Page 8 - June July 2017

Michael’s Murder - Capital Punishment Vs Life Imprisonment

Time: We can spend our time any way we choose. A lifer must spend his or her time as dictated by prison
dynamics and management. Time moves slowly, and days drag by Work and education: We spend part of our
time at our jobs for which we receive no less than minimum wage. If a lifer has a job, he or she earns anywhere
from $1.00 a week to $20.00 per month. We can spend our money any way we choose, but a lifer has no real
place to spend money, and nowhere except inside the walls to use any degree earned.

Family and friends: We can choose the time that we spend with our family and friends, and the activities that
participate in. If we lose a friend or family member, we can attend the funeral. A lifer cannot choose time spent C
with family and friends, and eventually, most friends of lifers stop visiting. If a lifer loses a friend or family A
member, prison regulations and policies forbid the prisoner to attend the funeral. P

Freedom: We have the freedom to come and go as we choose, freedom of speech, and control over most I
events in our daily lives. A lifer has very limited freedom. Prisoners who exercise freedom of speech in such a T
volatile atmosphere often get severely injured or lose their lives. A

Possessions: We have our possessions that we enjoy. Lifers do not have many possessions, and what little L
they do have frequently gets stolen. Prisoners who fight for their possessions sometimes end up getting brutally
injured or killed. P

Conscience. We did not commit murder, so we do not have to live with the guilt. We do not have to live with U
the horrific fact that we took another person’s life. Some lifers do not have a conscience or a soul, but the ones N
who do must look at themselves in the mirror every day and live with what they did. Guilt can age a person I
physically and emotionally overnight, and many lifers suffer guilt related health problems and die a premature
death. S
H
Career Advancement M

Even with all that I have demonstrated so far, some people will always support the death penalty, and will E
still feel that the “life-for-a-life” punishment is ethical, which is their right. In his 2005 interview with Sister N
Helen Prejean about how prosecutors often treat the family members of murder victims, associate editor of T
America magazine, George. M. Anderson presented Prejean’s story that prosecutors who have their sights set on
judgeship frequently seek the death penalty to enhance their political careers.

How do we justify the sacrifice of a human life, even that of a cold-blooded murderer, as a means of
professional advancement? How do we teach our children and grandchildren the importance of human life and
then demonstrate the opposite by using the judicial system as a murder weapon?

The Debate

When we debate between capital punishment and life in prison without parole, we have to consider the values
that must be weighed when deciding the penalty for the crime. What public purpose, other than the eternal
absence of the killer, does the death penalty serve? If the court pronounces the sentence of execution, after the
sentence is carried out, the killer’s family endures the punishment since the killer can no longer suffer. Why
should we punish innocent families?

To quote attorney Richard C. Dieter from 1994: “Assuming that the death penalty is ethically acceptable, and
even constitutional in theory, are there, nevertheless, practical burdens which capital punishment places on

8