon many US states will be killing four, five and six at a time — all in the name of saving money and getting tough on crime.
While President Bill Clinton's name was not directly mentioned when his home state killed those five men, we can be certain he orchestrated their murders surreptitiously from the White House. He has raised political posturing to new heights. Having once been governor of Arkansas, and now as president, he knows the killing of these and other men will get him lots of right-wing votes.
I have been reading a lot of Australian newspapers and magazines lately. Frequently I find that certain law makers in New South Wales are trying to bring back the death penalty. Needless to say, I hope they do not succeed.
Fortunately, in a recent Green Left Weekly article entitled "Capital Punishment US style" (Issue #152), the coordinator of Australians Against Executions, Stephanie Wilkinson, wrote, "At the same time the Clinton administration is accusing China of human rights abuses, the same human rights are being violated in the USA, where people are being killed nearly every week — most of them people who are of colour, poor, mentally ill or retarded, and including many juveniles."
She is absolutely right! I had been wondering if the rest of the world had been paying any attention to those facts.
Sooner rather than later, I expect that most Australians will have to let their voices be heard so that their law-makers will know whether they are for or against the return of the death penalty. It is my hope that Australians will give their law-makers the same message that the good people of Massachusetts obviously gave their legislators when their Governor William F Weld tried to push a death penalty bill past them: they rejected it by a vote of 86 to 68.
Some of those legislators' views on the failed death penalty bill are insightful, I think.
Representative Daniel E. Bosley, Democrat — Opposed. "The death penalty has not been shown to reduce murder rates or violent crimes in any other state. It has not shown itself to be cost-effective. If it is not cost-effective and it doesn't reduce crime, then the only reason for the death penalty is retribution. And we are not in the state legislature to be in the business of revenge."
Representative Christopher J. Hodgkins, Democrat — Opposed. "We already know in Massachusetts, if you look back just two years, we've already made three mistakes [with murder convictions], and those people have been released. So I'm happy with today's vote. The bottom line is, the state that can't handle titles to our automobiles should not be in the business of killing people."
Representative Peter J. Larkin, Democrat — Opposed. "My main concern is that [the impact of the death penalty] falls disproportionately on the poor, the ignorant and the underprivileged. I don't think the justice system fair. It's a matter of what you can afford."
Senator Jane M. Swift, Republican — Opposed. "I think you can argue both ways whether or not it deters crime. I think you can argue both ways whether or not it saves money. But in the final analysis, the possibility exists that you could execute an innocent person. And it's not something that I could live with, having played a pretty direct role in making that decision."
[The writer is a prisoner on death row in the United States. He is happy to receive letters commenting on his columns. He can be written to at: Brandon Astor Jones, EF-122216, G2-51, GD&CC, PO Box 3877, Jackson, GA 30233, USA.]