Ask Not for Whom the Bell Tolls
79Execution With a Garrote
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No man is an island, entire of itself ... Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee. -- John Donne
It's great to be alive, to breathe fresh air, to hear the robins sing and see the rising sun, to be free, to be part of mankind.
Life, despite its trials and tribulations, is joyous; but it also is ethereal, evaporating, sooner or later, into, for the faithful, the heavens.
Each of us lives his own life, but we are not alone. Ultimately, we must take responsibility for our own lives, for how we conduct ourselves in our short sojourn -- for the good and the bad. And each according to his belief, we must one day answer for our actions.
But, being human, we -- all of us -- are governed by what is commonly called "human nature."
When we hit a homerun with the bases loaded, get straight A's in school, make a killing in the stock market, complete a difficult painting or produce an A-one product on the job it's human nature that we feel a sense of pride and accomplishment. When we give a few dollars to the Salvation Army, or to other worthwhile charities, our hearts feel the warmth transmitted by the unknown beneficiaries of our largess.
If a friend or someone in the family hits the million-dollar Lotto, or wins a golf tournament or lands a job as chairman of General Motors, we bask in reflected glory. We didn't do anything, but, nevertheless, we feel good about it; our lives are somehow more meaningful, our spirits are somehow uplifted.
We reflect not only on the accomplishments of ourselves and our contemporaries, but even on those of our forefathers. Somehow we, as humans, are better, have greater intrinsic value, because people like Socrates, da Vinci, Einstein, Washington and Lincoln preceded us. Their lives are intrinsically intertwined with ours; our lives would not be the same had they not lived.
At 12:04 a.m. Tuesday the state of Washington snuffed out the life of Westley Allen Dodd. Dodd, a confessed, convicted child killer, was hanged.
Under Washington state law, Dodd was given a choice of death by lethal injection or death by hanging; he chose the gallows.
As one observer stated following the execution, Dodd's death will not end murder, rape or mayhem; his hanging will have little effect on such heinous crimes.
Although Dodd opted for hanging -- indeed insisted upon it and demanded that there be no appeals, no stays of execution -- it was not his wishes but those of society that were carried out Tuesday; the preferences of a convicted killer, unless condoned by society, are of little effect.
The journalist who witnessed Dodd's last moments and reported on them said he thought the execution would be "gruesome," but observed, "the quick and clinical way the state put to death child-killer Westley Allen Dodd today surprised me."
He obviously tried to be objective and detached, as any good reporter would.
But, as a human being, he could not but end his story with the stark, but telling declarative sentence:
"... When I got back to my motel room, I threw up."
I wrote this column as a "My View" for The Hour newspaper of Norwalk, Conn., on Jan. 9, 1993. Little has changed since then. I now write my views on a wide variety of topics on HubPages. You can, too. It's easy, and free! Get paid for writing about what you love, or whatever interests you!. HubPages makes the technical part easy. Make friends and get help on its active forum. Take a quick tour to see how easy it is to get started today Click Here -- To view my HubPages Profile Click Here
Should capital punishment be outlawed?
See results without voting- Russian Court Weighs Ban on Capital PunishmentFox News2 days ago
Russia's Constitutional Court held hearings Monday on whether a moratorium on capital punishment should remain in force next year.
- Louis Klarevas: Beyond a Lingering Doubt: It's Time for a New Standard on Capital PunishmentThe Huffington Post33 hours ago
Barring an eleventh hour intervention by the governor of Virginia, the D.C. sniper John Muhammad will be put to death tomorrow for his role in...
- D.C. Sniper John Allen Muhammad Put to DeathABC News5 hours ago
The D.C. sniper who terrorized Americans in 2002 was executed tonight. John Allen Muhammad - Lee Boyd Malvo - Capital punishment - United States - Crime and Justice
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Comments
Thank you, David-D. That's the best compliment I've gotten in a long time.
Hi William,
On the subject of capital murder, I'm on the fence about it. On the one hand, when our government sentences someone to death, it sounds like a good idea to be rid of an evil person. However, as you well know, the majority of those sitting on death row sit there for many, many years. We, as taxpayers, are paying to keep them alive. Depending on what prison they are in, some are living the so-called 'good life'. I recently saw one prison that was designed more like a vacation retreat, complete with spas, exercise rooms, computer access, libraries, etc., and it's design would make one drool. All modern, no bars, potted plants, it was sickening. What the hell are they thinking? I've even heard of people who purposely do something wrong just so they can go back to jail or prison, because it's better than their life on the outside. Where else can you go and get a free education, free meals, free medical, a free roof over your head and free clothes?
I also believe as far as appeals go, there should be a limit to only one, or perhaps two the most. The other thing is, what takes so damn long for an appeal to be carried out? Then, to add insult to injury, once the appeal process is done, sometimes the sentence will be overturned and the prisoner is commuted to just life behind bars. My thought is this: if sentenced to death, carry it out within one year, regardless of whether the appeal process is done or not. If the appeal still isn't resolved at the end of one year, oh well. Otherwise, just do away with the death penalty, it makes no sense.
On the other hand, do I believe the death penalty deters crime? Of course not. If the death penalty was enacted to cause fear in people so that they never commit another crime, we'd be living in a crime free society. I don't know what a good solution would be. Keeping someone locked away from society forever so that they can never hurt another person is about the best answer we have, even though it's a drain on the economy and the taxpayer. Rehabilitation is nice in theory, and I don't have statistics, but my thought is that a small majority of lawbreakers ever learn to change their ways, therefore, so many repeat offenders.
