Crucifixion, Texas Style
Gov. Perry had a choice:
Listen to the appeal of experts who proved
the man did not start the fire which took
the lives of his children…
or think about his upcoming re-election.
Most Texans don’t take kindly
to governors who commute death sentences.
The Guv could have looked above.
It appears he chose to look the other way instead.
And now another innocent man
walks down the final hallway to his
sanitary, efficient doom.
Strapped down as the doctors ready the dose
of lethal legality, executing “humane” judgment.
Curtains are yanked open to reveal the scene.
Curious how this drama is presented
like a peep show from Hell.
The needle will pierce his skin
and another soul will be loosed
by the State of Texas.
The view from the chamber ceiling
is that of a man
tethered to a cross.
© 2011 Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil for Three Word Wednesday (appear, dose, pierce) and Poets United.
This poem is based on the execution of Cameron Willingham, who spent 12 years on Death Row. Many experts appealed on his behalf as to the pattern of the blaze, but Willingham had a history of abusive behavior and a 10th grade education, which don’t play well in courts, no matter how the facts are presented.
It’s not only Texas – many states have the death penalty; some have prisoners on Death Row, just waiting for the day the penalty goes back into effect. Texas does tend to execute the most people; in fact, when George W. Bush was governor, he “okayed” 152 executions, the most in recent history by any governor. I remain opposed to the death penalty, and the facts are in favor of pacifists: More and more DNA evidence is proving the innocence of people on Death Row across the country.
Sharp Little Pencil 
vivienne Blake
I applaud your campaigning spirit, Amy.
Sharp Little Pencil
Thanks, VIv. Too ambitious at times… death penalty, LGBTQ equality, environment, racial and economic justice… and throwing out the governor of Wisconsin!!!
Tony Noland
Rough stuff. So sad when a life is the price of political hay…
Sharp Little Pencil
And remember what the bull does after digesting all that hay… also known as “legislation.” Yeah, rough, but it’s got to be said, and often. Thanks, Tony. Amy
kaykuala
Hear, hear! Let 10 guilty ones be unwittingly spared lest 1 innocent man is done in. We have seen cases of those condemned based on misguided justice and wrong judgements which were irreversible. Well said!
Sharp Little Pencil
Thanks, Hank. Why can’t all be spared, as you say, if even one is wrongly convicted. Solomon Burke sang, “One of us in chains/None of us are free.”
liv2write2day
I used to support the death penalty but my views have changed in recent years and I’ve just begun to express it. There are so many reasons. If the person IS guilty, can’t we give them a chance to atone? How does one death make up for another? Are we further inciting a culture of violence? Sometimes I think death would be the easy way out. When the death penalty is involved are jurors more likely to acquit (as perhaps happened in the Casey Anthony trial). Life is not black and white, is it. I hate to think about our politicians making politically-motivated decisions and it seems that’s so prevalent right now.
Sharp Little Pencil
You cite many of my reasons as well. I certainly wish Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden had to spend their remaining days in a jail. Frankly, I think Timothy McVeigh, for all his neo-Nazi braggadocio, took the coward’s way out by insisting on being shot quickly, so that he would die (in his mind) a martyr to the cause, rather than manning up and dealing with incarceration, certainly a more fitting punishment. Finally, there is always a chance “they got it wrong.” The guy I spoke of was despised in his town, and that’s where they held the trial. No way he was getting anything close to fair. Sure, he was a jerk, but if he didn’t set fire to that house, he should have been acquitted. If the evidence damns anyone, it’s the Texas judicial system, or lack of same. Thanks for a lot to think about! Amy
booguloo
The image of the man on the cross left a burning image. This is a sad story.
Sharp Little Pencil
It’s an image I’ve always wanted to put into a poem, but this was the right time… thanks, Michael. Amy
Sheilagh Lee
that is really sad. I love that your poem is making statement about what wrong with this,
Sharp Little Pencil
Well, you know, if I have opinions, I don’t hold back. Have not heard any negative comments or disagreements on this, unless folks are holding back if they have dissenting opinions. I sure hope the latter is not true, because I am glad to talk to everybody. Thanks, Sheil. A
Sharp Little Pencil
SUCH a difficult question. Here’s what it comes down to for me: Do we, as a State, have the right to strap someone down and deliberately kill them if they killed someone else, even on camera? The idea of life in jail without parole has been decried because “we are paying to feed these monsters.” But it’s cheaper to house and feed a prisoner than to exhaust all the appeals that exist for death penalty cases, really. And the chance for someone to repent, even apologize? Consider Sr. Helen Prejean and the miracles she has seen.
As to someone you know who cannot let go of the hatred, you can pray for her. It’s obviously going to eat a hole in her… and I get that. But has she sought counseling, support groups, or is she resigned to a life-long hatred and that’s that? There is more to life than carrying that rock with you for-freaking-EVER. Those young men should not get out after 10 years – that’s ludicrous, even with good behavior. But if they get out, I hope she doesn’t get self-righteous and take the law into her own hands, because that won’t bring her son back, either.
