Summary of Justice Matters Death Penalty Forum

Speakers: Terry Hess, board of directors for the Wisconsin Coalition Against the Death Penalty Fund, Inc., in opposition of the death penalty; John McAdams, Ph.D., associate professor at Marquette University in favor of the death penalty and Fr. John Celichowski, attorney and pastor of St. Martin de Porres Parish speaking from the Catholic perspective.

The Justice Matter forum held on the topic of the reinstatement of the death penalty in Wisconsin and the practice of the death penalty in general. It was an interesting debate. Seventy-five people attended the event. After Terry Hess asked the crowd who was in favor of the death penalty, who was not in favor and who was undecided, one person in the audience was in favor, most were not in favor and a few people raised their hands indicating that they were undecided.

Terry Hess was the first speaker and stands in opposition of the death penalty. Hess said he is a nurse practitioner and that neither he, nor anyone he is close with has been a victim of a violent crime. Hess joined the board of directors of the Wisconsin Coalition Against The Death Penalty, Inc., because he does not feel that killing someone because that person killed someone is the right or moral way to conduct a society.
Three years ago, Hess joined a program where he was assigned to communicate through letters and prison visits with an individual on death row. Hess began communicating with Charles Hood, an individual on death row in Texas who had shot and killed two people in 1989. Hess said whether Hood was guilty or innocent is not the point. Facts and figures in support or opposition to the death penalty are not the point.
Hess said that he believes that with death row, society views vicious murderers as less than humans and instead as animals. Hess does not believe vicious murderers should be seen as animals, but as humans who have done something awful.
Hess’ notion of society is the metaphor of a tree where everyone’s lives are interconnected and somewhat co-dependent. We are connected as part of the Earth and part of the universe. Hess said that when a person kills someone, it takes a chunk out of the root of the tree and if society in turn kills the murderer, another chunk of the tree is taken and society is not stronger, but weaker for it.

John McAdams said he believes that the death penalty actually deters murders and that we should not ask whether it is fair or unfair if someone should be killed. The death penalty to McAdams, who noted that the individuals on death row have convicted aggravated murders, is an appropriate punishment for the most vicious murders and it means that punishment is consistent with justice.
McAdams brought up a few points and arguments that anti-death penalty organizations make and focused his speech on disproving those points. The first thing McAdams said anti-death penalty organizations say is that the death penalty is prone to error. McAdams believes that the numbers that anti-death penalty organizations quote are inflated. For example the number of convicted felons who were on death row and dismissed from the punishment are made out to be people who were incorrectly convicted in the first place. McAdams said that in reality, many cases have been overturned by liberal judges who are in opposition of the death penalty.
Another point McAdams made was that death penalty opponents want the public to think of the death penalty as a complete separation from every other penalty. Many organizations and people opposed to the death penalty say that the death penalty is not fool proof and that there are people on death row who have been wrongly convicted. McAdams said there is a large number of people in prison who have been wrongly convicted and that the death penalty should not be viewed as a perfect system. The same with convicted individuals who are from a lower income class of society.
McAdams said that people opposed to the death penalty say that rich people and minorities are the majority of people on death row however McAdams argued that the same demographic is in the regular prison system.
McAdams said that life in prison without parole is not a sufficient punishment for the more vicious criminals in society because no one can say that a person will be in prison for life in good faith. There is a large chance that the criminal will be released from prison at some point, whether they have been determined to be someone who has been rehabilitated or they escape.
McAdams believes that the death penalty actually deters murders, not crime but murders. He had statements from researchers who are social scientists backing up this point. McAdams said that on the surface, this statement does not appear to be true because society does not compare data apples to apples. Texas has a large number of people on death row, but Texas also has a very high murder rate, McAdams said. We cannot assume an identical society or economic factors are the same when thinking about having the death penalty in Wisconsin and comparing Wisconsin to other, larger states with different demographics, he said.
McAdams closed his presentation saying that as long as there is the possibility of death and murder in society, the failure to use the death penalty is reckless endangerment to the rest of the population.

Fr. John Celichowski informed the audience of different statements the Catholic Church and those associated with it had made throughout the years, some of which neither supported the death penalty or were against it. Celichowski, however, said that his personal conviction was against it. Pope John Paul II called for the end of the death penalty, Celichowski said. He considered it cruel and unnecessary. Celichowski said the Old Testament and the teaching of Christ in the New Testament called us to protect life, practice mercy and reject vengeance. Celichowski sited other passages in The Bible that showed this attitude, including the story of Cain and Abel, where God does not kill Cain, but banishes him outside of the community after he murders his brother.
Celichowski felt there were many reasons to resist the death penalty, including that it is flawed and that it is unfairly applied in terms of race, place, and the cost of defense. Celichowski said that Catholics in the United States are reexamining what they think of the death penalty and that, currently, half support it and half oppose it. Celichowski said that people ages 18 to 29 are less likely to support the death penalty than people over the age of 30. Celichowski also said that people who attend mass weekly are less likely to support it.
Celichowski offered ways to tolerate the death penalty as it continues to be legal in other states. He suggested that we pray for the victims of crimes and the families of victims. He suggested individuals learn about the Catholic social teachings and criminal justice policies in the United States including the possibilities of racism within the system. Celichowski said we need to educate ourselves and our communities. And we need to advocate by contacting our public officials.
Celichowski said he does not believe that there is conclusive evidence that supports the theory that the death penalty deters crime, but there is substantial evidence that there are mistakes made in the system.