Generational Differences in Death Penalty
Views
It does not take a genius to figure
out that generations think differently about a fair number of issues. Whether
the debate is about tattoos and piercings or if it is about what can be
considered as music, these generational views exist. If generations think
differently about issues such as these, then surely they must have varying
opinions about the death penalty.
The death penalty is defined as the court-ordered
imposition of a sentence of execution as punishment for a crime (Webster’s New
World Law Dictionary). In simple terms, the death penalty is an order from the
court to kill a bad guy. There are five different ways of executing the
offender: lethal injection, electrocution, gas chamber, hanging, and firing
squad. Lethal injections are just that—injections (typically a solution of
barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium) that put the restrained person to sleep,
then stop the breathing and the heart (Bonsor).
Electrocution is nearly always carried
out by means of the electric chair. The criminal is strapped to a wooden chair,
built specifically for this purpose, and electrodes are placed on the body. It
is through these electrodes that electrical currents electrocute the person.
The first rush of current through the body is intended to cause unconsciousness
and make the person literally brain-dead, and the second current is supposed to
damage to the vital organs (Swarthmore College).
Gas chamber executions are implemented by
strapping the convicted person to a chair inside a sealed gas chamber. The
executioner, who is outside of the chamber, “pulls a level dropping potassium
cyanide tablets pellets into a vat of sulfuric acid, flooding the chamber with
lethal hydrogen cyanide gas” (Head). Death by hanging is done the way it has
been for years: the person stands on a trapdoor with a “hangman’s noose” rope,
tied by the executioner, around his or her neck. The executioner then pulls a
level, which opens the trapdoor, and the prisoner’s neck should break quickly
(Head).
The final method of execution, death by
firing squad, is just as horrific as the other four techniques. The convict is
strapped into a chair with five gunmen pointing at his or her heart. Once all
five gunmen shoot, it is essentially guaranteed that one of the bullets will
have killed the victim. One interesting fact about this method is that one out
of the five sharpshooters is equipped with a blank round, so there is a
twenty-percent chance that each sharpshooter did not end up killing the convict
(Head). None of these five methods sound too pleasant, do they?
In addition to the gruesome sound of
these methods, the cost is incredibly high. New Jersey taxpayers have paid $253
million for the state’s death penalty since 1983, according to a 2009 report
from New Jersey Policy Perspectives (Death Penalty Focus). It remains a fact
that any and all of these methods are much more expensive than an alternative
of life in prison without parole. According to the Federal Death Penalty Act of
1994, almost every homicide (there are approximately 16, 000 per year in the
United States) is now death-eligible (Death Penalty Focus). Of the 343 federal
executions (two of which were women) in 182 years, four of these executions in
two years were proven wrongful. These numbers might not sound high, but at
least to the families of those who were wrongfully executed, the loss is huge. Of
the number of inmates who are currently on death row, 98.13% are male and 1.87%
are female. 44.40% are white, 41.43% are black, 11.74% are Latino, 1.13% are
Native American, 1.26% are Asian, and 0.03% are unknown or unreported (Death
Penalty Focus).
When I was younger—and less informed on
the topic of the death penalty—I would say that I thought the death penalty
depended on the individual case. Now, as a fairly informed college student, I
have researched and spent a decent amount of time studying the death penalty.
At this point, I have no doubt that I am anti-death penalty. As an involved
Catholic, I believe that all life is sacred. Even in the case of murderers or
rapists, their lives should not be shortened. We are not the ones who get to
choose when someone’s life ends. That is all up to God. We are not God (though
some people may think they are). I believe that murderers and rapists should be
heavily punished. I think that a better way to punish these criminals would be
putting them in prison until they die without parole. That way, they have to
live regretting whatever kind of crime they committed. Death seems like the
easy way out.
When I set about seeing if there
were any generational differences in death penalty views, I knew that I would
need to conduct a survey. I created an
anonymous questionnaire that was distributed both electronically and in print.
This survey consisted of only four questions. The first question asked if the
survey taker was male or female. This question did not pertain to the
generational differences, but I thought that it still might be interesting to
see if there were any trends by gender. The second question asked for the age
of the survey taker. This question was formatted so that the taker could write
or type in their age, rather than a range to pick from. The third question
asked, “Would you consider yourself to be pro-death penalty or anti-death
penalty?” and offered answer choices. The first option was, “I would consider
myself to be pro-death penalty.”
The second option was, “I would consider myself to be anti-death penalty.” The third option was, “I think it
depends on the individual case.” I
changed the look of the part of the answer that varied from option to option to
make it easier for the person taking the survey. I included three options, rather
than just two, because there are more than just pro- or anti-death penalty.
My survey also included a fourth
mandatory question. “Based on your answer to the question above, why would you
say that? (ex: religious beliefs, etc).” I wanted to know why people held their
views, not just what their views were. Their reasons intrigued me. I got
everything from, “Life is precious in His name and our Creator,” to “Everyone
has the right to life, but there are people who have abused this right by
ending the life of more than one person. I don’t know, it’s a tough decision,”
to “Family that works in the prison system,” to “Eye for an eye.” Some were
eager to explain their views, but others didn’t have as many reasons for
support (example: “because it is right”). I am not saying that this and other
such answers are invalid because they are not. But I also expected that college
students would at least have some reasons for their views (Hogan).
Sixty-four people between the ages
of fifteen and seventy-one years old took my survey. Those who completed the
survey showed that many people are anti-death penalty. 14.29% of the sample
said that they were pro-death penalty. 57.14% of those who completed the survey
selected that they were anti-death penalty. 28.57% of those participants said that
they thought that it depended on the individual case. The answers did not
correlate with the ages of those who submitted the surveys, so this shows that
generations as a whole do not feel differently about the death penalty.
The results of the survey I
conducted showed me my initial hypothesis was wrong: generations do not think
differently about the death penalty. This result pleasantly astonished me
because I thought that the younger generations would be more liberal and
thereby be pro-death. I was happily surprised because as someone who is
anti-death penalty, it is refreshing to know that there are people my age,
older, and younger, who stand with me on this issue.
Works Cited
Bonsor,
Kevin. "How Lethal Injection Works." How Stuff Works. Web. 3
Apr. 2012.
“Death
Penalty Focus.” Death Penalty. Web. 17 Mar. 2012.
“Death
Penalty Legal Definition.” Webster’s New
World Law Dictionary. Hoboken:
Wiley, 2010. Death Penalty Legal definition. Web. 17 Mar. 2012.
"Electric
Chair." Swarthmore College. Web. 03 Apr. 2012.
Head,
Tom. "Gas Chamber Executions." About.com Civil Liberties. Web.
3 Apr. 2012.
Hogan,
Abigail. “Death Penalty Survey.” Survey. 17 Mar. 2012.
Journal for the Scientific Study of
Religion, Vol. 31, No. 1
(Mar. 1992), pp. 76-87.
