The Right Choice.

At the start of the death penalty unit in my Issues in Modern America class, I felt as if my overall opinions were similar to those of most of my peers; I did not know much background information about the issue, and my opinions were fueled by emotions rather than any hardcore evidence or facts. But, after completing the death penalty unit in class, I do not have a definitive opinion about whether or not to use the death penalty. However, I am definitely more knowledgeable about the system and its history, and I do know that I am not in support of the current death penalty system. In our current death penalty system, there is too much room for mistake, and too many men and women have been sentenced to death row and later proven innocent. In fact, this is one of the main reasons of why Governor Ryan initiated blanket commutation right before his term ended as Illinois’s governor; thus capital punishment was abolished in the state of Illinois. I stand behind the Governor’s decision to end the death penalty in Illinois because I feel that it was not a perfect system. In fact, in his January 13, 2003 speech Governor Ryan declared the death penalty to be an inaccurate system, “How many more cases of wrongful conviction have to occur before we can all agree that the system is broken?” (Ryan).

The death penalty system is not one that can measure the significance between a mass murderer, and an innocent person on death row. Many people have been wrongfully convicted in our country, and that is a good enough reason for abandoning the death penalty in Illinois. On February 5, 1999, fifty hours before his execution, Anthony Porter was set free from death row due to the dedication of a private investigator, journalism professor, and his students. The official trials and lawyers of Porter’s case did not prove his innocence before he was sentenced to death row, but rather he was proven innocent in the heat of his execution.           

In addition, there is plenty of room for racial bias in death penalty cases. Many times, minorities are discriminated upon in death penalty cases. Furthermore, blacks are more likely to be accused of holding a weapon when holding an innocent object than whites. Plus, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), "Approximately 90 percent of those on death row could not afford to hire a lawyer when they were tried" (ACLU). Many death-row inmates are a victim of poverty, and thus do not have an adequate legal representation at trial or on appeal. The death penalty system is unfair becaue it depends upon how much money the defendant has in order to afford a skilled attorney. Furthermore, the death penalty does not act as any more of a deterrent for criminals than does life imprisonment. “The vast majority of law enforcement professionals surveyed agree that capital punishment does not deter violent crime; a survey of police chiefs nationwide found they rank the death penalty lowest among ways to reduce violent crime.” (American Civil Liberties Union 2011).

Overall, I am in support of Governor Ryan’s decision of blanket commutation because the Illinois capital punishment system was one filled with bias, innacuracy, and flaws. It is far more just to abolish the death penalty system, than to risk the execution of innocent individuals.