Category Archives: Capital Punishment

November 22, 2011 · 10:04 pm

Moratorium in Oregon

I join Oregonians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty and other groups around the country in applauding the decision of  Governor John Kitzhaber to halt the scheduled execution of Gary Haugen (scheduled for December 6 – the last execution scheduled for this year). Governor Kitzhaber also called  for a full examination of the Oregon death penalty. Reflecting on this decision, the OADP said:

Governor Kitzhaber has shown great leadership with this announcement.

The New York Times reports:

“It is time for Oregon to consider a different approach,” Governor Kitzhaber, a Democrat elected last fall, said in a news conference in Salem on Tuesday afternoon. “I refuse to be a part of this compromised and inequitable system any longer; and I will not allow further executions while I am governor.”

One of the predecessor denominations of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) first went on the record against capital punishment in 1959:

. . . the 171st General Assembly, “believing that capital punishment cannot be condoned by an interpretation of the Bible based upon the revelation of God’s love in Jesus Christ,” called on Christians to “seek the redemption of evil doers and not their death” and noted that “the use of the death penalty tends to brutalize the society that condones it.”

As Oregonians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty states:

 It is our contention that when all the facts are known, it is difficult to support a death penalty. It is a failed public policy, extremely expensive, taking valuable resources from other programs that do deter violent crime. In these modern times, when we have the ability to keep violent criminals safely away from the general public, an option like life without parole makes more sense.

I grieve for Mary Archer and all who love her. Haugen was convicted of raping and beating Mary Archer to death in 1981. I grieve for David Polin and all who love him. Haugen was convicted of killing David Polin, an inmate at the Oregon State Penitentiary, in 2003. No questions of his guilt are raised and Haugen has asked to waive his legal rights and be executed.

Still, as I have written before:

I believe the death penalty is wrong. It dehumanizes our society. Repaying violence with violence does not get us anywhere; killing to demonstrate that killing is wrong makes no sense to me. It cuts off any possibility for reform or restoration. My opposition is to the state killing. It does not depend – it cannot depend on the person subject to execution.

I have prayed for the families and friends of Mary Archer and David Polin. I pray for Gary Haugen.

I have written a thank-you letter to Governor Kitzhaber.

I pray for other leaders who are in a position to make decisions and set policy about life and death.

See you along the Trail.

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November 17, 2011 · 10:08 pm

It still happens in my name

Idaho is scheduled to execute Paul Rhoades tomorrow. This would be the first execution in Idaho in 17 years. It would be the fourth execution in the United States this week – a bloody week in terms of state executions.

He was convicted of the murders of school teacher Susan Michelbacher and convenience store clerks Stacy Baldwin and Nolan Haddon. There appears no question of his guilt. His petition to commute his sentence from death to life imprisonment begins, “Three people are dead because of me.”

I grieve for Susan Michelbacher, Stacy Baldwin, and Nolan Haddon. I grieve for all who love them.

Still I say, “Not in my name.” Not in my name, shall the state (any one of the United States) kill. Not in my name shall we act to prevent any possibility of reform. Not in my name shall we exact vengeance, taking an eye for an eye and stumbling blindly into the future.

But I am a citizen of this country – and while I protest – and while I write to the Idaho Commission of Pardons and Parole – should the execution happen, it will still happen in my  name.

See you along the Trail.

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November 14, 2011 · 6:00 pm

Execution scheduled in Florida

I grieve today for Joan “Jo” Rogers, 36, and her daughters Michelle, 17, and Christe, 14. They were visiting Tampa Bay from Ohio in 1989, when they were murdered. It was a horrific crime. They were bound, tied to concrete blocks and thrown into the water. Reports indicate that they were probably alive when they entered the water. The horror of watching the violation of your children – watching the violation of your mother – numbs my mind and makes my skin crawl. I grieve for Hal Rogers, husband and father, and all who loved the three women.

The State of Florida is scheduled to execute Oba Chandler for this crime today. It may have happened. It was scheduled for 4:00. I have not been able to find news stories to confirm that. Chandler was convicted in 1994. Chandler says he is innocent; appeals have been filed, and denied.

Heinous. Brutal. Reprehensible. These are the words that come to mind pondering this crime.

But – the state killing people to prove that killing people does not make sense. It reinforces the idea that violence is an acceptable response. It brutalizes our society. There are alternatives. We can protect ourselves by keeping people imprisoned.

See you along the Trail.

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November 14, 2011 · 5:16 pm

The only way? Execution scheduled in Ohio

The State of Ohio plans to execute Reginald Brooks tonight. He stands convicted of shooting his three sons while they slept. The crime occurred in 1982.

No questions seem to appear about his guilt. There is some argument about his mental competency. Prosecutors argue that his mental illness did not cause the murders nor does it make him incompetent. From an MSNBC report:

They say he planned merciless killings, bought a revolver two weeks in advance, confirmed he’d be home alone with the boys, targeted them when they wouldn’t resist and fled on a bus with a suitcase containing a birth certificate and personal items that could help him start a new life.

I grieve for his three sons: 17-year-old Reginald Jr., 15-year-old Vaughn, and 11-year-old Niarchos. I grieve for the potential that was lost when they were murdered. I grieve for their mother, Beverly Brooks, and all who loved them.

This is a horrible crime.

And yet I wonder – does killing someone to prove that killing someone is wrong really work? Is this the only way?

See you along the trail.

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November 8, 2011 · 11:36 pm

Four executions scheduled in next ten days

Until recently the next ten days were scheduled to bring five executions. One has been stayed. Four more loom.

