I'm against the death penalty. Long ago, it may have had a purpose, but we can protect society just as well without it now. Things like super-maximum security prisons and true life without parole sentences have rendered it unnecessary. More people now support sentences other than the death penalty, primarily life without parole, for first degree murder, than support the death penalty.
I can certainly understand its rationalization: executed people are incapable of committing further crimes, escaping, etc. But what I can't understand at all is why are some executions performed in December? December is the holiday season; it's supposed to be a time of joy. How is it fair to the families of those executed to execute someone in December, especially if the murder they committed was not in December? There are eleven other months to performed state-sanctioned killing.
2017's last execution was on November 8, a record for the past thirty years*. In fact, no executions have been performed after the first ten days of December since 2013. 2011 and 2004 also failed to see any December executions.
But they're still scheduling them. As of this writing (evening, November 2, 2018) three executions are scheduled for December 2018: Joseph Garcia on the 4th and Alvin Braziel on the 11th in Texas, which would be the closest to Christmas execution in five years. David Earl Miller is scheduled for the 6th in Tennessee.
The November 8th date seems to be a fluke. Excluding Pennsylvania scheduled executions (PA hasn't executed anyone since 1999) and the Ohio execution that was rescheduled over six months ahead of time, there were six executions scheduled in 2017 after November 8, two of those in December. One of these, of Alva Campbell in Ohio, was actually started on November 15, but they couldn't find a vein to perform the lethal injection. Campbell's execution was rescheduled for June 5, 2019, but he died on March 3, 2018 before it could be carried out.
The one that sticks out, however, is Juan Castillo's scheduled December 14 execution. Leading up to and after Thanksgiving, this one gave me cause for concern. Luckily, they stayed it about two weeks ahead of time, and Castillo was ultimately executed on a much more reasonable May 16 in 2018. Arkansas also scheduled a double execution on December 14, in 2015 - both were stayed as well.
Texas knows how to do it properly - in 2015-2016, they didn't schedule any executions between November 18 and January 20.
About that 2013 execution in late December? It was Johnny Dale Black in Oklahoma, on December 17 - that's EIGHT DAYS before Christmas! The murder he committed was heinous (it wasn't in December, though), and he had a long rap sheet - definitely a man who was very dangerous to society. Was he so dangerous that allowing him to live a month longer, safely confined in prison, would have had negative effects? I think not! Executed, in front of his sobbing mother, at Christmastime. The timing of this execution was nothing short of morally bankrupt. The powers that be could have just as easily scheduled this execution for later in the winter. The fact that the execution coincided with the victim's grandchild's birthday carries no weight.
The Humbug Award, however, goes to the Arkansas execution of David Dewayne Johnson on December 19, 2000. There was no justification at all for this killing LESS than a week before Christmas. The justification given was that delaying the execution would have moved it closer to Johnson's January 10 birthday. Well how about moving it to February then?
Do we execute the "worst of the worst" in December? No! By far the worst ever executed was Tim McVeigh, who had 168 victims (including 19 children). His execution date was June 11. Ted Bundy was executed on January 24. The Freeway Killer, William Bonin, February 23. The D.C. sniper was executed on November 10. Pee Wee Gaskins was executed on September 6. All had double digit victim counts. None went to their death around the holidays.
We've made progress - in 1953 and 1955, executions were performed on December 23! But we must end December executions altogether. We don't need to be hearing in the news that someone was executed while we're sipping eggnog by the Christmas tree. There's plenty of time to execute people from January to November. Leave December the hell out of this.
*Excepting 2007, when executions were on a federally mandated moratorium from the Baze vs. Rees case beginning on September 25)
I can certainly understand its rationalization: executed people are incapable of committing further crimes, escaping, etc. But what I can't understand at all is why are some executions performed in December? December is the holiday season; it's supposed to be a time of joy. How is it fair to the families of those executed to execute someone in December, especially if the murder they committed was not in December? There are eleven other months to performed state-sanctioned killing.
2017's last execution was on November 8, a record for the past thirty years*. In fact, no executions have been performed after the first ten days of December since 2013. 2011 and 2004 also failed to see any December executions.
But they're still scheduling them. As of this writing (evening, November 2, 2018) three executions are scheduled for December 2018: Joseph Garcia on the 4th and Alvin Braziel on the 11th in Texas, which would be the closest to Christmas execution in five years. David Earl Miller is scheduled for the 6th in Tennessee.
The November 8th date seems to be a fluke. Excluding Pennsylvania scheduled executions (PA hasn't executed anyone since 1999) and the Ohio execution that was rescheduled over six months ahead of time, there were six executions scheduled in 2017 after November 8, two of those in December. One of these, of Alva Campbell in Ohio, was actually started on November 15, but they couldn't find a vein to perform the lethal injection. Campbell's execution was rescheduled for June 5, 2019, but he died on March 3, 2018 before it could be carried out.
The one that sticks out, however, is Juan Castillo's scheduled December 14 execution. Leading up to and after Thanksgiving, this one gave me cause for concern. Luckily, they stayed it about two weeks ahead of time, and Castillo was ultimately executed on a much more reasonable May 16 in 2018. Arkansas also scheduled a double execution on December 14, in 2015 - both were stayed as well.
Texas knows how to do it properly - in 2015-2016, they didn't schedule any executions between November 18 and January 20.
About that 2013 execution in late December? It was Johnny Dale Black in Oklahoma, on December 17 - that's EIGHT DAYS before Christmas! The murder he committed was heinous (it wasn't in December, though), and he had a long rap sheet - definitely a man who was very dangerous to society. Was he so dangerous that allowing him to live a month longer, safely confined in prison, would have had negative effects? I think not! Executed, in front of his sobbing mother, at Christmastime. The timing of this execution was nothing short of morally bankrupt. The powers that be could have just as easily scheduled this execution for later in the winter. The fact that the execution coincided with the victim's grandchild's birthday carries no weight.
The Humbug Award, however, goes to the Arkansas execution of David Dewayne Johnson on December 19, 2000. There was no justification at all for this killing LESS than a week before Christmas. The justification given was that delaying the execution would have moved it closer to Johnson's January 10 birthday. Well how about moving it to February then?
Do we execute the "worst of the worst" in December? No! By far the worst ever executed was Tim McVeigh, who had 168 victims (including 19 children). His execution date was June 11. Ted Bundy was executed on January 24. The Freeway Killer, William Bonin, February 23. The D.C. sniper was executed on November 10. Pee Wee Gaskins was executed on September 6. All had double digit victim counts. None went to their death around the holidays.
We've made progress - in 1953 and 1955, executions were performed on December 23! But we must end December executions altogether. We don't need to be hearing in the news that someone was executed while we're sipping eggnog by the Christmas tree. There's plenty of time to execute people from January to November. Leave December the hell out of this.
*Excepting 2007, when executions were on a federally mandated moratorium from the Baze vs. Rees case beginning on September 25)
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