Down Right Criminal

Back in my junior year of high school, I was always intrigued by the concept of the death penalty. In fact, I thought it was necessary to have it.

There are people in this world who do such evil and heinous crimes that I believed death was a fair punishment. But after doing my research, I had a sudden change of tone.

With that a number of defendants range in race in execution.

While there have been some states that have removed the death penalty, others are still still using it to this day. A recent survey among law officers in North Carolina found that the death penalty is used in law enforcement while acknowledging that it is a flawed system.

We will tackle a few of the most common debates on if we have the right to take the life of another, aren’t we just as bad as the people we kill and does the death penalty bring closure to the families of the victims?

MORALLY WRong:

According to the Death Penalty Information Center, only 2% of counties in the U.S. have been responsible for a majority of cases leading to executions since 1976.

In more clear terms, the death penalty has been around for centuries that remains as part of the criminal justice system.

The idea of an “eye for an eye” may sound justifiable for some who want immediate justice, but in actuality, taking the life of another person won’t solve anything, and we in turn are just as bad as the person who has committed a crime.

In Junno Esteves Death Penalty Foster Revenge, Not Justice, Pope Says were in an interview with Pope Francis, claims that the death penalty is not necessary and doesn’t bring justice to anyone. As Pope Francis states, “No matter how serious the crime, to kill a convicted person is ‘an offense to the inviolability of life and the dignity of the human.'”

He views that the death penalty is also just as bad as a crime that a person might have committed as we are taking a person’s life. While we are so involved with getting revenge, we forget that the inmates are also people that we are taking their lives away.

In George Orwell’s story, The Hanging tells the story of a security guard sending a man to his death while coming to the realization that he’s human too. He quotes, “He and we were a party of men walking together, seeing, hearing, feeling, understanding the same world, and in two minutes with a sudden snap, one of us would be gone- one mindless, one wordless.”

The realization of sending someone to their death is a surreal experience, especially when realizing this person is just like us. 

While we still have the death penalty available in some states and execute in a variety of ways, doesn’t that make us seem just as bad as the person we are killing?

The Risk of Taking an Innocent Life:

This had been a significant issue when it comes to the topic of the death penalty—the risk of taking an innocent life.

According to a post by The Guardian, at least 4.1% of all defendants sentenced to death in the US in the modern era are innocent, according to the first significant study to attempt to calculate how often states get it wrong in their wielding of the ultimate punishment.

In Tom Jackman’s article, The Problem of Innocence in Death Penalty Cases discusses on how Marcellus Williams was almost sentenced to death until new evidence proves that he was not guilty of his crimes. He quotes, “The jury that convicted Williams never heard about the DNA evidence, and it is hard to imagine that if we tried today that he would get a death sentence, given the new doubts about guilt.”

Williams was charged for the murder of Lisha Gayle at her home in 1998. A knife found at the crime scene that “allegedly” was linked to William. However, upon further examination, the DNA of another unidentified man was found on the weapon.

If this new evidence didn’t come out beforehand, he would have been killed for a murder he didn’t commit.

Sadly, this is still a frequent scenario that happens today.

Williams was one of the lucky few to be exonerated. Others weren’t so lucky. Some get executed while remaining innocent.

The awareness of new evidence that proves a person is innocent has not stopped from trying to execute people based on flimsy evidence that plays a crucial role in how they perform the sentence. We’ve become so involved with seeking justice for someone; it’s like we don’t care about what the outcome is.

Closure:

Probably one of the most common debates revolving around this question. Does the death penalty bring closure to families?

In some cases, there are a majority of families who believe that the death penalty is necessary and does bring closure for them in some way.

The idea of finally seeing someone getting the punishment they deserve for the killing of a loved one can be therapeutic for some people

In Alan Blinder and Manny Fernandez’s article Bearing Witness to Execution: Last Breaths and Lasting Impressions interviewing families of murder victims who’ve witnessed watching an execution.

In one interview with Charles E. Coulson, he described how the execution was carried out and his thoughts about it, which he stated, “These were two evil people, and their executions did not bother me at all. It’s what I thought they deserved”. He says that they deserved to be killed and don’t feel bad that it happened.

It’s most common that when families are a witness to an execution, it is viewed as justifiable for the suffering that the victims and their families have endured. Then there are the few who say that it doesn’t do anything for them.

There are instances where the death penalty isn’t viewed as justifiable for anyone and doesn’t bring closure to any side. In an article from Psychology Today called Death Penalty May Not Bring Peace to Victims’ Families discussing one how the death penalty might not bring closure to some families to an extent.

One quote states, “Taking a life doesn’t fill that void, but it’s generally not until after execution that families realize this.” It doesn’t work for all families who go through the experience of watching someone die right in front of them. After the execution is done they would still develop an empty feeling that can never be filled again.

 Research conducted by Scott Vollum at the University of Minnesota showed that executing perpetrators increased family members’ feelings of emptiness because it didn’t bring back their loved ones.

