Copyright (C) 2007 Robert S. Rosson. All rights reserved.
TV ANCHORWOMAN: Welcome everyone to CourtTV. As many of you know we have been following the trial of Capital Punishment, indicted for multiple crimes including “cruel and unusual punishment.” After three months of testimony a three judge federal circuit court panel has found the defendant guilty as charged of four out of five counts, and today we take you live into the courtroom, where Chief Judge Moses Solomon is about to pronounce sentence.
The scene shifts to a courtroom where the presiding Judge has just asked the defendant to rise. The defendant is seen standing flanked by his two lawyers. He is dressed in a black suit and black shirt. His blood-red tie resembles a hangman’s knot.
THE JUDGE: Defendant Capital Punishment. After months of testimony on both sides this panel has unanimously found you guilty of the crimes of: 1) racial discrimination, 2) excessive expense, 3) execution of the innocent, and 4) cruel and unusual punishment. You were acquitted on a fifth count of lack of homicide deterrence. It is my task to hand down an appropriate sentence. Before I do let me review some of the important arguments in this case. This case did not deal with the philosophical and religious issues surrounding capital punishment. Whether the perpetrators of heinous crimes, such as rape and murder of young women and children, should be put to death or sentenced to life in prison without parole was the central issue for us to decide.
We heard many arguments from experts on both sides. We were informed that African Americans are sent to death row far more often than white defendants. The issue of the death penalty as a deterrent to homicide remains controversial. Recent studies have suggested a decline in homicide in jurisdictions where the death penalty is invoked. Although there are many critics who find fault with the methodology of these studies, the panel acquitted you on this count.
We were told that it is too expensive for taxpayers to keep prisoners incarcerated for life. On the other side it was pointed out that the numerous death row appeals result in high legal expenses to the state and long delays before execution. Furthermore, New Jersey has found that it costs more than 2 1/2 times as much to maintain inmates on death row than in the general prison population.
We were told that it is too expensive for taxpayers to keep prisoners incarcerated for life. On the other side it was pointed out that the numerous death row appeals result in high legal expenses to the state and long delays before execution. Furthermore, New Jersey has found that it costs more than 2 1/2 times as much to maintain inmates on death row than in the general prison population.
We heard testimony that DNA testing has resulted in the release of many death row inmates who had been wrongfully convicted. This finding has led Illinois and Maryland to declare a complete moratorium on executions in those states. Certainly our society cannot tolerate execution of innocent persons.
Recently evidence has surfaced that lethal injection, long considered the most humane method of execution, might actually cause severe pain in the helplessly paralyzed condemned inmate. This has resulted in a de facto moratorium on executions throughout the country pending a Supreme Court decision. Physicians, true to their oath and supported by major medical societies, have refused to participate in lethal injection or to investigate alternative methods of the procedure,
This Court, after due deliberation, has decided that you are guilty of four of the counts in the indictment. Most notably lethal injection, and by inference, all methods of execution were found to constitute “cruel and unusual punishment”. Therefore, the Court hereby sentences you, Capital Punishment, to be banished, immediately and permanently, from the United States. The Court is aware that the pending Supreme Court case and pending legislation in New Jersey may affect the ultimate outcome of this case on appeal.
Does the defendant have any final words for this Court?
Does the defendant have any final words for this Court?
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: Your Honor. I obviously disagree with the verdict and sentence in this case and shall appeal. You are now depriving U.S. society of the opportunity for retribution in crimes of the most heinous nature. I must admit that life imprisonment without parole is severe and just punishment and permanently removes the offender from society. I shall, nevertheless, continue to execute in countries, such as Japan, where I am still legal, and in Iraq where I still have some unfinished business.
THE JUDGE: Court is adjourned.
TV ANCHORWOMAN: That’s it for CourtTV today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow when we cover the latest developments in the legal problems of O.J. Simpson and Barry Bonds.
Published originally in YJHM December 1, 2007
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