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Macy Pfaffenbichler

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The Impact of the Death Penalty on Society

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Macy Pfaffenbichler

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Macy Pfaffenbichler

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Last week I received a letter that reads

" Dear Macy,

I am having trouble with a decision I made a while back and was wondering what you're thoughts are on it. It all started a few years ago when I was asked to serve on the jury for a murder case. It was pretty plain to see that the defendant was guilty, but it was his first offense and he seemed genuinely remorseful about it. I mean he was just a kid who had a rough childhood. There was no responsible adult present to teach him how to manage his emotions, so one day, when his girlfriend of five years broke up with him, he let his anger get the best of him. Of course, the way he went about the murder was more than gruesome, which is why I agreed he should be sentenced to death, but looking back, I realize it wasn't his fault he grew up in such an unstable environment. Anyways, I'm just looking for reassurance that I made the right choice, and the reason I'm just now bringing it up is because his execution was yesterday. It never really hit me how responsible I was until it actually happened. I just remember the horror on his parents face when they heard the final verdict. Even though they weren't the best parents, I could tell they still cared, but just didn't know how to show it. No parent should have to go through what they did, but it happens. And if it's going to happen, it at least needs to be justified."

When I received this letter I thought it would be the perfect topic to write on considering how I just finished the book In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, which is about the murder of the Clutter family. Before reading the book, I didn't really have a strong opinion on the death penalty, but now I can see why it's still implemented. In this column, I want to give a valid, fact-based assessment of how your choice could have possibly benefitted society, so I've spent the last week researching the death penalty. The information I found was extremely insightful and hopefully provides reassurance.

I'm going to start with the conclusion I've drawn from In Cold Blood. This being that the kind of people who are heartless and cruel enough to execute such horrific actions honestly have no place in our society; they only hinder its prosperity. It doesn't matter if they had a decent childhood or not. They still need to be held responsible for their actions. They should be able to learn that going around stabbing people when you're mad is not a cultural normality. For example, in the book, there were two killers; one, named Richard Hickock, had a relatively normal home life. He had two loving parents, was "an outstanding athlete--always on the first team at school," and "a pretty good student, too" (Capote 166). The other murderer, Perry Smith had a comparatively rough childhood. He had to watch his parents marriage dissolve into alcoholism, was ripped away from his dad and forced to live with his drunk mother, and then was moved to a children's shelter where the nuns and other children both verbally and physically abused him (Capote 130-147). This supports that insensitive is just who these people are, no matter how they were raised. They can never change, learn their lesson, or become a productive member of the community. At the end of the book, while Hickock was waiting for his execution, he started planning another attack. When everyone in the prison went to bed, Hickock stayed up all night making a shiv to stab the undersheriff with (Capote 263). He had no regret, he was just thinking about himself and how he wanted to escape.

Another conclusion I've come to based upon my research is that the death penalty spares the family of the murdered from having to go from probation hearings One family, the Stambaughs, has had to endure "heartache, fear, and repeated traumatization... every time their sister's murderer has requested a parole hearing" (Stambaugh par. 1). .Just imagine the poor parents of the girlfriend; they don't need to be consistently reminded of what happened to their daughter. Your choice has allowed them to escape this possible punishment.

The last point I want to make is that when violent killers are executed, it sets an example and sends out the message that killing innocent people is not ethical. This allows "the courts to weed out the absolute worst elements of society" (Scaljon par. 7). There is no downside to being one step closer to a perfect, peaceful world.

In the end, the past cannot be changed; his death has already occurred and there is no going back. There was plenty of substantial evidence to support that the man was guilty, so his death was not unjustified. Of course there was collateral damage resulting from his death, but every choice has its consequences. That's just life. All you can do now is focus on the benefits his death most likely provided society, and those are not too limited.

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Last week I received a letter that reads " Dear Macy, I am having trouble with a decision I made a while back and was wondering what you're thoughts are on it. It all started a few years ago when I was asked to serve on the jury for a murder case.

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Macy Pfaffenbichler

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Macy Pfaffenbichler

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Macy Pfaffenbichler