The problem with Florida’s expansion of the death penalty
Tom Joyce
Video Embed
Politicians in Florida have given the government more power to kill people. They’re making a big mistake.
Last week, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) signed a bill lowering the necessary threshold for juries to recommend capital punishment. Previously, a unanimous 12-0 decision was needed. However, the state now only requires a two-thirds majority for jurors to make that recommendation.
DESANTIS-BACKED STRICTER DEATH PENALTY BILL COULD PROMPT SUPREME COURT REVIEW
Lawmakers fought for the change because only nine of the 12 jurors on the Parkland school shooter’s trial recommended executing the shooter. Since the jurors lacked a unanimous decision, they instead recommended life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Although heinous criminals exist and they deserve harsh punishments for their actions, states should not make executions easier. Capital punishment has many problems; most notably, it gives the government more authority to kill its citizens. That is worrying because governments throughout history have abused their power.
It is also counterproductive to creating a culture of life in the United States. Politicians should enact policies that protect life from conception to natural death. Florida took a step toward this earlier this month when DeSantis signed a heartbeat bill banning most abortions after six weeks.
That is not to say that capital punishment and abortion are morally equivalent. Abortion is far worse as it takes innocent lives, while capital punishment mostly takes criminal lives. However, the government should prioritize protecting the right to life and consistently respecting that right regardless of the stage of life.
Additionally, capital punishment has logistical problems.
Governments execute innocent people, and there is no way to right that wrong on Earth. At least if the government wrongly locks up an innocent man for 20 years, as horrible as that is, it can give the man his freedom back and provide restitution for the government’s error. Meanwhile, if the government realizes it wrongly executed someone, it cannot bring the person back to life.
While most death row inmates are guilty, about 4.1% of them are innocent, according to a 2014 study from the National Academy of Sciences. While that is a small number, even taking one innocent life is too many. In California alone, there are 690 inmates on death row, meaning that 28 or 29 of these inmates may be innocent.
Not to mention, capital punishment is expensive. Although a bullet is cheap, due process is not. Capital punishment cases cost, on average, $1.15 million more than sending someone to life in prison, according to a 2014 study from the University of Seattle.
Our country needs to be tougher on some crimes, but capital punishment is not a great crime deterrent, either. A 2012 National Research Council report concluded there is “no useful evidence” that capital punishment deters crime.
So while DeSantis has many positive achievements as governor of Florida, this is not one of them. In the future, hopefully, he and the Florida legislature will pursue more policies to protect life rather than destroy it.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Tom Joyce (@TomJoyceSports) is a political reporter for the New Boston Post in Massachusetts.