"To take a life when a life has been lost is revenge, not justice." -- Desmond Tutu

 

Death Penalty

The death penalty is only used on the worst cases in which the victims of the crime require a form of justice.

Troy Davis

September 21, 2011 at 11:08 p.m Troy Davis was declared dead for the murder of an off- duty police officer.

He had denied committing the crime to the end of his life.

 He was convicted in 1991 of killing Officer MacPhail.

Murder Case

MacPhail was working as a security guard at the time.

He rushed to the aid of a homeless man.

Davis was reportedly bashing the homeless man with a handgun.

He then supposedly shot the officer to death in a Burger King parking lot.

No gun was ever found.

Shell casings were tied to an earlier shooting that Davis was convicted for.

Witnesses placed Davis at the crime scene and identified him as the shooter.

Several statements have been taken back.

Jurors have said that they've changed their minds if he is even guilty.

Reports claim that a man that was with Davis actually admitted in shooting the officer that night.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/09/21/troy-davis-deathrow.html

FUN DEATH PENALTY FACTS

From December 7, 1982 - September 21, 2011

In the state of Texas alone there has been 475 convicted criminals killed by the death penalty.

Texas has executed more people in the past decade than any other state.

18 out of 20 states with the highest murder rates today have the death penalty.

17 of the cities with the highest murder rates are in death penalty jurisdictions.

Race in the Death Penalty?

Do you think race has anything to do with the death penalty?

Does being a different race change the sentencing you receive?

Death Penalty in Texas Statistics

White - 220

Black - 173

Hispanic - 80

Other - 2

Total – 475 people executed in Texas

http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/annual.htm

Justice for Family

By handing out the same experience to “guilty” party

A popular justification for the death penalty is that it is only used on the worst of cases in which the victims of the crime require a form of justice.

This justice has been shifted into a form of revenge represented as balance or equality; murdering the “guilty” party.

The Issue?

The pain and suffering of the initial victims go through is passed on to a new set of victims, with it never truly leaving.

The life of the lost cannot be brought back.

Do you think in any way the death penalty deters crime?

Louisiana today has a high record of practicing capital punishment.

New Orleans is the leading city in the United States for crimes of murder.

In fact Canada abolished capital punishment in 1975

The murder rate in Canada declined consistently over the next decade.

http://www.vincenter.org/95/gregory.html

Last Supper

When you are in Death Row you have a chance in having a special last meal.

There are instances when inmates that are sentenced to death row order a large amount of food and do not even end up eating any of it

Even Troy Davis declined his special last meal before he was executed.

Do you think that inmates should have the right to order what ever they want?

OR

Should their last meal be a catering of options?

William Blackstone

“Better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer."