Death Penalty being used unjustly…

The death penalty is a very hot and cold topic, some people are totally for it while others completely oppose it no matter what; but then you have those in-between people who say it depends on the situation. I really do not know a whole lot on the death penalty and what jurisdictions call for it, except homicide cases, but I feel the sentencing it whirling around social media a whole lot now and I want to be more aware about the issue. I know social media isn’t the best way to get information or learn, but it does get the job done of being an amazing platform to spread awareness about injustices, especially Instagram. What caught my eye was a post from the Kim Kardashian; she is currently studying for the Bar exam to become a lawyer and she uses her huge platform on Instagram to describe unfair cases that get sent to her that include hefty sentences or sometimes even the death penalty for non-violent crimes. Her and many other smaller accounts post links for petitions for pardoning a death penalty. I would read some of the cases that involved inmates receiving these sentences for minor crimes in the long run and was just very confused by the whole process. I also learn from many of these cases death sentences are being used so freely because of the gender, race or class bias from the people deciding on them. From my point of view, like myself and others respectively around the same age, I think this a topic we should all be well accounted for and be informed more about.

I am here to evaluate what crimes are receiving the death penalty and what outside factors are contributing to those decisions. The death penalty, also known as capital punishment is a state regulated homicide of a person as punishment for a crime. Not all states have capital punishment as a sentencing instead they reside to life in prison. For the states that do use capital punishment, it is used for the following non-violent offenses: treason, aggravated kidnapping, drug trafficking, Aircraft hijacking, placing a bomb near a bus terminal, espionage, aggravated assault by incarcerated, persistent felons or murders and criminal enterprise. Looking at statistics found on the Death Penalty Information Center you can evidently see the significant decrease in state and federal sanctioned capital punishment executions and sentences from the last 40 years; but this still doesn’t excuse the unfair cases that are suffering from it.

With the introduction of COVID19 to the United States, it forced the closing of courts all over the nation for a while, which delayed many cases. The United States was on track “for a sixth consecutive year of 50 or fewer new death sentences and 30 or fewer executions.” according to “The Death Penalty in 2020: Year End Report”. The United States ended up with only 18 executions for the 2020 year, due to COVID19 and the current presidential administration coming to an end, many of the death sentence cases were resolved rashly with a political agenda behind it. Under previous presidential administrations, the federal death penalty has either be used to lightly or too harshly, always with a political motive behind it which is one of the reasons why it is used with misconduct. For example, Trump’s administration was all for punishing high crime and anyone who didn’t obey the law and he utilized that to his fullest extent, considering, “the Trump administration had carried out more federal executions in a calendar year than any presidency in the 20^th or 21^st centuries and had scheduled more executions for the transition period between presidencies than had ever been carried out in the history of the United States.” It is evident to see that it is wrong to bring in your personal political agenda when it comes to dealing with federal court cases with capital punishment; you are dealing with other’s lives here someone should rightfully be getting what they deserve but the decision should’t be overlooked so quickly. It is not a task to check off your list, it is a serious matter that needs to be looked at from all directions with a generous amount of time. The criminal justice system is very tricky to work around but with strong public voice I think great changes can be made.

Another way executions and death sentences are being used harshly correlate with a race bias. A case that really caught my eye in the latter part of 2020 that I have some say on was the case of Julius Jones, which also happens to be the one I mentioned earlier about Kim Kardashian posting a petition for clemency. Jones was sentenced “for the 1999 murder of a prominent white Oklahoma City businessman during a carjacking. The case presents significant questions of innocence, official misconduct, and racial bias.” according to another article on Death Penalty Information Center. In Jones case there was a heavy control of racial bias used against him, having a stereotypical ideology that African American men are involved in violent street crime, with no evidence to support it. There was though evident use of racial bias tendencies by his lawyer who did not properly defend him and the jury on the case where they would call Jones racial slurs and dehumanize him, again they chose a death sentence for him based on their personal agenda. Julius is still on death row in solitary confinement awaiting his execution day but there is still time to stop it. The petition that has been circulating on Change.Org is demanding clemency for his sentence.I think clemency is a great solution for getting rid of the death penalty in unfair cases and is usually brought about by family members trying to save their convicted family members life and is amplified with the power of the public. Clemency is a term for reducing the penalties for a particular crime without actually clearing your criminal record. Not every clemency petition is granted but they do occur often.

I want to discuss more cases in the future but next post I will be looking to talk more about clemency petition capital punishment cases for non-violent crimes. For now I think an important take away would be that people in power are imposing to use executions and death sentence to fit their own personal agendas and morals and it needs to be stopped. Hopefully with a new presidential administration in power we see a better control on how cases are handled and better unbiased choices of who are handling them. It all stems from the top of the food chain and that’s where progress needs to be made.

 

https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/facts-and-research/crimes-punishable-by-death/death-penalty-for-offenses-other-than-murder

http://www.clearupmyrecord.com/pardon-vs-celemency.php#:~:text=Clemency%20is%20a%20general%20term,actually%20clearing%20your%20criminal%20record.&text=A%20pardon%20is%20meant%20to,appropriate%20for%20the%20crime%20committed.

https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/news/nfl-season-begins-with-players-outspoken-about-death-penalty-racial-justice