International outcry as US puts 1,000th person to death

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International outcry as US puts 1,000th person to death

Andy Sullivan, Reuters in Raleigh, North Carolina
Saturday December 3, 2005
The Guardian

Kenneth Lee Boyd gestures during an interview at Central prison in Raleigh, North Carolina
Kenneth Lee Boyd gestures during an interview at Central prison in Raleigh, North Carolina. Photograph: Gerry Broome/AP

Double murderer Kenneth Lee Boyd became the 1,000th prisoner to be executed in the US since the reinstatement of capital punishment in 1976 when he was put to death by lethal injection yesterday.

The symbolism of the execution renewed debate over capital punishment, and came on a day that executions in Singapore and Saudi Arabia also sparked international outcry.

"God bless everybody in here," Boyd said in his last words from the death chamber at Central Prison in North Carolina's state capital, Raleigh. Boyd, 57, was a Vietnam War veteran with a history of alcohol abuse. He was executed for killing his wife and father-in-law in 1988, in front of two of his children.

He was wheeled into the death chamber, strapped to a stretcher and injected with a fatal mix of three drugs. He seemed "sort of resigned", said one witness, Elyse Ashburn. Two relatives of his victims also witnessed the execution.

"This 1,000th execution is a milestone, a milestone we should all be ashamed of," his lawyer Thomas Maher said.

With polls showing that a declining majority of the American public backs the death penalty, the White House reiterated George Bush's support. "The president strongly supports the death penalty because he believes ultimately it helps save innocent lives," White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters.

About 100 death-penalty opponents gathered on a sidewalk outside the prison. They held candles and read the names of the other 999 convicts who have been put to death. About 17 protesters were detained and charged with trespassing.

World reaction was swift. "It is a scandal that the death penalty still exists in a civilised country," said Petra Herrmann, the chairwoman of the German group Alive e.V. "How can a citizen realise murder is wrong if the state is allowed to murder its own citizens?"

Akiko Takada, of Japan's anti-capital punishment group Forum 90, said that despite the frequent use of the death penalty in the US, "crime there shows no signs of diminishing, so ultimately the death of these people has no effect".

American campaigner Clive Stafford Smith said: "This is one small step for humankind - backwards. The death penalty makes us all far more barbaric."

A Gallup Poll in October showed 64% of Americans favoured the death penalty - the lowest level in 27 years. Improved DNA testing that has led to several convictions being overturned has fuelled doubts about capital punishment.

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The US is fourth on the list of countries which execute the most prisoners, behind China, Vietnam and Iran. Good company they're keeping!

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We should try harder at being number 1.

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That's just the sort of tripe I'd expect from you McG. Thanks for confirming my opinion of you.

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of course capital punishment does not deter crime. and thus does not save lives, only takes lives. and is more expensive.... that all has been known for years, has been a subject of many a research.

must agree with Boyd's lawyer: it is a milestone to be ashamed of.

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ugh.

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Is it wrong that I have no opinion on this issue?

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John Creasy wrote:

Is it wrong that I have no opinion on this issue?

I don't think so.

I am opposed to the death penalty, and if there were a referendum for it's re-introduction in Australia, I would vote against it. But on the case of the Australian recently hanged in Singapore for drug trafficking, I have difficulty in feeling sympathy. He knowingly committed a capital crime in a nation which quite loudly advertises the penalties for such crimes. I am vehemently opposed to the death penalty, but I still believe the laws of other nations must be adhered to.

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dagmaraka wrote:

of course capital punishment does not deter crime. and thus does not save lives, only takes lives. and is more expensive.... that all has been known for years, has been a subject of many a research.

must agree with Boyd's lawyer: it is a milestone to be ashamed of.

surely it cant be more expensive?? Isnt it cheaper to execute someone than keep them locked up for decades?

For those people who disagree with death penalty do your not believe that in some cases where someone has done a crime of such a magnitude and is not in doubt they did it should they not be executed? What would be the point in keeping them alive?

For those who thin the death penalty is right how do you compensate executing someone by mistake???

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The only persuasive reason not to do it is the fact that you cannot reverse a mistake. Other than that, I have no problem with executing someone who is guilty of particularly aggravated murder.

Just once I'd like to see someone prove the claim that capital punishment doesn't deter future murders, rather than just state it. It seems to me that there are some people who would never commit murder, even if it were legal, a second group who cannot be deterred by anything, and a third group who might be tempted to do it, except for the fear of being executed.

