...on no occasion in the
past 25 years has it been proved that an
innocent person was put to death in the U.S."
I agree generally regarding the use of statistics to support any argument, but as to the above quote, the question comes to mind, "who would prove it, and how?" Once the convict is executed, the courts are no longer interested in his innocence or guilt....the issue is closed.
Nevertheless, consider the case of Jesse Tafero, who was executed in Florida in 1990. You will find plenty about him on the internet by doing any kind of search of his name. He had been convicted in 1976 along with his wife, Sonia Jacobs, for murdering a state trooper. In 1981 Jacobs' [his wife's] death sentence was reduced on appeal to life imprisonment, and 11 years later her conviction was vacated by a federal court. The evidence on which Tafero and Jacobs had been convicted and sentenced was identical; it consisted mainly of the perjured testimony of an ex-convict who turned state's witness in order to avoid a death sentence. Had Tafero been alive in 1992, he no doubt would have been released along with Jacobs. Tafero's death is probably the clearest case in recent years of the execution of an innocent person.
Anyway, I think it was Frank Zappa that once said something to the effect of, "One of my favorite philosophical tenets is that people will agree with you only if they already agree with you. You do not change people's minds.
I think that Frank was right, and my posts on this subject today have less to do with trying to debate the subject, and a lot more to do with feeling generally bummed out that my government kills its own citizens on purpose, and feels justified in doing it. |
