When those opposed to the death penalty advance certain "studies" or use narrowly focused case examples, remember there are two sides to every pancake. Consider the possibility that the death penalty just might save lives.
Some lawyers fail to be objective in their opposition to the death penalty. However, many of these lawyers want to inject their personal beliefs into the law. Several months ago, a group of Ohio lawyers petitioned the governor to declare a moratorium on the death penalty. Such groups often refer to facts out of context and inflate the significance of any errors or "flaws" that occurred at trial.
Courts have routinely determined that a defendant is entitled to a "fair" trial, not a "perfect" trial. Attorneys arguing their interpretations of the law and zealously advocating evidentiary conclusions will say the case was "flawed" in later appeals. Courts that review the case must determine whether any "flaws" or legal errors were important enough to affect fundamental fairness for the defendant. If procedural errors or evidentiary rulings were not material or did not significantly prejudice a defendant's rights, then a jury's final verdict must not be reversed.
Those opposed to the death penalty suggest that mentally retarded defendants are being put to death. Not true. The United States Supreme Court has clearly held that the mentally retarded can not be executed. Neither can a juvenile. Even mental illness must be considered as a mitigating factor against a jury's recommendation of the death penalty. An Ohio jury is specifically instructed to weigh any "substantial mental disease or defect" against a recommendation of the death penalty.
The process cannot be one controlled by emotionalism. The evidence is presented to a grand jury and, if the law and the facts fit, the grand jury can choose whether or not to make it a capital case. Eventually a jury, and later reviewing judges, decide if the evidence is sufficient beyond a reasonable doubt to find death as the most appropriate punishment. In Ohio, the jury can always recommend life imprisonment without the possibility of parole instead of death.
Occasionally we'll read that years after a conviction a defendant will be released because it wasn't his DNA at the scene or on the body of the victim. People assume that means the defendant is innocent. Maybe it only means that another individual was involved along with the defendant. What isn't discussed is all the other evidence that originally resulted in the defendant's conviction. Re-trying a case, through pleadings, again and again, years later, can certainly create doubt that didn't previously exist. Exoneration can occur in cases where there was little evidence supporting the conviction. Such is very unlikely in Ohio cases where the death penalty is involved.
A recent New York Times article referenced almost a dozen studies indicating there is a deterrent effect and that the death penalty actually saves lives. One of the researchers acknowledged that he personally opposes the death penalty yet had to admit that his own research revealed that the death penalty had a deterrent effect on those who commit murder. The Times article stated that for each inmate put to death, future murders are actually prevented. Few openly discuss the fact that the death penalty might save lives. There are some criminals who don't want to face the death penalty.
We are all aware of horrifying cases where people are murdered only after the offender was released from prison. Our county has experienced several such cases. One of the more recent involved a female victim who was duct taped to a chair and tortured to death. In another case, a man executed his ex-girlfriend on a public street. Both had been in prison for homicides previously.
Once a dog starts killing chickens in the farmyard, you have a problem. You can pen the dog up, but once it gets out, there is a significant likelihood it will kill again. Is it possible to change the dog? Maybe. Many of us would choose not to gamble with the lives of our loved ones. Capital punishment might not deter everyone and might not always prevent future killings, but it is worth keeping as an option.
Keep your eye on the totality of the facts. Allow the prosecutor and the courts to find guidance in the law and give juries options, such as the death penalty, in pursuing justice. In some situations, the law permits, and justice requires, implementation of the death penalty.
-Robin Piper - Butler County Prosecutor |
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