A mere 2.5 percent of victims’ family members and friends reported closure following an execution. And one in five said the execution failed to help them heal at all.

If it’s only 2.5 percent of people that are healed, what about the rest of the remaining 97.5 percent? Who is this actually helping?

The death penalty has been around for a long time, but it still remains an important debate to discuss. While it does bring closure to families who want justice for the murder of a loved one, it can even leave an empty feeling that can never be replaced.

If you’d like to learn more about the criminal justice realm and get updated for the next blog post, follow Down Right Criminal on Twitter!

Tweets by TheDRCblog

If you remember the story of Cyntoia Brown, she was serving a 15-year sentence for the murder and robbery of Johnny Michael Allen. Allen had picked her up from human trafficking and paid $150 to engage in sexual activity with Brown.

Brown, only 16-years-old when convicted of this crime and trialed as an adult in the state of Tennessee.

With big named celebrities such as Rihanna, Drake, LeBron James, and Kim Kardashian West, to name a few, helped spread awareness of the unfair sentencing Brown had, and the endless amount of support finally caught attention caught up with law officials.

Eventually, she was able to receive clemency by the state governor Bill Haslam. In 2019, she was released, marriage and advocating for women who have also experienced the same injustice as she did years back.

Rarely we ever hear about the women who are in mass incarceration. We only the stories of what they were convicted of, but not the full story that happened.

I remembered hearing about this story on Facebook and was completely surprised by the fact that she 16 and still trialed her and gave her sentencing. How many other women are like Brown right now?

Surprisingly, a lot.

The United States is one of the top incarcerators of women in the world. A report by Prison Policy Initiative showed an 834 percent increase in the number of women incarcerated in state prisons between 1978 and 2015, with those numbers still growing by the minute.

The most common charges for women incarcerated are for a drug or property offense. Compared to 14 percent of incarcerated men, 25 percent of incarcerated women were convicted with a drug offense, which contributed on the War on Drugs epidemic dating back to the 1970s, that caused a major increase of incarcerated women according to an article titled “Women and the Drug War“.

In a recent report by The Sentencing Project shows that between 1980 and 2016, the number of women incarcerated in American jails and prisons increased by more than 700 percent, from 26,378 in 1980 to 213,722 in 2016.

Provided below is a chart that represents racial division of the women incarcerated with drug charges as of 2018.

Sadly, some of those women are caregivers. Roughly 60% of women in state and federal prisons are mothers of minor children, many of them sole caregivers, and aren’t provided with the proper necessities for proper pregnancy aid.

Why isn’t this being talked about more?

According to the APA, the rising rates of female incarceration reflect disturbing social trends:

These trends included exploits the poor and vulnerable, emphasis on law enforcement and punishment over treatment for substance abuse, throw-away attitudes towards persons with serious mental illness, and misogyny.

There are still women in prison dealing with harsh conditions in these institutions and treated just as unfairly if not worse than men. Accused of what could be self-defense, but viewed in certain eyes say otherwise. More research and spreading the word can help shed more light on this issue.

If it worked for Brown, it could work for others too.

For more updates on the next blog post follow the DRCblog on Twitter!

Tweets by TheDRCblog

If you remember doing the mind-numbing summer reading assignments, chances are that one of the readings included Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451, where books were outlawed and the firemen would have to burn them in anyone’s possession, censoring the idea of knowledge and change.

Now why does this seem so familiar?

Minus the book burning, they’re are numerous amounts of books in prison education programs that are being censored and banned in these libraries.

For Danville Correctional Center in Illinois nearly about 200 other books, removing them from the library of a college-in-prison program according to this recent NPR article titled Who Should Decide What Books Are Allowed In Prison?

It shared how former inmate Michael Tafolla read an insightful memoir about the author sharing his personal struggles as an illegal immigrant titled Illegal: Reflections of an Undocumented Immigrant that he related to.

When he was released from the corrections center in 2018, a year later that memoir was removed from the library because officials claimed that the material was “racially motivated”.

Another example mentioned in the article was about how prisons in Kansas don’t allow Angie Thomas’, The Hate U Give, or Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye. Both have young African-American women as the main character. But, they do allow Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf, a book Hitler wrote while he was imprisoned.

Why are are these stories banned from reading? It’s a wonderful thing called arbitrary policies.

A report by PEN America highlights how the prisons place restrictions nation wide in order to prevent inmates having motivation for escaping or smuggling contraband.

According to EJI, which stands for The Equal Justice Initiative. Arizona, Alabama, Texas, California North Carolina just to name a few have put restrictions on certain books to read in prison program libraries that contain these “racially motivated” material.

North Carolina bars incarcerated people from reading Melba Pattillo Beals’s Warriors Don’t Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock’s Central High; 12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northrup.

Other books such as Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. DuBois and She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb have been banned from these libraries including ones that contain American history.

PEN America is a nonprofit organization unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible which is expressed in they’re about page.