November 15 – Reginald Brooks in Ohio (includes a petition)

November 15 – Oba Chandler in Florida

November 16 – Guadalupe Esparza in Texas

November 18 – Paul Ezra Rhoades in Idaho

More details will follow as I find them.

See you along the Trail.

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November 8, 2011 · 10:58 pm

Not knowing – knowing

A Texas court has stayed the execution of convicted murderer Henry “Hank” Skinner.

I do not know if he is guilty or innocent.

I know that he deserves every opportunity to prove his innocence – including DNA tests.

I do not know what that test will show.

I know that the murders of Twila Busby, Randy Busby, and Elwin Caler were horrific crimes, terrible violations.

I know that I grieve for them and all who love them.

I know that executing Hank Skinner will not bring them back, will not restore community; it will deny any possibility of rehabilitation for Skinner; it will be an act of violence that degrades our society.

See you along the Trail.

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November 5, 2011 · 7:57 pm

Why won’t Texas perform a DNA test?

DNA tests have exonerated a number of individuals “convicted” of crimes in recent years.

In Texas, Hank Skinner has asked for a test of DNA evidence that he believes will prove his innocence. So far, his request has been denied.

Now time is running out. On Wednesday, Texas will execute Hank Skinner.

Skinner was convicted in 1995 of the murders of Twila Busby, and her two sons – Randy Busby and Elwin Caler.

Questions have been raised about Skinner’s guilt.

A larger question looms: Why won’t Texas perform the DNA testing?

Individuals can join former judges, prosecutors and law enforcement officers, along with current and former elected officials who have called Texas state officials  not to execute Skinner until that DNA testing can be performed.

The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty offers the opportunity to sign a petition.

I do not believe the state (any state) should execute individuals. I will continue to call for the abolition of the death penalty. But, I have signed the petition because I also believe that, if there are going to be executions, there should be as much certainty about their guilt as possible.

I pray for Hank Skinner and all who hold his fate.

I pray for Twila Busby, Randy Busby, and Elwin Caler and all who love them.

See you along the Trail.

 

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October 27, 2011 · 2:30 am

Execution scheduled in Texas

I grieve for police officer Hector Garza, for Jessica Garcia, and for all who love them. They were killed more than a decade ago. Officer Garza was responding to a domestic dispute.

Frank Garcia, Jessica’s husband, was convicted of the murders. The State of Texas will execute Frank Garcia today unless a last-minute appeal proves successful. Reports say that Frank Garcia abused Jessica and she was attempting to leave him when the murders occurred. They also suggest that he was a gang member.

The appeal, according to published reports on the San Antonio Express Web page, raise the question of Garcia’s mental capacities.

Little or no doubt. A history of abuse. The murder of a wife. The murder of a police officer acting in the line of duty. Tragic, horrific realities.

Still I wonder. Beyond revenge, what will be served by Frank Garcia’s execution. Texas’ use of  the death penalty  did not deter him. Why do we think it would deter anyone else? It will not bring back Hector Garza. It will not bring back Jessica Garcia. It will remove any possibility, however slim, of Garcia’s rehabilitation. It will send the message that violence is the right response to violence. It will exact an eye for an eye and lead our society further down the road of brutality.

I pray for Frank Garcia. I pray for Jessica Garcia and Hector Garza and those who love them. I pray for our country.

See you along the Trail.

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October 20, 2011 · 10:20 pm

That grieves me, too

I grieve for Elias Ocean Johnson whose young life ended far too soon – almost before it began – and far too brutally. I tremble as I seek to imagine what his last moments were like – what his few months were like.

I grieve for Dana Johnson, his mother and all who loved Elias.

I grieve for Christopher T. Johnson who reportedly testified to, and was convicted of, killing Elias. Alabama executed Johnson this evening.

I grieve for the prison personnel called upon to take Johnson’s life; I grieve for those who love them.

Johnson did not want anyone to block his execution and he filed no appeals. What he said he did appalls me and offends me. The cruel, violent act that took the life of baby Elias also violated and brutalized our society.

Yet, in my grief, I also believe that by taking Johnson’s life, the state – our society – has also been wounded and diminished. Our willingness to take a life for a life appears an act of vengeance – not of justice – not of restoration – not of seeking some new possibility out of an act of evil.

I do not know what should happen to those who kill our sisters and brothers, however old, however young. That grieves me, too. But I am sure that capital punishment is not the answer.

See you along the Trail.

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October 18, 2011 · 11:32 pm

I wonder

Alabama will, in all likelihood, execute Christopher T. Johnson on October 20. Johnson has been convicted of a heinous crime – the murder of his son – a six-month old child. My heart breaks for Elias Ocean Johnson and those who love him. Johnson does not deny the crime – published reports indicate that he has admitted that he committed the crime.

Writers describe Johnson as a “volunteer.” He acted as his own attorney and has rejected appeals.

Yet even under these circumstances, I wonder:

What do we gain by Johnson’s execution?

How does it benefit Elias? Or protect other babies from abuse?

Does an execution – any execution – not demean and degrade the State and all of us? What does it say about us? What does it do to our soul?

Does imposing the death penalty – under these circumstances, under any circumstances – not brutalize our society? Is it not an act of vengeance – a denial of the possibility of repentance and renewal?

Does Johnson’s willingness to be executed absolve the state or change the reality of the death penalty?

I wonder . . . but I still oppose this and all executions.

See you along the Trail.

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