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Brandon9000 wrote:

The only persuasive reason not to do it is the fact that you cannot reverse a mistake. Other than that, I have no problem with executing someone who is guilty of particularly aggravated murder.

Just once I'd like to see someone prove the claim that capital punishment doesn't deter future murders, rather than just state it. It seems to me that there are some people who would never commit murder, even if it were legal, a second group who cannot be deterred by anything, and a third group who might be tempted to do it, except for the fear of being executed.

I think your right Brandon about the three types but there may be more categories, if your correct than the death Penalty serves to deter the later of the three in commiting the 1st act of violence and it prevents the second from re-offending by executing him, which seems cheaper than keeping him in jail for decades.

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I'm agin it only because I don't trust the State to have the power of life and death over its citizens.

From a moral standpoint, I have no problem with the notion that if someone takes all that anyone really has (life), then their life should be forfeit.

I would argue for solitary confinement for life; with the imposition of hard labor.

Let's assume that you were actually innocent and eventually this would be proven: The State kills you and all bets are off. The State treats you like shite for some period of time but eventually you get out.

In both cases, you got royally screwed, but in one there is a chance to recover.

The State is going to make mistakes and innocents will be punished.

Eliminate the death penalty and none of these mistakes cannot be corrected.

If God were to visit us once a month and tell us who was actually guilty, I would be all in favor of him smiting the miscreants unto oblivion.

I don't trust the State like I trust God.

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I've got no idea how the costs of incarceration/execution are calculated. I just know that every study I have seen has concluded that execution is more expensive than incarceration. Maybe there's someone around here who can elucidate in some way???

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Wilso wrote:

I've got no idea how the costs of incarceration/execution are calculated. I just know that every study I have seen has concluded that execution is more expensive than incarceration. Maybe there's someone around here who can elucidate in some way???

It is primarily the litigation costs incurred by the State.

Capital cases last longer and are significantly more expensive than non-capital cases. Appeals of a capital sentence drive up the costs as well.

The increased cost, though, is not a persuasive argument against capital punishment. There are many courses of action that cost society more than their alternatives. I doubt we want our lawmakers to decide which course to follow simply because of cost.

That elimination of the death penalty will save tax-payers some dollars is merely a bonus.

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Fiin just how is the keeping someone jail for decades cheaper than execution?
How do figure that out???

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stevewonder wrote:

Fiin just how is the keeping someone jail for decades cheaper than execution?
How do figure that out???

Look at the studies. They ALL reach the same conclusion.

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stevewonder wrote:

Fiin just how is the keeping someone jail for decades cheaper than execution?
How do figure that out???

May seem counter-intuitive, but it's true.

Look at Tookie Williams. In addition to all the legal costs, there was the cost of incarcerating him for something like 25 years while all of his appeals dragged on.

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so the cost of appeal courts etc add to the cost while wating on death row???

wouldnt a person just sent to jail also appeal aswell???

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stevewonder wrote:

so the cost of appeal courts etc add to the cost while wating on death row???

wouldnt a person just sent to jail also appeal aswell???

They might, but they don't tend to get the same latitude as a defendant waiting to be executed in terms of whether or not a court will even hear their appeals.

Google "cost of capital punishment," and you will find a number of links that present the studies in detail. Many are anti-captital punishment sites and so you should consider whether or not they have a bias. You will also find at least one pro-capital punishment site which disputes the claim that execution costs the state more than a life sentence.

It's an interesting question, but not one which, in my opinion, carries much weight in the debate.

Those who oppose capital punishment tend to argue that if execution is more costly than life imprisonment then their can be only one reason to execute, and that would be the deterrence effect (which they all then proceed to attack).

Of course this presupposes that societal retribution is not a valid reason for capital punishment, and that is a matter of opinion and nothing more.

The cost issue is an argument of convenience, as the opponents of capital punishment are not so fiscally conservative that if it were proved it was cheaper to to incinerate than incarcerate, they would withdraw their opposition.

As I've suggested before, society is always faced with choices about what action to take. Cost is a consideration but almost never the only consideration. It is quite costly to clean up hazardous waste sites. In many cases it would be much cheaper to leave them as they are and simply relocate the people who might live near them. This is only one example where financial costs are not the sole or primary consideration; there are many more.

Frankly, it would be a whole lot cheaper to simply execute someone convicted of a capital crime, within 24 hours of the sentence, but of course no one is arguing that course of action.

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How about 24 months?

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International outcry as US puts 1,000th person to death

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