Why I Remain Opposed to the Death Penalty

I am in favor of the death penalty in theory, but after seeing the innocence project and the Duke Lacrosse case, I am of the opinion that our legal system is too corrupt to ensure that we are not executing the innocent. I first made this post 13 years ago:

Maurice Patterson was convicted of murder in 2002 for a fight where the victim was stabbed 14 times. Three people witnessed the fight, fleetingly and in the dark, and a fourth witness claimed to have seen a man with blood on his hand hiding from the police. All four witnesses identified Maurice Patterson in a live lineup weeks after the attack,
but they only testified regarding these identifications after being threatened with Contempt of Court.

A bloody knife was found near the scene and sent to Orchid Cellmark for DNA testing. Test results excluded Patterson, indicating a mixture of the victim’s profile and an unknown profile. Comparison to the State CODIS DNA database revealed that the unknown profile belonged to a drug addict with a history of violence. Though the State Police Forensic Science Center had been notified that the sample included the victim’s blood, this information was never directly communicated to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors continued with the case against Patterson despite the exculpatory results.

Robert Wilcoxson and Kenneth Kagonyera served almost 10 years in North Carolina prisons for a murder they didn’t commit before a three-judge panel overturned their convictions on September 22, 2011, based on DNA evidence proving innocence.

In this case, a man was killed during a home invasion, and police managed to secure confessions from the two defendants. Three bandanas and two pairs of gloves were located on the side of the road near the Bowman residence and were collected by deputies as evidence in the case. The bandanas and gloves found near the crime scene
were submitted for pre-trial DNA testing. Results excluded all six co-defendants, however this information was never turned over to Kagonyera or Wilcoxson’s attorneys.

There was the Duke Lacrosse case, where a woman accused a Lacrosse team of gang rape. Dennis Nifong, the state prosecutor, had DNA test results in his possession that showed the team was innocent. He didn’t disclose the existence of this evidence to the defense team.

Sure, we have DNA and such, but when the system is so corrupt that exculpatory evidence is “lost” or buried, we are executing the innocent. Knowingly allowing a flawed and corrupt system to kill people makes our entire society guilty of murder. I just can’t support giving the government the power to decide who lives and who dies. Even if the law were to be changed to punish crooked prosecutors, it will never be used. For that reason, I just can’t get behind the death penalty.