"Live the Dash"

“Somewhere over 120, there was a bunch… we were doing two a week, and that was getting tiresome… I looked at [my wife] and said, ‘I can’t do it no more…’ And I was a pro at capital punishment… but eleven years later and to this day, no sir.” The words of Fred Allen, former captain of Death House team at Death House at Walls Unit in Huntsville, Texas from the Werner Herzog film Into the Abyss, bring a sobering reminder of the human beings involved in the process of the death penalty. In his case, the death penalty was a full time job, and one that got the better of his psyche. One of the most controversial arguments in the United States, capital punishment, is a deep and opinionated topic unlike any other. Because one takes another’s life, should his be taken as well?

The issue is far from being resolved, with a simple Google search pulling up articles written just yesterday from the time of this writing. The USA Today reports on April 30, 2014 of Clayton Lockett, who experienced a “botched execution,” reporting that the executed “struggled violently, groaned and writhed after lethal drugs were administered.” While this story is disturbing and inviting of many debates in itself, it also raises the issue of how current this issue really is.

The process of lethal injection, commonly used in the United States, involves the injection of three chemicals: “5.0 grams of sodium pentothal in 20-25 cc of diluent, followed by 50 cc of pancuronium bromide, then 50 cc of potassium chloride.” The first renders you unconscious, the second paralyses your lungs and diaphragm, stopping breathing, and the third induces cardiac arrest and the executed supposedly quietly passes away in a fashion that is neither cruel nor unusual. According to The Lancet, however, which studied 49 executions, found that 21 of these were given levels of the first injection low enough that the executed was still conscious during the second injection, in which paralysis sets in. That means that the executed was fully awake during the cardiac arrest injection, yet was paralyzed and unable to physically show their pain.

The procedure itself is only one facet of the controversy that surrounds the issue. The question still remains, should we do it at all? After all, capital punishment is more expensive than life in prison. Not to mention the millions of dollars that goes into the trial and case itself. Is life in prison worse than death? These are questions that have no clear answer, yet must be worked out in our judicial system. One group of people able to shed light on these questions are the families of the victims. One woman, whose mother was murdered, viewed the execution of the man who committed the crime. “When I walked in he looked at me… I was upset when I walked in… I didn’t want to see someone die… [I was] crying… I watched his heart beating on his shirt until it stopped… He was gone and it was over… Some people just don’t deserve to live.” She also stated, however, that life in prison without parole would be a viable alternative and would provide equal solace to her. One could argue that nothing gets accomplished by taking an additional life and for this reason, there is no need for the death penalty.

This is where numbers come in, a welcome relief to the gray debates that dominate this issue. A study conducted by researchers at Clemson and Emory Universities concluded that “capital punishment has a strong deterrent effect; each execution results, on average, in 18 fewer murders, with a margin of error of plus or minus 10.” While scientific inquiry is seldom airtight in cases like this, a deterrent effect does likely exist with the death penalty. If the death of one could save the lives of at least eight, then it could be beneficial. But the issue is not so simple when ethics invariable enter the equation once again. Is it still okay to take a life regardless of how many it saves? I won’t even attempt to answer this one.

Back in the courtroom in Hawaii, these issues run through my head. Thankfully, the fate of Williams is not in my father’s hands. It lies in the jury, carefully selected from over a thousand candidates, chosen based on their willingness to consider capital punishment. They should neither be gung ho about the death penalty nor should they discredit it without any thought. As a result, the fate of Williams should be held in a fragile balance, his case given careful consideration and his fate determined thereafter. Does his crime justify his death? We will have to wait for the answer, thankfully not up to any of us.

“Somebody told me about the ‘live your dash…’ It’s your tombstone… You got your birthdate and you got the day that you decease, and you got the little dash in the middle. That’s your life right there… How are you gonna live your dash?” These are words left by Fred Allen, who has now dedicated his life to living his dash rather than focus on the final number on peoples’ tombstones. We are all still living our dashes while a few out there, like Williams, are trying to come to terms with their final date, one brought on by a system of justice rather than nature or people like themselves. I left the courtroom those days still living my dash as was Williams and everyone else in the room. Yet William’s dash may be coming to an end, while mine will hopefully carry on.

Works Cited

Dezhbakhsh, Hashem, Paul H. Rubin, and Joanna M. Shepherd. "Does capital

punishment have a deterrent effect? New evidence from postmoratorium panel data." American Law and Economics Review 5.2 (2003): 344-376.

Into the Abyss. Dir. Werner Herzog. Perf. Werner Herzog, . IFC Films, 2011. Film.

"Lethal Injection Procedures." Lethal Injection Procedures. California Department of Corrections

and Rehabilitation, n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. <http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/reports_research/lethal_injection.html>.

Penn and Teller Bullshit! Perf. Penn Jillette and Teller. Showtime, 16 Apr. 2006. Web. 29 Apr.

            2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGAMh6RuTRs>.

Zoroya, Gregg, and Michael Winter. "Botched Execution Could Slam Brakes on Death

Penalty." USA Today. Gannett, 30 Apr. 2014. Web. 1 May 2014. <http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/usanow/2014/04/29/oklahoma-executions-drugs-lethal-injection/8476389/>.