Eye for an eye?

Death Penalty does not serve purpose of protecting society

Contrary to the laws of common sense and compassion, Karla Faye Tucker was executed by lethal injection in Texas Feb. 3.

To mark her untimely death at the hands of the Texas penal system, and to commemorate Death Penalty Action Week, we would like to take this opportunity to dispel some common myths about capital punishment and to suggest reforms to the criminal justice system.

n Myth 1: The death penalty is a deterrent to crime.

The death penalty has not proven to be effective in reducing the homicide rate. According to the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, the murder rate has been stable for the past two decades; on the average a homicide occurs once every three days.

n Myth 2: Incarceration is expensive and taxpayers should not have to pay for a murderer to spend his life in prison.

"Obviously, the death penalty is not serving its purpose."

It actually costs more to kill a prisoner than it does to keep him in jail for life. The lengthy appeals process for death row inmates involves many lawyers -- and lawyers mean money, lots of it.

n Myth 3: The death penalty does not discriminate.

This is a very common myth. The percentage of minority prisoners executed is much higher than the percentage of white prisoners executed, taking into consideration the percentage of white people in the United States compared to minorities. According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice, between 1977 and 1996, only 51 percent of executions where of white prisoners, making the other 49 percent minorities.

n Myth 4: The death penalty is constitutional.

The constitution guarantees due process of law to every citizen. Once a person is executed and new information arises after death, it is obviously too late to overturn the conviction. A corpse can't be pardoned.

It is very likely that many innocent people are sitting in prison, as well as on death row. Since 1973, 34 percent of convictions on death row have been overturned and thus the prisoner found innocent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Justice.

Obviously, the death penalty is not serving its purpose. But if it were to be abolished, would public safety be compromised?

So to protect the public from violent criminals in the absence of capital punishment, the current penal system must be reformed. Parole for rapists and murderers should be rarely granted; a life sentence must mean a life sentence, not 25 years with time off for good behavior.

Above all, prison administrators need to focus on rehabilitation. Granted, some cases are helpless, but most prisoners are capable of changing their lives for the better.

Perhaps if we get better at healing criminals, we can once again relax parole restrictions and allow prisoners the chance to once again become the mythical creatures we hear about so often in administration of justice rhetoric -- "productive members of society."