a disproportionate amount of death sentences as compared to their white
counterparts. Organizations such as the American Bar Association and
individuals such as Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas have spoken out in
opposition to the death penalty. The UN has adopted a worldwide resolution
calling for an eventual end to state executions. From Anthony Porter to
dozens more released from Death Row since it’s
Whitehead 11
reinstatement, there exists significant possibilities that there are
individuals innocent of their accused crimes sitting on Death Row.
Journalistic investigations have proven this possibility and DNA evidence
has furthered cleared those previously convicted. An overwhelming number of
factors including, overzealous prosecutors, inadequate defense
counsel, the unreliability of evidence, the cost ineffectiveness of
executions, the sheer brutality of executions and the decline of public
support for state execution when presented with other options, all warrant
at least a temporary halt to executions to allow time for these issue to be
addressed.
As members of a collective American society, we are all affected by a
judicial system that though designed to protect the weak and innocent, sends
these very same individuals to their deaths. It must become our quest to see
that true justice is at least addressed. Yesterday, Anthony Porter was
almost sent to his death. Today, it may be someone you barely know. However,
tomorrow it may be you or I. This call for a moratorium in Illinois is a
call for justice. Thomas Jefferson once wrote “Truth is [the] handmaid [of
justice], freedom is its child, peace is its companion, safety walks in its
steps, victory follows in its train; it is the brightest emanation from the
gospel; it is the attribute of God.” These words written over a century ago
still ring true today. Let’s take the time to take a look at justice.
Whitehead 12
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United States. U.S. Government Accounting Office. Capital Punishment.
Washington:
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Cheatwood, Derral and Keith Harries. The Geography of Execution: The
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NAACP Legal Defense Fund . Death Row. New York: Hein, 1996
“Ex-Death Row Inmate Cleared of Charges.” USA Today 11 Mar. 1999: 2A
“Fatal Flaws: Innocence and the Death Penalty.” Amnesty International. 10
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Gest, Ted. “House Without a Blue Print.” US News and World Report 8 Jul.
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