Above all, [Clarence Darrow] hated capital punishment. . . [a]nd so his most ardent and strenuous fights were against what he saw as a barbarous practice, cruel and utterly useless in deterring crime.
from Murder Among Friends
written by Candace Fleming
Anne Schwartz Books/Random House, 2022
I like to read, but mystery is not my go-to genre. Neither is true-crime. It’s not that I don’t want to grow brain cells trying to figure out “who done it,” it’s more like I want to build brain cells by imagining what could happen, not necessarily what did.
Besides, even after all the questions are answered and the last string is tied up, sometimes people (or fictional characters) get away with murder, or embezzlement, or kidnapping, or robbery.
And sometimes, the lawyers get it wrong. And sometimes the juries do, too.
And so, here in America, as in other modern countries, we have a way to correct mistakes. When we talk about that kind of correction or forgiveness, we use several different words.
So let me take a minute to sort them out as defined in the Austin American Statesman.
In his last weeks as president, Joe Biden commuted the sentences of lots of people and pardoned lots more. Thirty-seven of the 40 prisoners on death row benefit from life in prison, now. That doesn’t sound like much until we realize that the incoming president is expected to take a hard-line approach to federal executions. And what if some of those inmates really are innocent?
According to Robin Maher on pbs.org, Biden’s “is the largest mass clemency grant of death-sentenced people by any U.S. president since Lincoln.” The three men whose sentences Biden did not commute were found guilty of terrorism or hate-fueled killings.
At its beginning, capital punishment in the United States was influenced by English Common Law. The 20th century saw a more compassionate America. Stimulated by ethical issues, questions about wrongful convictions, and especially the outcome of Furman v. Georgia in 1972, executions were temporarily stopped. The Supreme Court who heard the case cited “arbitrary applications.” Could people’s lives really have been affected willy-nilly?
The reprieve only lasted four years. In 1976, the death penalty was reinstated, but with several prohibitions in place. Specifically, intellectually disabled people and minors are exempt.
People in favor of the death penalty claim it is a deterrent to crime. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), among other well-established and well-recognized organizations disagrees.
Here’s an article from the National Institute of Justice, a US Government publication, that describes the false perception.
The Innocence Project “work[s] to transform the inequities and failings that lead to wrongful convictions, alongside policymakers, supporters, and partner organizations.” They have worked to free more than 250 innocent people from prison. They use DNA and other scientific technology to prove innocence when they can. When that is lacking, they often produce new and convincing evidence of their clients’ innocence.
The subhead under the headline on their website states, “[Biden’s] decision [to commute those 37 sentences] acknowledges the fallibility of the capital punishment system.”
The Innocence Project supports their clients in rebuilding their lives after prison with their social work department. Most clients are from communities of color and face unrelenting discrimination. The people who work for the Innocence Project work hard to ensure compensation and help their newly freed clients find homes, health care, and meaningful work opportunities.
The District of Columbia and 23 states have abolished capital punishment in their states.
Executions have been on hiatus during President Biden’s term in office.
I’m reading Never Have I Ever by Joshlyn Jackson (William Morrow/HarperCollinsPublishers, 2019). When a beautiful woman and her son move into Amy Whey’s neighborhood, Amy’s world seems about to fall apart. Some secrets might be better off if they stayed hidden, but at what cost? This thrilling page-turning mystery is not what I’d usually pick up, but it’s a breath-taking and surprising read.
Be curious! (and exercise compassion)
from Murder Among Friends
written by Candace Fleming
Anne Schwartz Books/Random House, 2022
I like to read, but mystery is not my go-to genre. Neither is true-crime. It’s not that I don’t want to grow brain cells trying to figure out “who done it,” it’s more like I want to build brain cells by imagining what could happen, not necessarily what did.
Besides, even after all the questions are answered and the last string is tied up, sometimes people (or fictional characters) get away with murder, or embezzlement, or kidnapping, or robbery.
And sometimes, the lawyers get it wrong. And sometimes the juries do, too.
And so, here in America, as in other modern countries, we have a way to correct mistakes. When we talk about that kind of correction or forgiveness, we use several different words.
So let me take a minute to sort them out as defined in the Austin American Statesman.
- Pardon: Complete forgiveness for a crime. It removes legal penalties and can restore certain rights.
- Commutation: A reduction in a person’s sentence, such as shortening prison time.
- Amnesty: A broad act that forgives a group of people for offenses, often political in nature. (Remember when President Ford issued a partial amnesty to Vietnam deserters?)
- Reprieve: a temporary delay of punishment, often to allow for appeals or further review.
- Stay: A temporary stop in a judicial proceeding through the order of a court. Similar to a Reprieve.
- Clemency: mercy, leniency, compassion. Can be awarded after someone petitions a judge, usually at sentencing.
In his last weeks as president, Joe Biden commuted the sentences of lots of people and pardoned lots more. Thirty-seven of the 40 prisoners on death row benefit from life in prison, now. That doesn’t sound like much until we realize that the incoming president is expected to take a hard-line approach to federal executions. And what if some of those inmates really are innocent?
According to Robin Maher on pbs.org, Biden’s “is the largest mass clemency grant of death-sentenced people by any U.S. president since Lincoln.” The three men whose sentences Biden did not commute were found guilty of terrorism or hate-fueled killings.
At its beginning, capital punishment in the United States was influenced by English Common Law. The 20th century saw a more compassionate America. Stimulated by ethical issues, questions about wrongful convictions, and especially the outcome of Furman v. Georgia in 1972, executions were temporarily stopped. The Supreme Court who heard the case cited “arbitrary applications.” Could people’s lives really have been affected willy-nilly?
The reprieve only lasted four years. In 1976, the death penalty was reinstated, but with several prohibitions in place. Specifically, intellectually disabled people and minors are exempt.
People in favor of the death penalty claim it is a deterrent to crime. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), among other well-established and well-recognized organizations disagrees.
Here’s an article from the National Institute of Justice, a US Government publication, that describes the false perception.
The Innocence Project “work[s] to transform the inequities and failings that lead to wrongful convictions, alongside policymakers, supporters, and partner organizations.” They have worked to free more than 250 innocent people from prison. They use DNA and other scientific technology to prove innocence when they can. When that is lacking, they often produce new and convincing evidence of their clients’ innocence.
The subhead under the headline on their website states, “[Biden’s] decision [to commute those 37 sentences] acknowledges the fallibility of the capital punishment system.”
The Innocence Project supports their clients in rebuilding their lives after prison with their social work department. Most clients are from communities of color and face unrelenting discrimination. The people who work for the Innocence Project work hard to ensure compensation and help their newly freed clients find homes, health care, and meaningful work opportunities.
The District of Columbia and 23 states have abolished capital punishment in their states.
Executions have been on hiatus during President Biden’s term in office.
I’m reading Never Have I Ever by Joshlyn Jackson (William Morrow/HarperCollinsPublishers, 2019). When a beautiful woman and her son move into Amy Whey’s neighborhood, Amy’s world seems about to fall apart. Some secrets might be better off if they stayed hidden, but at what cost? This thrilling page-turning mystery is not what I’d usually pick up, but it’s a breath-taking and surprising read.
Be curious! (and exercise compassion)
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