What would you do?
The man has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize five times and has spoken out against gang violence -- things that might have gotten him invited to the White House, had he not been on Death Row for multiple murders. Now there's a petition effort led by Oscar winner Jamie Foxx, who plays him in the biographical movie, to stop the execution of Stan "Tookie" Smith.
When should good deeds and a heartfelt 'sorry' open the exit doors off Death Row? Or should the death penalty remain the 'eye for an eye'penalty?
Comments (4)
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I have always thought that the death penalty is too dangerous a weapon to be used by any government. Sure, there are rare cases where it really appears there's no choice but to end a person's life in response to his (or her) crimes, but I think just having it around is nearly impossible to justify. Like having an armed bazooka in a house with a two-year-old.
Should this man have his sentence commuted? I think so. Not only on the grounds that the death sentence is a bad idea on its own, but because this man has enough going for him that he can benefit society, even if he's inside a prison for the rest of his life.
Posted on November 9, 2005 12:59 PM
Doesn't commuting the sentence of a death-row convict who now does good deeds and says he's sorry make a statement that we don't want to make? What's to prevent any convict from conveniently "reforming" in order to spare his life?
Posted on November 9, 2005 1:23 PM
Commuting a death sentence is most often changing it to life without parole. It's not "pardoning." So far as I know, no one would expect him to be released. He still has a debt to pay to society.
Posted on November 9, 2005 2:22 PM
I am a huge believer in prison ministry, and Scripture tells us to visit those in prison, so I know that God loves and remembers people who are incarcerated. But the Word also teaches consequences for our behavior, and jail time for lawbreakers is consistent with that.
But to answer the question you asked, Nancy, I think we'd have to decide if the American prison system is aimed at punishing or rehabilitating folks. If it is aimed at rehabilitating, then this man seems a likely candidate to have his death sentence commuted. If our system is about punishment, then later life change is a beautiful thing, but it doesn't change the original sentence.
I'll be the first to say that I don't think we've ever decided what our prison system is supposed to do, other than keep the "bad people" away from the rest of us (I'm speaking very tongue-in-cheek here) and make us feel safer and less vulnerable. One thing I do know, no matter what the result of this petition may be, his life and his good works will not be wasted. God is watching...
Posted on November 9, 2005 7:47 PM