May 28, 2014
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Abolish the Unfair Death Penalty
An assault on
human rights
and racial
equality
J udge
G reg M athis
by
On April 29,
a death row in­
mate in O kla­
homa died of a heart attack after
a botched execution.
At age 23, Clayton D. Lockett
was convicted o f murder and
had been on death row for 15
years. During his recent execu­
tion, shortly after the anesthetic
drugs were administered, Mr.
Lockett began to writhe in ex­
treme pain and died shortly af­
ter. The drug mixture used to
execute him was not wholly ad­
ministered due to a vein failure. panics only make up about 30
executions in North Carolina in­ W illingham and several others
His death has raised serious percent of the U.S. population,
volved white murder victims.
have been w rongfully executed
questions about the humane na­ but more than half of prison in­
I also am concerned with the under our nation's existing capi­
ture of capital punishment and mates on death row. There is
number of individuals on death tal punishm ent laws.
following Mr. Lockett’s death significant evidence that suggest
row who have been wrongfully
A tto r n e y G e n e ra l E ric
President Obama indicated that jurists are more likely to sen­
accused. Since 1973, more than H older, an established oppo­
the U.S. Department of Justice tence minority offenders to the
130 people have been released nent of the death penalty, will
would begin a review into capital death penalty than white offend­
from death row due to wrongful be responsible for the upcom ­
punishm ent in America. Mr. ers.
convictions. The most recent ing review on capital punish­
Lockett’s death has provoked
A Michigan State University case occurred in 2012.
ment. I welcom e this upcom ­
all of us into an overdue conver­ review of North Carolina’s court
A jo in t study led by U niver­ ing inquiry and hope to see
sation on the merits of the death system found evidence that Af­
sity o f M ichigan Law Profes­ changes in current policy. The
penalty.
rican-American’s were system­ sor Sam R. Gross found that
death penalty in A m erica runs
For years research has indi­ atically excluded fromjuries de­
4.1 percent o f death row in­ contrary to our nation’s com ­
cated that there is a disturbing termining sentences for convicts
mates during the modern era mitment to international human
racial bias when deciding who eligible for capital punishment.
h av e been w ro n g fu lly e x ­ rights and racial equality and it
gets sentenced to the death pen­ They found that qualified black
ecu ted . F am o u sly , in 2004 should be repealed.
alty. According to statistics from jurors were twice more likely to
C am eron T odd W illingham
Judge Greg M athis is
the U.S. Department of Justice be removed from juries than
was executed after being ac­ known fo r his advocacy fo r
- Bureau of Justice Statistics whites.
cused of burning his home down equal justice. His inspirational
there were 3,082 death row in­
In addition, the review found and killing his three children.
life story o f a street youth who
mates in 2011 and more than that individuals who committed
A fter his death investigators rose from ja il to Judge has
h a lf o f them w ere A frican crimes against whites were more
discovered there was no evi­ provided hope to millions who
American or Hispanic.
likely to receive the death pen­ dence to suggest the fire Was
watch him on the TV court
African Americans and His alty. More than 80 percent of
s ta r te d
by
a rs o n .
M r. show Judee M a th is
We have Not Overcome Racism
How to heal the
wounded souls
of many
BY THE
R ev .
B entley de
B ardelaben
R a c ist c o m ­
ments have been
m e ta p h o ric a lly
showering through the airways.
Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy,
Virginia KKK imperial wizard
Frank Ancona, and California
billionaire real estate mogul
Donald Sterling have all recently
made absurd comments about
race.
Since the election of Presi­
dent Barack Obama, there are
people who claim that we live in
a post-racial American society.
Unfortunately, that is not the
case.
It is true that people, espe­
cially the youth, are more ac­
cepting of others who are of
different races and ethnicities,
religions, sexual orientation and
beyond. But sadly, the United
States has not overcome rac­
ism. How could she?
Our legal system was founded
on such evil and abhorrent think­
ing. It has only been 50 years
since the signing of the Civil
R ights Act. P rio r to that,
America had 250 years of chat­
tel slavery and an additional
100 years of legal terrorism
against people of color com­
monly known as Jim Crow.
I am not sure how many
people of color based solely on
race. M oreover, religion has
played an extremely large role in
this blasphem ous distortion
against humanity. Therefore, I
receive no pleasure in saying,
"Yes, Virginia: There are still
racists in North America!"
In a society which created the
24-hour news cycle and reality
television, people having capac-
There are people who crave "fifteen
minutes o f fame" and there are
multiple venues through which they
can achieve it. Racists included.
à
people realize that between 1790
and 1952, the only immigrants
guaranteed to receive natural­
ization in order to become legal
American citizens were white. I
am not saying that others did not
obtain it. I am saying it was legal
to deny people who were not
white. This is our nation’s his­
torical truth.
With this as the larger back­
drop of our history as a republic,
some people, as well as laws
and/or systems in 2014 still harm
ity to record audio and video, or
take pictures with their mobile
phones, anyone’s thoughts or
behaviors (rightly or wrongly)
can be utilized to fill air time on
news programs or make profit.
It may not be right, but it is what
happens. There are people who
crave "fifteen minutes of fame"
and there are multiple venues
through which they can achieve
it. Racists included.
Yet, what is missing in this
current landscape is the oppor-
tunity for all citizens of all races/
ethnicities to publicly engage in a
much needed conversation on
race. Not for the purpose of
blaming or shaming one another.
But to educate, share experi­
ences, lament and most impor­
tantly to acknowledge the pain
and sin this nation unjustly heaped
upon a group of people based on
skin color. This would be no
easy action to initiate. However,
it is a necessary step to begin
healing the wounded souls of
many and this nation.
Fortunately for all, there are
many skilled persons to aid in
helping America launch this voy­
age. We need only the will (and
perhaps, mandate) to do it. In my
humble opinion, it is the only way
we can begin to get at the de- •
sired outcome of a post-racial
America.
The Rev. B entley de
Bardelaben is executive fo r
administration and communi­
cations fo r the United Church
o f Christ’s Justice and Wit­
ness Ministries.
THE LAW OFFICES OF
Patrick John Sweeney, PC.
Patrick John Sweeney
Attorney at Law
1549 SE Ladd, Portland, Oregon
Portland: (503) 244-2080
Hillsoboro: (503) 244-2081
Facsimile: (503) 244-2084
Email: Sweeney@PDXLawyer.com