The death penalty is in the news in a big way this week, and it should surprise no one that I have thoughts.
One of the things I’ve seen mentioned in various discussions, especially of the botched Pike execution and the scheduled Hasan execution, is how much they deserve it.
That makes it sound like an act of vengeance, not justice.
The crimes are similar in that they both killed people. Pike’s crime is thought to be especially heinous because of the number of injuries and the carving of a pentagram in the victim. But Pike wasn’t the one who carved the pentagram. That was the boyfriend who, but for slight difference in ages, would have been on death row right next to Pike.
If one person involved in a crime is eligible for the death penalty, shouldn’t everyone who participated be eligible? And if one person in a group is ineligible, shouldn’t that make everyone ineligible? If we’re really about bringing justice? That’s the thinking behind the felony murder rule (which I’m not a fan of, but that’s another post), anyway.
If we really want to bring justice for Colleen Slemmer, shouldn’t Tadaryl Shipp and Shadolla Peterson also be on death row? Peterson acted as a lookout, so she stood there and watched Shipp and Pike kill Colleen. She could have stopped them. She could have run for help. But she didn’t. Isn’t that just as bad as inflicting some of the blows that killed Slemmer?
Why should she get a break for talking to the cops so long after the fact?
What’s Next for Christa Pike and Tennessee
Her death sentence is still active, even if the death warrant isn’t. And that difference, by the way, is why they had to work to save her life after the execution attempt failed. The state had a limited window in which to kill her, and that window closed at midnight on that date. Once they decided the execution attempt failed, they had a duty to protect her, just as they did any other inmate in their custody. They couldn’t just unplug her life support or stop medical care. The rules of custody prevent that, and the basic difference between the good guys and the bad guys is that the good guys follow the rules.
Mostly, anyway.
I understand the people who say the state should get another crack at killing her. After all, her death sentence has not yet been carried out.
But in the overall scheme of things, what purpose would that serve? What purpose does it serve to kill a convicted criminal, as opposed to letting them sit in prison for the rest of their lives? The net punishment is still the same. They’re still forfeiting the rest of their life. They’re still being punished.
Governor Bill Lee has ordered a pause on executions for the rest of 2026. That includes any further attempts to kill Christa Pike, or Gary Sutton, whose death had been scheduled for December 3rd. Tony Carruthers, the last person the state tried and failed to kill, is already under a one-year reprieve.
Governor Lee is term-limited and leaves office in January. His presumed successor, Marsha Blackburn, said she’s considering bringing back the electric chair.
There are 40 people sentenced to death in Tennessee. One man was sentenced in 1983. Another man is 75 years old. If Governor Lee truly wants what’s best for his state, he should commute all 40 sentences to life without parole. It is functionally the same sentence, in that the convicted person will never again breathe free air. And it keeps Tennessee from screwing up another state-sanctioned killing.
All Lives Don’t Matter
Remember the days of “Black Lives Matter,” and how so many on the right said, “No, all lives matter?”
Capital punishment puts the lie to that statement. All lives do not matter the same. If they did, then all murders would be death penalty crimes. But they’re not.
In Oklahoma, eight aggravating circumstances can trigger the death penalty. Five are objective: murder for hire; murder committed to avoid prosecution; killing while already incarcerated for a felony; or killing after a previous violent felony conviction. Killing a peace officer or correctional employee while in the performance of their official duty.
All lives matter, but apparently how much it matters depends on what you do for a living.
The last three are awfully subjective, and they’re not defined in state statutes. If you “knowingly created a great risk of death to more than one person,” if “the murder was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel,” or there was a “probability that the defendant would commit criminal acts of violence that would constitute a continuing threat to society,” the crime is death-penalty eligible.
Who gets to define “especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel?” Aren’t all murders atrocious? They are in my mind.
Asking a jury to predict the “probability that the defendant would…constitute a continuing threat to society” is asking them to predict the future. Who can do that reliably?
Executing a Traitor
My thoughts on Nidal Hasan are much more complicated.
I am a veteran.
Hasan was an Army officer at the time of his offense, and he deliberately attacked fellow soldiers. In my mind, he’s a traitor, to his oath and to the Constitution.
I completely understand the bloodthirsty cries for his execution. Thirty years ago, or even perhaps more recently, I’d be raising my voice alongside many of my military brethren.
I also completely understand the execution being held at Fort Hood, the scene of the crime. If I still supported capital punishment, I’d probably support this aspect of Hasan’s execution.
I even, at some very basic level, understand the call for it to be televised, although I think it’s a terrible idea. I said in a Facebook comment that the broadcast will never happen, but I should know by now not to say “never” these days.
At the same time…
I can’t reconcile those thoughts though with my belief that the death penalty is wrong.
I know how often we get it wrong—248 times since 1819.
You’re more likely to be sentenced to death if the victim is white.
You’re more likely to be sentenced to death if you’re black.
Florida, Illinois, and Texas are most likely to convict an innocent person.
The State has no business invoking an irreversible penalty. It can’t guarantee that it’ll never get it wrong, so the death penalty needs to go away.
In the name of justice, end the death penalty.
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