The Supreme Court and the death penalty

Author: Rosa Maria Young

The United States has opened its arms to greet Pope Benedict XVI who is visiting the country for the first time since he became head of the Roman Catholic Church three years ago. Tuesday April 15th, on his arrival at Andrews Air Force Base, he was greeted by President Bush and first lady Laura Bush. The official ceremony took place Wednesday on the White House’s South Lawn with more than 13,000 people in attendance.

What is ironic about this is that Wednesday, the same day the Pope, a vocal opponent of the death penalty, was being greeted in the elaborate ceremony, a splintered Supreme Court cleared the way for more executions approving the most widely used method of lethal injection and effectively ended a national moratorium which had lasted nearly seven months. As soon as the decision was made known, officials in at least four states — Virginia, Texas, Florida and Oklahoma — moved on to begin setting new execution dates. Supporters of the death penalty welcomed the decision. Opponents of the death penalty said the decision was little more than a road map for more litigation.

The death penalty is authorized by 37 of the 50 states. It is also sanctioned by the U.S. government and the military. Lethal injection is the main method used by all of the death penalty states except for Nebraska which uses the electric chair. Lethal injections in executions are a combination of three chemicals: a sedative, a paralyzing agent and a drug that stops the heart. If the chemicals are administered properly they produce a humane death. If the first is administered improperly, the second and third chemicals can cause suffocation and intense pain.

Capital punishment is a controversial issue in the United States and, indeed, in most of the world. It is something that I find very difficult to write about being an issue that can create very inflamed feelings with arguments based on several grounds: moral, religious, and emotional. And for some people who believe one cannot redeem people and it is a waste of taxpayers money to keep them in prison, the grounds are purely practical.

I will just end by saying that countries that keep us company by condoning and practicing capital punishment are those that we profoundly despise and criticize for their human rights violations: China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan among others. Not only that but according to a report issued this week, Amnesty International ranked the United States fifth in the world in the number of executions. Not a proud record I would say.