The New Testament was given to us to REPLACE the “eye for an eye” way of life, to forgive, to pray for our enemies. If she has a faith tradition, perhaps a pastor can help? So sad. Amy
Tilly Bud
The re-instating of the death penalty in Britain may come up in parliament soon. A lot of Brits want it back, partly because the promised life tariff usually means, on average, nine years.
The punishment must feel like a punishment, or why bother? A lot of people are angry at perceived soft sentencing. If life really did mean life, I doubt there’d be any calls for the death penalty at all: people just want murderers off their streets.
Sharp Little Pencil
Life should mean life, unless an appeal proves the person didn’t do it. In America, the incarcerated have to PAY for their OWN DNA tests before that evidence can be introduced, and that’s a hardship on poor families, who often have their main breadwinner locked up.
A life sentence with nine years actually served? Ridiculous. And yes, folks want the death penalty for a lot of reasons… but it will never bring back their loved ones. I’ve seen interviews with survivors of the murdered who smugly say, “Glad that bastard got what he deserved, and I’m glad I was there to witness it.” Hard hearts, these folks, when they really need grief counseling and support groups.
Altonian
Heavy stuff Amy, but I must agree with you most of the way. Far too many people have been, and are being executed despite being provably innocent. The death penalty is so final, and has been wrong so many times, that it should no longer be an option in modern society. The alternative is a proper punishment to fit the crime, but so often ‘life imprisonment’ means only a few comfortable years in jail, then early release. We have, just this last week, had four – 4 ! – convicted murderers walk out of OPEN PRISONS and escape. One murderer disappeared after being ALLOWED HOME ON HOLIDAY. Whatever happened to ‘hard labour’? At least America has the judgement ‘life, without the possibility of parole’, which both punishes, and also gives the chance of innocence being proved some time while the prisoner still lives.
Sharp Little Pencil
I lived in a prison town that had a rebellion 30 years ago – Attica. The living conditions at the time of the rebellion were horrendous. I believe all prisons should have real libraries were books may be checked out (or wall-installed Kindles so they can’t use books to hide shivs, maybe?) and classes, even for the lifers. Also mental health care, and I mean REAL care, including support groups. There is no reason prisons should be dumping grounds for mostly people of color. But the labor nowadays is setting up call centers – cheap prison labor, benefiting the CEOs of rich corporations. Privitizing them is not the answer, either.
Convicted murderers in an open prison? HUH? Who’s minding the henhouse, the fox? That’s a shame. I don’t believe in the death penalty because juries make mistakes, evidence is withheld, judges are corrupt, and some states – like Texas – can’t “barbecue ’em” fast enough. It’s state-sponsored slaughter and must end. Thanks, Leigh.
hawleywood40
I also oppose the death penalty, primarily for the reason that there are far too many examples in our justice system of the wrong person being locked up for the crime. Taking years off the life of someone who is ultimately shown to be not guilty is horrible enough, but ending their life altogether? We humans are too flawed to play gods and pretend to be all-knowing. I love the line “like a peep show from hell.”
Sharp Little Pencil
That image popped into my head as I was envisioning a scene from “Dead Man Walking,” how the curtains abruptly open, just as the sex trade unveils live women (and that’s a poem for another day, that exploitation). Ending the life of any person, even Osama bin Laden… whom I wish had been brought to trial and made to face his accusers… is wrong. I realize there are folks who think killing, say, Charlie Manson is justified, but I remind all of Gandhi, who famously said, “an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.”
Jae Rose
Barbaric for sure..I can’t imagine how the person who has to deliver the injection or the shock reconciles the act in their head..did you hear of the brave act of the woman in the middle east who was blinded in an acid attic..she was due to punish her attacker by blinding him also but went against her initial decision..it’s people like her who will change human behaviour..Jae
Sharp Little Pencil
Amen. Reminds me of the Amish community who were attacked; the gunman killed several of their members, including children. The Amish responded by forgiving him and offering to take in his wife so she would be safe from retribution for her husband’s acts. I had not heard of that story, Jae, and yes, we need more Gandhi and less McCain. Amy
dani
we have the death penalty in Arizona, too. for awhile, our current governor imposed the death penalty on innocent people by denying them medicaid coverage for organ transplants. not everyone ~ just the ones that she and a panel of “experts” decided weren’t worth the funding. after three deaths she reversed the order. i think SHE should be tried for murder.
