U.S. Government Study Confirms That Death Penalty is Useless Deterrent

The U.S. government is one of only a handful of countries that still executes its own citizens and it is fifth on the list of the most executions worldwide (see Axis of Evil). Politicians and advocates continue to insist that it is a deterrent against violent crime, yet the U.S. continues to have one of the highest homicide rates of any of the world’s most affluent nations. In fact, aside from Russia, no wealthy country comes close.

Thus it should be no surprise that a new government-backed study has found no evidence that the death penalty acts as an effective deterrent. The National Research Council was unable to find a link between the death penalty and the prevention of murder. (Democracy Now)

California to Abolish Death Penalty?

More than 500,000 signatures have been collected to get a referendum on the death penalty onto California’s November ballot, according to Democracy Now. If it passes, California would become the 18^th state in the nation without a death penalty. California currently has over 700 people on death row. As of April, 2012, the death penalty had been abolished in Alaska, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Connecticut and Washington, D.C.

The Axis of Evil: China, Iran, Iraq, Arabia, America, Yemen, N. Korea

Executions in 2011

1. China: Thousands (exact figures are a state secret)
2. Iran: 360
3. Saudi Arabia: 82
4. Iraq: 68
5. United States: 43
6. Yemen: 41
7. North Korea: 30

(Data from The Guardian UK)

Only 20 countries still execute people. The U.S. was the only country in the Americas and the only G8 country to execute prisoners.  Executions were up dramatically in 2011, due primarily to sharp increases in the Middle East.

America—Most Barbaric Nation in the World?

Off With Their Heads! (By AForestFrolic)

Of course many would argue that the U.S. doesn’t come close to Ali Abdullah Saleh or Bashar al-Assad or Kim Jong-il, but compared to the rest of the wealthy industrialized nations of the north, no other country holds a candle to the U.S.

We are the only wealthy northern democracy that has and uses the death penalty and we just used it to execute a man who was probably innocent. Troy Davis was executed last night in Georgia, even though there was no physical evidence linking him to the crime and despite the fact that 7 of the 9 non-police witnesses have since retracted their testimony. Furthermore, one of the remaining two stalwarts was a suspect in the crime and would have had very good reason to lie on the stand.

The fact that a man was executed on such flimsy evidence and despite so many lingering questions about his guilt should make everyone skeptical about the true nature of the American justice system. It certainly is not a system in which everyone is innocent unless proven guilty, nor is it impartial, nor does it treat all Americans equally. Death rows are overwhelmingly populated by poor people while people of color are disproportionately arrested, convicted and imprisoned.

Of course this doesn’t explain why Troy Davis was executed even when there was more than reasonable doubt about his guilt.

In Davis’ case, there was an urgent need for him to be put to death because he was accused of committing the absolute most heinous crime imaginable in America: killing a cop.

When a cop is killed, someone must pay and doesn’t even matter who. The only thing that really matters is that someone must die. Of course it is ideal if that person is a poor person of color. It’s a lot easier to railroad an ordinary black man who lacks the wealth and connections to hire Johnny Cochran or some other high profile attorney.

One might argue that Davis’ execution was really just an extension of Jim Crow, as it took place in Georgia. However, Davis was granted a 1-7 day reprieve last night, hours before his execution time. The reprieve was for the United States Supreme Court to weigh in on his case. One would think that if the highest court in the land had any interest in justice, fairness or humanity, it would have granted a stay of execution and insisted on a retrial, particularly in light of the flimsy evidence used to convict him. Yet the Supreme Court not only said “off with his head,” but they did so within minutes, even though they had a week to weigh the evidence and circumstances of the case.

The federal government also has an interest in seeing cop killers executed, or at least creating the perception that a cop killer has been killed.

Cops are the shock troops of capital. It is their job to protect private property, particularly the private property of the wealthy, their factories, shops and estates. They are called upon to suppress civil unrest, student demonstrations, workers’ strikes. Imagine what would happen if a cop was killed in such circumstances and the perpetrators only earned a few years in prison? Imagine if thieves, pimps and gangsters got the notion that they could shoot their way out of bust while only risking a dime in the penitentiary?

However, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

In the process of trying a capital case and then carrying out the execution, the state gets to create a bogeyman, a vile enemy of the people, and then demonstrate its compassion and defense of the public by wiping this villain off the face of the planet. The public, for its part, gets to participate vicariously, insisting on revenge for a crime that was not even perpetrated against them. Yet a crime against a cop is virtually a crime against the people, since the cop’s job is to protect the people, or so they mistakenly believe. Killing a cop becomes tantamount to killing the only parent of a small child or a mother deer.

Executions are also a sign of virility and strength. In third world dictatorships, they are used to terrorize the populace and keep them in line. In America, they are used to win elections by proving that one is tougher on crime than his opponent. Bill Clinton had a mentally retarded man executed prior to his election to demonstrate his manhood. Rick Perry delighted his followers last week when he proudly declared he felt no remorse or doubts about any of the record 234 men executed under his governorship. In fact, they lustfully applauded his record.

Bahrain’s Anti-Union Crackdown

As people protest the corrupt and repressive monarchy of Bahrain, the government has responded with violence and mass arrests. Labor Notes reports that they have also fired over 1,300 workers in retaliation for their involvement in the democracy movement, including 12 of the 15 officers of the oil union. Furthermore, they have been examining photos from the demonstrations and marches and are asking employers to fire anyone they can identify from the photos. The government intends to bring oil union leaders before a military court, where they could face the death penalty. Union members have held two general strikes in February and March in response to state violence against demonstrators.

Meanwhile, Democracy Now reported today that the Saudi royal family has been recruiting Muslim nations everywhere for a Sunni alliance against Iran and the Shiite protesters in Bahrain. Saudi officials have already made overtures to Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia and many of the former Soviet states of Central Asia, not only to join the alliance, but also to provide military assistance to the beleaguered Bahraini regime.

Mumia Death Sentence Ruled Unconstitutional

(Image by jcrakow)

Mumia Abu-Jamal won a new lease on life Tuesday when the 3^rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously decided that his death sentence was unconstitutional, Democracy Now reported this morning. This was the second time the court has agreed with the lower court judge who set aside Abu-Jamal’s death sentence because of biased judicial instructions that encouraged jurors to choose death rather than a life sentence. As a result of the Court’s decision, Abu-Jamal could get a new sentencing hearing. This could result in a life sentence. So far, though, he is still being held on death row.

While this is great news in an otherwise frustrating and depressing case, Abu-Jamal should be immediately released, as his initial conviction was based on trumped up charges by the police and a lynch mob climate created by a racist judge. Abu-Jamal was convicted in 1982 of killing Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner. The original judge, Judge Sabo, had publicly declared that he was pro-prosecution, which draws into question the fairness of the trial. He also refused to allow Abu-Jamal to represent himself and prevented his counsel from presenting much of its evidence and excluded blacks from the jury. Furthermore, a stenographer had heard Sabo say, “I’m going to fry the n---r.” It later came out that witnesses had been intimidated into testifying against Abu-Jamal and, in 2001, Arnold Beverley confessed that he was the one who shot Faulkner.

In the Democracy Now report, Mumia’s attorney, Judith Ritter, said that the National Academy of Sciences has discredited much of the forensic evidence that courts have been using for years, including ballistics testimony used to convict Abu-Jamal for the murder of. Based on this, Ritter has called for a new trial. However, Abu-Jamal has been on death row for nearly 30 years, despite considerable evidence that he is innocent and despite the evidence that the judge was biased and the jury had been tampered with. The courts have continually had no problem with these “anomalies” or that someone else has admitted committing the crime. Indeed, one judge said that Abu-Jamal was convicted by a jury, so Judge Sabo’s racism was not relevant.

Abu-Jamal’s conviction was politically motivated and the unwillingness of the courts to reverse the biased conviction is probably due to the fact that he is a former Black Panther and a journalist who sympathetically covered such unpopular movements as the MOVE organization in Philadelphia. The current legal challenge, if effective, will reduce his sentence from death to life in prison. However, if successful, Ritter could get him a new trial in which the evidence absolving him of the crime can finally be heard.