Kris Schultz

Reading this morning of Stanley Tookie Williams' funeral, and I can't help but think how wrong the death penalty is. Because of the redemption he had and the positive impact he made on so many, I feel putting him to death was simply the wrong thing to do.

My only hope is that something good will come out of his death. Perhaps more people will oppose the death penalty. Maybe more will mobilize to end it. Maybe it will become a cause for people like Snoop Dogg to take on. I hope Snoop uses his celebrity to raise public awareness of all the reasons the death penalty is wrong.

This is what I know for sure about the death penalty:

• Innocent people have been put to death by the death penalty. Mr. Williams claimed to be innocent of his crimes. The mere questioning of his innocence alone makes me discount the death penalty’s necessity.
• I wish justice were blind, but more often than not a jury or judge's sentencing has more to do with the size of the defendant's pocketbook or the color of his skin than guilt or innocence.
• The death penalty isn't a crime deterrent. It does not bring back the dead. It isn't a solution to crime, but a poor punishment unworthy of an evolved society.
• If someone did a crime, punish them. I don't believe criminals should get off without punishment. They must pay their debts to society, yet the death penalty should not exist as an option to prosecutors.
• Study after study shows that no matter how much we wish to be unbiased and judge by the facts alone, certain subconscious factors - especially appearance - enter into our decision-making. This happens in all aspects of life, and I wish it weren't a part of human nature, but unfortunately it's a shortcoming most humans have. This bias impacts sentencing.
• There is nothing more final than death. The government is killing in our name as citizens, and it's the morally wrong thing to do.
• Many people around the world – including Amnesty International – declare our death penalty to be a human rights violation.

Hey everybody - if I am murdered, I do not want prosecutors to seek the death penalty for the murderer. I once signed a document saying so and put it with my will.

Coincidentally, this past weekend I saw the movie CAPOTE, and highly recommend it. It also depicts the death penalty. Philip Seymour Hoffman's talent shines in his portrayal of writer Truman Capote's way of getting the IN COLD BLOOD story. Go see this movie.