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Re: "The death penalty still has a place in Tennessee"
In his op-ed, State Sen. Ken Yager, R-Kingston, bragged about expanding the list of Tennessee crimes punishable by death, when there is, in fact, no credible evidencethat the death penalty effectively deters crime. Studies show that states without the death penalty often have lower murder ratesthan those with it, and many law enforcement officials believe it does not prevent violent crime.
So what’s the point, again, that murdering criminals is not revenge, but justice? It
sure sounds like an eye for an eye to me. And the courts have ruled that certain forms of execution are inhumane and must be stopped.
Here in Tennessee, we can’t even execute people effectively. We’ve tried hanging, the electric chair and lethal injections, and we've botched many of them over the years. We've even killed the wrong person. Recently, we heard from a retired corrections officer, Ian Congleton, about how traumatic executions are for the employees assigned to Death Row, as well as the family members and journalists who observe this travesty.
It turns out that killing people is a nasty business, even when done under the cover of state government.
Before a criminal court trial begins, a judge or court clerk always states that the case is "the people versus John Doe." So if we the people believe in the sovereignty of life, why do we allow the government to kill in our name – particularly when the legal system routinely victimizes the marginalized, people of color and those from the lower economic strata?
It is time to prohibit executions in all fifty states and bury this ridiculous argument that they're about justice and not revenge.
Thomas Riss, Mt. Juliet 37122
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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: In Tennessee, killing people is 'nasty business' | Letters