I agree with David-D, this is a very thought provoking hub, thank you for sharing it.
Damned if you do and damned if you don't - even if, theoretically, the death penalty makes a lot of sense, finally it's a life. And yet, in countries where there is swift retribution like in the Gulf states, the crime rate is definitely much lower. Yes, it does make one think!
My conception of a prison life is vastly different from what you describe, Trish. Those few who would find prison better than their life outside are in a very bad state indeed. Prisons are very bad places -- for anyone. Those "vacation retreats," or "country clubs" are reserved for people like John Dean and Martha Stewart. Our justice system in the U.S. is antiquated and definitely needs an overhaul. The appeals process developed as it is because good people want to insure that not a single innocent person be put to death. Unfortunately, that has happened many times. The lives of many have been saved by advances in our knowledge of DNA. My views on capital punishment appear in several of hubs, including one, written in 1994, titled "Death Penalty in OJ Trial? Unthinkable!"
Thanks for commenting, Shalini Kagal. In my opinion, killing is never a good thing. While it may reduce the crime rate in the Gulf states, the good people there pay a high price. Capital punishment makes killers of us all. If you want to teach a child not to violent, do whip him to within an inch of his life? Do we teach people that killing is bad by killing killers? I think not.
Another thoughtful Hub by Mr. Torpey!
My state, Michigan, did away with the death penalty more than 100 years ago. Several other states are moving in that direction because of recent evidence that executions of innocent people are unavoidable. Aside from that consideration, the death penalty is a barbaric relic from the past. We are the only advanced country that still practices it. I wish many of the believers in the sanctity of life from the instant of conception would be consistent and support doing away with the death penalty.
I agree! Violence usually begets violence - however,when the crime is closer home, when someone you know and love is affected, then you wonder whether the criminal should be allowed to commit the crime again and maybe yet again. While I don't support the death penalty, circumstances could make people subscribe to it, wouldn't you say?
Well said, Ralph. I agree entirely. The sanctity of life is inclusive, not exclusive: "Any man's death diminishes me."
Being what I have been through in the last year I am of mixed emotions on this subject too Mr Torpey. As usual, you make us think and think. My position as a Christian says it is wrong, but I see such as I see in the world,especially crimes against children says that the death penalty does need to be.
Great hub again William!!
When someone you know and love is affected by violence, Shalini, it's understandable that the reaction is visceral. I'm sure all of us would react that way initially. But it isn't wise to make intellectual judgments vicereally. There are many other considerations, prime among them is the certainty that accused is indeed the guilty party. How we treat the lowliest among us, in my opinion, tells a lot about us as human beings.
Thank you for your comment, Froggy213. Some crimes are heinous, and some criminals are cruel and unrepentent. However, I think that, as human beings, we must separate our emotions from our intellect. We need to think of the affect of the decisions we make on the future, not only of the criminal but of us as well. I don't think we want to stoop to the level of the criminal in the way we react. If we endorse violence by executing criminals, it will send the wrong message. While punishment should fit the crime, capital punishment is inhumane and unwise.
I am definitely with you on this William.
The system is so imperfect and imperfectly applied it's really hard to support it, even if you do believe in capital punishment. Personally, life imprisonment without possibility of parole is a better option. The death penalty is barbaric, is not a deterrent, and ends up clogging our courts with appeal after appearl. So my arguments against it are both philosophical AND practical.
Thank you for this thoughtful piece.
Eventually, Misha, I feel certain the long overdue overhaul of the system will be accomplished. Thanks.
I agree, Mighty Mom. The system is fatally flawed. As it exists now, it could never be put right. Thenk you for your thoughtful and kiind comments.
Well-written and thought provoking. I doubt, if it were me, I would choose hanging over injection. But then maybe I would: I've always been a bit dramatic. Thanks for this quality work (and the link)!
Thank you very much for the kind words, Christoph. I'm not sure whether I would choose hanging or injection if I were faced with execution. I've heard stories of executions going very badly in either case. I believe that most people think that executions always go off as planned, but that isn't necessarily the case.
I have been on the Louisiana and Florida Death Rows to see people waiting to be executed and yes I very strongly believe that the death penalty should be abolished. It does not stop anything and recently there is more and more evidence that we have in fact executed innocent persons.
I interviewed Ted Bundy and talked with him on several occasions and much could have been learned by locking him away in a safe place and studying him. I do not think we accomplished anything by killing him or any other death row inmate.
We are a civilized people or we claim to be in America but we continue practices that makes our nation look like we are living in the dark ages.
The current court system in the USA does not work much less our current death penalty. If you doubt what I say just look at all the innocent people recently released after serving 20 or more years by DNA. And many of the local prosecutors who had locked these people up knew they were innocent when they locked them up. Many local prosecutors had manufactured evidence or ordered people to lie on the stand against these people.
And this is only the tip of the ice berg when you look at the American court system. Every day tens of thousands of people do not show up in court. This in its self is going to eventually make the system collapse.
But we as an American people stand by and let all these things go on and we don't try to do anything to change our current system which does not work. I have been involved in trying to stop the death penalty for a number of years and as long as there is any chance at all that we could possibly execute innocent people then we should not have the death penalty and I will tell you that I truly know and believe that we have executed innocent persons and in recent times. How the American people can allow this is beyond me.
You've obviously been on top of this issue for a long time, crazyhorsesghost, and I congratulate you for your efforts to end capital punishment. Your Ted Bundy hub, which I just read, is well done and very interesting -- as are the many comments you elicited. Thanks.
David-D says:
2 years ago
This makes one think.