Sharp Little Pencil
Arizona was a state I avoided going cross-country because of the racial profiling of Latinos a year ago, but I didn’t know about this. Yes, it’s like HMOs that decides who is “worth” a pancreas. That goverrnor? Man, I thought we had it bad here in Wisconsin, but she takes the cake. Sorry to hear about this, Dani. Peace, Amy
Mike Patrick
I’m sorry, Amy, respect you as I do, I must stand on the other side of this issue. I spent ten years on the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis, and I’ve worked homicides. I wrote a blog about one of them at http://thepoetsquill.wordpress.com/the-cop-out/cops-are-tough/. Without getting into other specific cases, most homicides are not who-done-its. Not a one I worked was. The person either is caught in the act, makes a full confession or there is overwhelming evidence of their guilt—there is no doubt. These are bad people. When placed in prison without a death sentence, there is nothing hanging over their head to keep them from killing other prisoners or prison guards. The same applies at the time they are arrested. There is no incentive not to keep killing up to the point they face their own demise. They can execute a dozen hostages and shoot it out with the cops until they run out of ammo, then they give up and spend their live in prison. Kill one or twenty, it’s the same sentence.
For those who get released because DNA doesn’t prove they were the killer (it never proves their innocence), in spite of other overwhelming physical evidence and confessions, in most instances the DNA sample had degraded over the years to the point it couldn’t be identified as that of a human being. That’s the reasonable doubt used by attorneys to get some rapist and killers released. Pray they don’t decide to move in next door to you. Many of those DNA tests end up adding to the evidence that they were the killer, but you don’t read about those cases.
Okay, I’ll go lie down now.
Sharp Little Pencil
Mike, I hope I already commented on this – and sent you an email. If your comment got lost, please be assured: I did NOT “trash” it! I leave all comments standing, especially those which take exception to my stands. I am an open book; this site is open to any and all, and so again, if you reposted, please know the first one was not deleted. Thanks, my friend. (To all: Mike and I have a difference of opinion on the death penalty, each with our own reasons, and you know what? We can disagree and still be friends. WOW. It can happen! Amy)
contemplativemoorings
The death penalty, to me, is merely a civilized(ish) form of the lynch mob mentality…I don’t see how indulging that form behavior in any way can lead to good things for our society…
Sharp Little Pencil
I agree with you, and I have to say, I’m glad there are dissenting points of view presented on my blog. We have a mature, reasoned group here who understand we do not all have to agree. No one can be right all the time. My pacifism grows from activism, seeing who usually gets the short end of the stick, the teachings of Jesus, and the reinforcement of Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violence, also held by Dr. King. Thanks so much for commenting on this! Amy
Bodhirose
I changed my mind about the death penalty long ago when I realized that we couldn’t possibly continue putting people to death when many on death row have in recent years been found not guilty of the crime to which they have been charged. Mostly due to new forensic technology and DNA testing. How many innocent people have been put to death? That question is haunting.
What more is there to consider before laws can be passed across the board to abolish the death penalty?
Sharp Little Pencil
I agree with you, and yet there are folks commenting here, who, BLESS THEIR HEARTS, feel free to make the opposite stand. I’m so glad we can all have our opinions on my blog. I do not censor anyone.
Having said that, I am a pacifist. Since I don’t believe in killing, I do not kill. If someone kills me, I hope to God people remember me well enough not to fry the poor bastard. I mean it. I would want the person forgiven. Incarcerated or treated in an institution for mental disorders, but someone would have to be pretty damned mean (or a member of the CIA) to want me dead, you know?
We’ll never see a national moratorium on the death penalty, because it’s a state issue. Also, there are always going to be flaws in our legal system… like the major flaw of the makeup of our supremely corrupt Supreme Court, whose five conservative members help themselves to jaunts out with the Koch brothers and other rich white jerks. Ah, ranting. I live for it, honey!! A
Joyce Cianciosi
I am ambivalent about the death penalty. Many years ago I had a friend who worked in a grocery store bank. The bank was a booth style thing. she was 98 lbs. soaking wet and the mother of a 3 month baby. Two brothers came in, got in the booth with her, held her up and then shot her in the back! They then ran leaving a few thousand dollars behind. There were no cameras in those days so they couldn’t prove which brother shot her. Just three weeks earlier her baby fell asleep in my arms and I hold her for several hours while she slept. My friend Esther’s death in such a cowardly and awful way tore my heart out. These 2 jerks sentenced her child to a lifetime without a mother who loved her dearly. Because of that I’m not sure how I feel about the death penalty.
Sharp Little Pencil
Joyce, I understand where you are coming from… when it’s that close to you, that personal, your perspective changes. I have heard from several people who have similar stories or who have a different stance from mine, which is unchanged. THANK YOU for sharing your story rather than just clamming up and thinking you’ll get jumped on. You never will, here.
My beliefs are mine, and I will always write about them. My only hope is that others will do the same, no matter what their politics, their religion, or their personal journeys in life.
I wish you piece, Joyce. Love, Amy
Roger Green
like i’ll ever vote for that man…
Sharp Little Pencil
You know, really, Roger. But just wait until the debates. At least he and Michelle Bachmann will be comic relief. They make Ron Paul look a whole lot more credible – and as much as I’m not swaying in the Libertarian direction, I do love that guy for his candor! Thanks Amy