When they do they’re research about these restrictions they make it apparent that they care about important of literature and why censorship is unnecessary.

When we read we hope to gain knowledge and better understanding of the world around us. Prison programs are made for inmates who seek for change in their personal life.

Relatable material gains a better sense of self. Who are we to censor what a person reads. Just because of fear?

Maybe we aren’t we aren’t so far off with the work of Ray Bradbury if these restrictions last any longer.

In 2018, psychology professor Christine Blasey Ford brought accusations of sexual harassment against Brett Kavanaugh, who at the time was running for Supreme Court Justice. During the hearing, Ford bravely shares her experience with the nominee back in high school when he sexually assaulted her when she was 15.

She shared about how she was at a party, and a drunken Kavanaugh 17, physically assaulted her. Kavanaugh had denied all those allegations, and during the hearing, he claimed on how this was a conspiracy against the Clinton’s and how he asked for a fair trial.

I remember watching the hearing myself with my mom and watching this dramatic hearing unfold mostly Kavanaugh had acted, made me realize that this guy will not make it in the Supreme Court. Oh, how wrong was I?

Not only did the court denied the allegations. Kavanaugh was then voted in the Supreme Court, leaving most women asking, “Where is the justice?”

While the aftermath left people disjointed in the outcome, it wasn’t the first time that something like this has happened.

Thirty-five years ago, law professor Anita Hill accused Supreme Court Justice nominee, Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment, back in 1991. Hill knew Thomas when she was his supervisor at the Department of Education and the Equal Employment Opportunity and Commission (EEOC).

Hills would explain how Thomas would switch the conversations from a related topic to inappropriate and vivid sexual acts that made her uncomfortable.

An audio recording from the History website shared a sampled Hill’s statement with what these discussions would involve. “He spoke about acts he had seen and pornographic films involving in such women having sex with animals and films showing group sex or rape scenes,”.

While Hill’s was sexually harassed and Ford was attacked, it doesn’t make their experience any less different from the people they were accusing. Both of them coming forward to share their stories, both passing polygraph tests proving they were telling the truth, and both men enrolled in a Supreme Court Justice.

However, there are still other differences between the cases that are visible.

Time Period

The #MeToo Movement was at its prime moment, and Ford’s hearing was at the center of it all. The movement included women sharing their experience of sexual assault and harassment and coming together to put an end to sexual violence. In 1991, there were no movements at all, Hill’s had no movement during that time period, and her being a woman of color her claims weren’t taken seriously.

The Senate

During Hills hearing, most of the Senate comprised white males that were mostly Republican. Only two women served at the time where one Republican and one Democratic. With Ford’s hearing, there was more diversity within the Senate, and more women involved that comprised mostly democrats. Today there are 23 female senators, nearly a quarter of the Senate.

As of now, according to Pew Research Center, a record 102 women will serve in the incoming House of Representatives, comprising 23.4% of the chamber’s voting members.

Thomas and Kavanaugh

While both men were Supreme Court nominees. Both were accused of different things. Thomas was accused of sexual harassment in a work environment, having inappropriate conversations with Hill’s about his sexual interest.

Kavanaugh was accused of the sexual assault of Ford when they were both teenagers.

History has a habit of repeating itself. These cases are eerily similar, it’s frightening. But the period between them has made a significant impact from years to come. I believe that if it weren’t for Anita Hill’s case, we wouldn’t have as much information as with Christine Blasey Ford.

In fact, Ford’s bravery has paved the way for more women coming forward to speak their truth and not be in fear of those who brought them down. If we learn from the past, we’ll have a better future.

For more things related to true crime follow my blog @TheDRCblog

Tweets by TheDRCblog

What is it about true crime stories that make us seem addicted? Well, if you think like me, regular life is boring, so why not dwell into the minds of the criminally insane. Or, if you think like Clinical and Corporate Psychologist Dr. Mantell, this more of “psychological voyeurism.” We are interested in the mindset of the criminally insane and drives their urges to commit such heinous acts.

Either way. This stuff is awesome, which is why I dedicated this blog to one of my favorite fascinations.

Down Right Criminal is a blog made for avid true crime fans who love to learn about famous trial cases, notorious serial killers, unsolved cases, and so much more involving the criminal justice system.

My love of true crime started when my mother and I would watch a show on Oxygen called Snapped, which the premise was based on the stories of a man murdered by their wives or girlfriend. While ten year old me didn’t understand at the time why my mom enjoyed shows like this, I was addicted.

According to an article by the Vulture, the “true crime boom” became predominant in the mid to- late 2010’s in pop culture. Since then, there has been an endless amount of content being portrayed in the media with the true crime genre from a podcast, tv shows, documentaries, and films.

I, for one, find all this incredibly fascinating, and I hope you will share my interest as well.

If you would like to share thoughts or ideas, go to my twitter account @TheDRCblog. Let’s have some fun and hopefully make it out safe and sound.