State Capitol

A Georgia man was executed today.

While I was sitting in choir practice, lethal injection took the life of Robert Newland, who killed a woman in 1986. He was 65 years old when he died. When he killed the woman on St. Simon's Island, I was living in South Carolina, near Savannah, quite close by. By accounts, he was on a drinking binge, he tried to kiss her and she rejected him. He stabbed her repeatedly. She was able to identify him before she died.

As of April 1, 2008, the Death Penalty was authorized by 37 states, the Federal Government, and the U.S. Military. Those jurisdictions without the Death Penalty include 13 states and the District of Columbia. (Alaska, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin). Nebraska and New York both have death penalties, but recently passed legislation declaring certain types of execution unconstitutional, this essentially eliminating the death penalty in their states.

The publicity about the number of people executed in Texas is loud, but Georgia is 7th in the country for executions. From this article:

"Debate over the death penalty has undergone key shifts over the years. During the past decade, the discussion has focused on accuracy and fairness, with exonerations of dozens of Death Row inmates sparking calls for reform and abolition. Now, with the nation's economy slumping, the issue is cost.

Several states, including New Mexico, have introduced measures to abolish the death penalty, many of them citing its costs. In Colorado, a bill would take money usually spent on capital cases and use it to help clear unsolved cases. In Kansas, a legislator wants to use money for capital cases to close a budget shortfall."

In Georgia, the cost of trying Brian Nichols surpassed $2 Millon dollars.

You may have guessed that I oppose the death penalty. My reasons are mainly spiritual, though I'm often surprised by the number of fellow Catholics who disagree with me, even priests who've told me that abortion is wrong but the death penalty is okay because the adults who kill aren't innocent babies. I get where they are coming from. I do not doubt the guilt of Mr. Newland. I do not diminish the value of his victim's life or the grief of her family. I just don't see the justice in taking his life. I don't see how killing him makes it clear that killing is wrong.

It was a sad note to end the day. I don't think I would ever show up on the capitol steps to light candles or pray with protestors. I respect the families for whom each case is an intensely personal issue. But I can disagree with the people who find this a fitting end to a life, whether the person be a hapless victim or a convicted killer.

And so I do. On my little blog. I protest.

--Laura