Vinay Harpalani: Leaving office in style

Earlier this month, during his final weekend in office, Gov. George Ryan of Illinois commuted the sentences of all 167 Illinois inmates on death row. Recognizing the inherent flaws in his state's capital punishment policy, Ryan's action was remarkable given that he helped craft Illinois' death penalty law 25 years ago. His change of heart shows that at times, even politicians may act on conscience when confronted with undeniable facts. And for me, the most extraordinary aspect of this case is way Ryan's opinion changed. The governor's problems with capital punishment started two years ago with the exoneration of 13 convicted death row inmates. Thanks to DNA testing and investigative work by students at Northwestern's law and journalism schools, these individuals were spared their lives, which they almost lost for crimes they did not commit. Ryan ordered an immediate moratorium on capital punishment and set forth an investigation of the entire system. What he found astonished him. There were cases where the evidence was very shaky -- apparently based on coerced confessions from defendants or illegitimate testimony from informants. Ryan even pardoned four death row inmates, stating he was convinced of their innocence. In fact, since 1973, 103 death row inmates have been exonerated in the United States. Even for those who were guilty, the Illinois death penalty was very arbitrary. Too often, defendants with financial resources could avoid the death penalty, while poorer people who committed the same crimes would wind up on death row. Moreover, Ryan noted the racial bias in capital punishment -- an issue that is often misrepresented because a greater percentage of white murderers are executed. But this is because white murderers tend to kill white victims. It is the victim's race, not that of the perpetrator, that is the greatest source of bias. The chance that a murderer will be sentenced to death for killing a white person is far greater than if he or she kills a black person. Since 1977, 82 percent of all U.S. executions have involved murderers of white victims, in spite of the fact that there have been virtually the same number of black and white victims overall. And the lowest chance of execution occurs when the perpetrator is white and the victim is black. While these facts are important, personal stories are also telling. My opposition to the death penalty began in my home state of Delaware, which executes more people per capita than any other state. This included Billy Bailey, who in 1996 was the last person hanged legally in the U.S. But even more significant to me was the case of William Flamer, executed in the same year. Flamer, who grew up with alcoholism in his family, killed two people during a drinking spree in 1979. He was undoubtedly guilty of this crime, but Flamer changed substantially during his years in prison. He received his high school diploma, completed college and became an ordained minister. Flamer was known for helping his fellow inmates in their rehabilitation, even as he spent his life in prison awaiting his death sentence. One cannot minimize his crime, but Flamer was serving society well and could have continued to do so. His case illustrates why our criminal justice system should focus more on rehabilitation rather than just punishment and deterrence. There is no evidence that capital punishment deters crime at all, and the execution of William Flamer probably did more harm than good in preventing him from helping other prisoners to avoid committing similar acts. The U.S. is one of few industrialized nations to use capital punishment. It ranks third behind China and Saudi Arabia in executions and is one of only four nations to execute juvenile offenders. All western European nations have outlawed capital punishment; most of Europe will not even extradite suspects who may face execution. Recent Supreme Court decisions have curbed capital punishment in the U.S., outlawing execution of the mentally-retarded and preventing judges from imposing the death penalty without the approval of a jury. My hope is that Ryan's action will spark a broader movement towards abolition of the death penalty, drawing upon the wishes of Amnesty International and other human rights groups. But the most remarkable aspect of the Illinois story was the fact that Northwestern Professors David Protess and Lawrence Marshall, along with their students, initiated this entire effort with their research and their quest for justice. It shows that a group of students, with some guidance, can directly make a difference. And it gives hope to Penn students who want to fight for social justice. Vinay Harpalani is a Ph.D. candidate in Education and a Master's candidate in Bioethics from Newark, Del.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.