We shouldn’t support the death penalty in the USA today – prove me wrong!
Photograph by Олег Мороз via Unsplash
Aileen Anstruther
The murder of Charlie Kirk hit me hard as it did so many people across the country. It raised questions about the rights or wrongs of the death penalty. So also did the White House’s new policy of “restoring the death penalty,” particularly for migrants that kill citizens or law enforcement officers. I am quite conservative, but as a Christian this is one policy that does not sit well with me. Let me explain why…
People tend to assume that Charlie Kirk was 100% in favor of the death penalty, however this is not entirely true. In a 2023 interview with Michael Knowles, “YES or NO, Tough Questions and Real Drinks,” Charlie called the death penalty his “most unclear political position.” He claimed the Bible was 100% in support of the death penalty, with no real argument against. (I disagree.) However, Charlie said he would oppose the death penalty in the USA today due to concern that it could be used against political opponents.
I disagree that the death penalty is a simple case of a biblical “eye for an eye” justice as Charlie suggests (even if “an eye for an eye” was the Christian ideal in Charlie’s mind). I will give a couple of real-life examples. The first is of my former family member, who, at 20 years old, murdered a man during a burglary in Texas. He spent almost 18 years in prison – most of that time on death row. He was finally executed on his 38th birthday. I witnessed the sadness and hopelessness of this case, his loneliness and isolation, and how his eventual execution tore his family apart and destroyed his mother (who passed away just 2 years later). Worse than an eye for an eye, it seemed more like an eye for two eyes and a leg, or more...
I’ve thought a lot about what it means to be on death row. Around 23 out of 24 hours in an average day are spent locked in a cell, isolated from other human beings, with no physical contact (not of any friendly type anyway). Food is provided through a hole in the door. If they are escorted anywhere, it is dragging chains. When there is a visitor from the outside world, there is a screen in place between them and they talk via telephone. I consider 17 years of this type of isolation to be cruel and unusual – basically a kind of living hell.
My second example is of a man who, like my family member, has spent 17 years on death row. This man had been brought to the USA as a young child and never obtained citizenship or a driver’s license. Introduced to and addicted to heroin from childhood, high on drugs, driving illegally and with a previous record and prison time, he savagely killed the police officer that apprehended him.
I’m not exactly saying that this man did not ask for, or deserve, a death sentence for his crime (according to an eye for an eye), but a death sentence does not come without added punishments, and I believe the sum of these to be unchristian.
The appeals process for death sentences in this country adds many years of prison time. When the day comes, we are not executing the same person anymore. Change is inevitable and sometimes very positive. Therefore, at what point is the price paid and at what point can we forgive?
Thankfully (in my opinion), California has acted to dismantle its “death row” and move those with death sentences into the general prison population. This allows them to be housed in accordance with their behavior, and to access programs, work assignments, and more. Through one of these programs, this man has been able to become a mentor to other inmates as well as a fully certified alcohol and drug counselor. Now with an associate's degree and a significant amount of time in training, he passionately seeks to help change lives for the better and to divert others away from drugs, crime, and harmful lifestyles. In addition, he likes to busy himself with positive engagements of many kinds, including cleaning the group rooms, helping with odd jobs, and volunteering in the management of projects of various types. Finally free from addiction, and apparently generally rehabilitated, he resides on a low level of security due to his good behavior and commitment to nonviolence. In fact, I have come to believe that rather than a bad man trying to pretend to be a good man to escape a bad end, that this is now a good man, with much shame and regret for his actions.
So, what now if California should re-activate the carrying out of its death sentences? I believe it would be a tragedy and a loss, but most of all sin. This is because, as Charlie pointed out, when you kill someone, you are not just killing that person, but also the future and the people they could have influenced and the good works they could have done.
Truthfully, some people should never be released. There are rare serial killers that commit horrific evils without remorse. However, I believe not everyone with a death sentence is irredeemable, and neither should every “condemned” inmate be considered forever condemned. I’m glad that Erika Kirk is not personally seeking the death penalty for Charlie Kirk’s murder, citing her Christian faith. I am so very sorry for Charlie’s death, but I don’t think the execution of his killer would help shine a light on the love of Jesus.
Some have argued, why are we using our tax dollars to pay for education and counseling and mentor-counselor certification programs and similar for illegal immigrants serving a death sentence? As well as being significantly more humane, it is also much cheaper to house people at lower security levels.[i] And why should they not be given an opportunity to give back and make a positive contribution to society?
The appeals process for death sentences in this country adds many years of prison time. When the day comes, we are not executing the same person anymore. Change is inevitable and sometimes very positive. Therefore, at what point is the price paid and at what point can we forgive?
Aileen Anstruther is a pseudonym. She holds an MPA and an MS in Psychology, and has a special interest in prison rehabilitation and homeland security issues.
The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of American Baptist Home Mission Societies.
[i] To see an overview of the costs of death row and the death penalty across multiple states, see https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/what-to-know-costs-and-the-death-penalty
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