On February 9, 10, 11, 2007 the ACT IV Productions theater group will present Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen’s play The Exonerated. The show will be held at the theater of the First Unitarian Church of Plainfield, 754 Park Avenue, Plainfield, NJ. Tickets are$15. For more information call 908-756-0750. The Exonerated dramatizes the true tales of six innocent death row survivors in their own words. In words you won’t forget. Since its first formal staging in 2002 in Los Angeles and then New York City; The Exonerated has been seen by over 500,000 people across the country.
The show gives a rare glimpse into an area of the death penalty debate often loss in discussions of crime and punishment, ethics and public safety, religion and politics. Understanding some truths and myths about the death penalty makes the experience of The Exonerated that much greater.
The Death Penalty in America
The first known execution in the territory now known as the United States of America was of Captain George Kendall, who was shot by a firing squad in Jamestown in December 1607 (other sources say sometime in 1608), accused of sowing discord and mutiny (some sources say he was also accused of spying against the British for Spain). The next known execution, also in the Colony of Virginia, was of Daniel Frank, put to death in 1622 for the crime of theft.
Race, Gender and Geography
From 1930, the first year for which statistics are readily available from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, to 1967, 3,859 persons were executed under civil (that is, nonmilitary) jurisdiction in the United States. During this period of nearly half a century, over half (54%) of those executed were black, 45 percent were white, and the remaining one percent were members of other racial. The vast majority of those executed were men; 32 women were executed from 1930 to 1967.
Three out of five executions during that period took place in the southern U.S. The state of Georgia had the highest number of executions during the period, totaling 366 — more than nine percent of the national total. Texas followed with 297 executions; New York with 329; California with 292; and North Carolina with 263. Most executions — 3,334 of 3,859 — were for the crime of murder; 455 prisoners (12%) — ninety percent of them black — were executed for rape; 70 prisoners were executed for other offenses.
The Supreme Court Ways In
Legal challenges to the death penalty culminated in a 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court decision Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 153 (1972), which struck down federal and state capital punishment laws permitting wide discretion in the application of the death penalty. Characterizing these laws as “arbitrary and capricious,” the majority ruled that they constituted cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the due process guarantees of the Fourteenth Amendment. Only two of the justices concurring in the decision (Justices Brennan and Marshall) declared capital punishment to be unconstitutional in all instances, however; other concurrences by Justices Douglas, Stewart, and White focused on the arbitrariness of the application of capital punishment, including the appearance of racial bias against black defendants. In all, nine separate opinions — five invalidating existing laws and four arguing for their retention — were written by the nine Supreme Court justices spelling out their different views on what constituted the “cruel and unusual punishment” prohibited by the Eighth Amendment.
More than 600 death row inmates who had been sentenced to death between 1967 and 1972 had their death sentences lifted as a result of Furman, but the numbers quickly began to build up again as states enacted revised legislation tailored to satisfy the Supreme Court’s objections to arbitrary imposition of death sentences.
Innocence and DNA
One argument against use of capital punishment stems from the possibility of executing the innocent. Some studies have suggested that people have been wrongly executed in the United States throughout the past century, but there is no way to really tell. What we do know is that almost 200 condemned inmates have been released since 1971 due in part to the work of organizations like The Innocence Project .
Public opinion has favored a tough-on-crime approach throughout the past two decades, and politicians on both sides have been apt to favor the death penalty in recent years. But the tide may be turning as a result of DNA testing, which has proved that U.S. courts make mistakes. Even President George W. Bush, a staunch supporter of the death penalty; while running for president in 2002 issued a stay in the case of Ricky McGinn. Mr. McGinn’s lawyer argued DNA testing could prove whether his client raped and killed his stepdaughter. Bush had overseen 131 executions as governor of Texas, prior to that stay
Stays of execution and post-trial DNA testing, however, can’t always help because DNA is not always available. And because the tests have pointed to numerous errors, even death-penalty advocates should be concerned. After all, testing is not always possible to ensure that innocent people are not condemned.
Life after Death Penalty
It is a great challenge for an inmate wrongly accused and sentenced to death to get their case reheard and ultimately overturned. The prospect of freedom however makes it worth it, but free do and be what? Imagine if you will, going into your room at age eighteen in 1978 and not coming out until 2006. Society would have changed in such a dramatic manner that you would be hard pressed to understand it; let along become a functional member of it. Sound drastic? Well, it is the case for many who spend long and short term stints on death row.
There is the stigma (not to mention record) attached to being an ex-con. Since the death penalty is a capitol punishment the crime itself (usually rape or murder) carries it own stigma. The fact that the released inmate was innocent often takes a back seat to the fact that they were convicted and on death row. Many who avoid the stigma are so traumatized from the experience of prison life; which can include dehumanization, isolation, physical brutality and sexual violation they find it difficult to mesh back into the social fabric with friends, family and community. Children grow up; parents die and time simply goes on.
Restitution and The Exonerated Fund
There are a growing number of lawsuits being filed across the country by defendants who were freed as a result of DNA testing after spending years in prison. Some have even been successful, like William Gregory, who was freed by DNA evidence after serving seven years in prison for a rape he didn’t commit, so far he has been paid $700,000 by the state of Kentucky. Mr. Gregory’s case, unfortunately, is not the norm.
There still exists a long-recognized legal principle that prosecutors and investigators should be immune from lawsuits as long as they act in accordance with the law when they prosecute someone precludes most cases from going forward. In Florida, for instance, a wrongfully accused death row inmate receives what every released prisoner receives: $100. They cannot sue for wrongful imprisonment, and the only mechanism for compensation is an act of the State Legislature, which is highly unlikely and which would take years.
However, The Exonerated Fund offers some relief. Since the play first opened, the writers, directors and producers have been dedicated to righting the wrongs in the cases of the individuals whose stories appear in the play. The six individuals not only share in the profits from the production but more importantly, they receive donations from individual audience members who have heard and been touched by their stories. After every performance, audience members are invited to give whatever they are moved to give as they make their way out of the theater. These donations are collected and deposited to a fund administered by The Culture Project (the plays original producer), which has been distributing contributions solely to the exonerated since the play opened in 2002).
If you cannot attend this or other performances of The Exonerated, please rent or purchase the DVD (CourtTV aired a film version in 2005 with Brian Dennehy, Susan Sarandon and Danny Glover). You may also make a direct contribution to The Exonerated Fund, c/o The Culture Project, 55 Mercer Street@ Broome, New York, NY 10013. The Culture project is a 401c3 organization.
Reference:
- University of Alaska Anchorage Justice Center
