"Having witnessed executions firsthand, I have no doubts: capital punishment is a very scripted and rehearsed murder. It’s the most premeditated murder possible."
A former commissioner of the Georgia Department of Corrections shares his experience with executions, and his opinions on the death penalty.
Allen Ault, now the Dean of the College of Justice and Safety at Eastern Kentucky University, oversaw five executions during his time as commissioner. Though convinced of the guilt of everyone executed under his watch, he believes that the death penalty is not only an ineffective deterrent against crime, but also an inhumane act that takes a great toll not just on the one being executed, but also on the public servants carrying out the execution.
Concerning the recent and questionable execution of Troy Davis, perhaps we need to rethink the death penalty in this country. Ault even mentions the execution as he and five other death-row wardens wrote a letter to commute his sentence. In his words,
"I feared not only the risk of Georgia killing an innocent man, but also the psychological toll it would exact on the prison workers who performed his execution."
Thoughts or comments? I personally agree with Ault that even if the person being executed is guilty, the cost is too great on everyone involved. The reason we consider murder a crime is because we do not think anyone has the right to decide who lives and who dies. So why is it different when the state does the killing?
I agree with Ault as well. No one should be able to determine if a person lives or dies, not even the state. The mental toll that takes place on all the prison workers who have to plan and carry out the execution is substantial. People do not often consider how much work goes into an execution, but a lot of prep work needs to be done to make sure everything goes smoothly.
ReplyDeleteThe toll on the team that had to preform the Troy Davis execution is unimaginable. Executing a clearly guilty person is one thing, but executing a man who is innocent is an entirely different story.