Maryland and the Death Penalty

This article in The Baltimore Sun today reignited an old flame of mine: Debating capital punishment... Please allow me to stand on my soapbox today...


It saddens me to even think about the notion that I am living in a country that still practices this inhumane form of punishment.

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Upon a preliminary search of recent capital punishment cases on Wikipedia, I discovered that there are some cases where the death penalty was used that could not be described in any manner other than cruel and unusual. (Now, of course Wikipedia isn’t the most reliable source, but it’s a good place to start. I’ve been informed about numerous things thanks to Wikipedia!) Here’s some methods some states use/have used in the last 30 years :
1) Utah- Death by Firing Squad
It appears The Beehive State only banned this method in 2004!
2) Delaware – Death by Hanging
That’s right, folks. Hanging. The First State now uses lethal injection.
3) Alabama – Electric Chair
They used to call it Yellow Mama.

Electrocution, the gas chamber, lethal injection, hanging, and firing squads -- Which is most inhumane? This is a trick question. They're all inhumane!

I understand the whole eye-for-an eye thing. I get it. But is that really the best way to punish someone for committing a heinous crime? Let's think for a moment about death row inmates who welcome the idea of the death penalty.

Feast your eyes on this old Amnesty International letter to the Governor of Kentucky:

I appeal to you to grant clemency for Marco Allen Chapman. Mr. Chapman is scheduled to be executed on November 21st for the 2002 murder of two children in the Marksberry family. He is not appealing his death sentence. This would be the first execution in Kentucky for nearly a decade, the last being that of Eddie Harper who had also given up his appeals.
Upon arrest for the murders, Marco Chapman asked one of the police officers to shoot him in the head. Since that time he has consistently resisted all attempts by lawyers to represent him, in a clear effort to be put to death by the state of Kentucky as quickly as possible.

I personally oppose the death penalty in all cases, but I am particularly concerned with the idea of an inmate “volunteering” to die. There have been 130 such “voluntary” executions in the U.S. since 1977. Any number of factors may contribute to a condemned inmate's decision not to pursue appeals, including mental disorder, physical illness, remorse, bravado, religious belief, a quest for notoriety, the severity of conditions of confinement, the bleak alternative of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, or pessimism about appeal prospects. In some cases it appears that the detainee may have committed the crime in order to receive a death sentence.

Mr. Chapman seems to have been motivated by suicidal thoughts since the moment of his arrest, if not before. With cases like this, it is no wonder that the execution of “volunteers” is often compared to state-assisted suicide.
I am in no way excusing the crime in this case. I have tremendous sympathy for the family and friends of the Marksberry children and I am mindful of the pain and suffering that they have endured. I nonetheless strongly oppose the “volunteer” execution of Marco Allen Chapman.

Governor Beshear, I urge you to demonstrate your respect for justice and human life by doing everything in your power to commute the death sentence of Marco Allen Chapman, and support a moratorium on executions in Kentucky. Thank you for your time and attention to this serious matter.”

Now what about executing inmates with mental disabilities? Or those that are not guilty?

I'm curious how everyone feels about capital punishment. It's not something that we discuss too often these days. I'll leave you with this:

Right to life
1. Everyone has the right to life.
2. No one shall be condemned to the death penalty, or executed.

Chapter 1, Article 2 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union