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Executions Pause for Christmas
On December 3, 2009, many people gathered around Texas to protest the execution of Bobby Wayne Woods who was scheduled to die by lethal injection that evening. Woods' execution was the 447th one in Texas since the death penalty was resumed by the state on December 7, 1982. It was the 24th and last execution in the state for 2009.
I am concerned about the victims of crime as much as anyone else - they have suffered beyond anyone's imagination. However, I believe that the death penalty is a false solution to crime that perpetuates violence in our state because it is a violent act itself. Executions haven't driven down violent crime, nor have they brought healing to the families of victims. Furthermore, there is clear and compelling evidence that the death penalty is an error-prone punishment that is unnecessary for societal protection. The cases of Carlos DeLuna, Ruben Cantu and Cameron Todd Willingham represent fatal errors in the system.
I don't believe that the citizens of Texas are strongly for the death penalty anymore, particularly when "life without parole" is offered as an optional punishment. The drop in the number of death sentences indicates that citizens are increasingly skeptical of the death penalty and concerned about its high cost (see 2009 Annual Report by the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty at www.tcadp.org).
However, certain politicians in the state continue to show strong support for the death penalty. Recent actions by Governor Rick Perry in the cases of Cameron Todd Willingham and Robert Thompson show how politics drives the death penalty in this state.
I wish that Bobby Wayne Woods' execution was the last one ever carried out by Texas, rather than the last one of 2009. However, this is not the case. Texas has over 300 people on death row and already has five exeutions scheduled for early 2010. The relentless execution machinery of the state rolls on, surpassing every other state in the nation by a wide margin. The nearest state to Texas during 2009 was Alabama which had six executions. .
Texas closes down its execution machinery as we get close to Christmas. Is this done out of deference to the Prince of Peace who taught us to forgive and show mercy? If there is anything that is antithetical to the message of Christ, it is the state-sponsored killing of another human being.
David Atwood
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