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corvwase · 8 years ago

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First College Essay from 2012

This is the first essay I wrote in college. My opinions since then have drastically changed. I’m not a liberal blindly following the crowd. As this was my first essay you can expect it to be quite bad. So there.

Today I challenged a man known by the name of Lars Larson.

You can either cringe at the name, or smile and wait for his debating to start. He is a talk show host, and a man in favor of the death penalty, or capital punishment. I am not. I challenged his remarks with respect, requesting that he read an essay I wrote on the corrupt system of the court, and how many have been convicted of wrongdoing when they were quite innocent. Thus, the real criminal runs scot-free. I asked him to take into account what I had written, and in a way, backed him into a corner; stating that either he could read it on-air, or not. If he didn't, he would be seen as afraid for his own opinion and such. Very interesting. He is well-known, famous, and one of the most listened to talk show hosts. We'll see how this turns out. But first, I will show what my in-class presentation/debate looked like.

In short, it looked like this. This is not a paper, it is just dialogue to depict what I stated in the beginning of the debate.

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My topic for Essay Four is capital punishment, or CP. My position: I do not support, or approve, of the death sentence. I could go on and on just like anyone else who doesn’t support CP, but I will just focus on two issues that I find with CP, and argue their points.

My two arguments are: False Eyewitness Testimony, and Inhumane Methods.

I’ll first say a couple of things about mistaken eyewitness testimony.

One, there is a natural phenomenon that occurs within the human brain called ‘change blindness’. Summed up, this basically means that an eyewitness to, say, murder, can be completely wrong in their case. And to think that an innocent human being can have their life snuffed out based on eyewitness testimony. There have been numerous cases where people were sentenced to fifty or more years in prison, or even the death sentence, based solely on eyewitness testimony.

In June of 2010, not two years ago, the British Psychological Society published a study, stating, “Change blindness can cause mistaken eyewitness identification.”

What were they researching?

They were studying the effects of change blindness and crime severity on eyewitness identification accuracy.

How was it done?

They performed a simulated criminal act and examined change blindness’ effect on subjects’ accuracy for identifying the perpetrator in a photo spread.

What did they find?

Well, that in itself is a little unnerving.

Subjects who viewed videos designed to induce change blindness were more likely to falsely identify the innocent actor relative to those who viewed control videos, meaning videos with no actor and the actual criminal actor.

Crime severity did not influence detection of change (change in actors portraying perpetrators); however, it did have an effect on eyewitness accuracy. Subjects who viewed a more severe crime ($500 theft) made fewer errors in perpetrator identification than those who viewed a less severe crime ($5).

You might be wondering what change blindness and unconscious transference really are. Unconscious transference occurs when an eyewitness mistakenly identifies a person as having committed a crime, but actually has encountered that person in a different context.

Example: Suspect seems familiar in a lineup because he/she was previously seen in a mug shot. That’s a bit scary.

Change blindness: a phenomenon that occurs when a person fails to detect large changes between one viewed scene and another.

Example: This is a study that happened for real. An experimenter asks a pedestrian for directions. Two people pass between them carrying a door. The first experimenter changes place with a second one and continues to talk to the pedestrian as if nothing unusual occurred, regardless of the fact that the second one looks completely different, is clothed differently, and is a different race. One half of the people failed to notice the change.

Another example: #1 approaches worker behind counter; asks to participate in study. After signing a paper and handing it back, #1 crouches down behind counter and #2 takes his place. Seventy-five percent of people failed to notice the change.

Although only 17 people detected a change in actors in the actor change groups (5% people exposed) more than 1/3 of subjects in these groups I.D. ed the second actor. This indicates unconscious transference. (change out is after crime is committed.) In a situation where a witness does not notice that an innocent person has replaced a perpetrator in a visual scene, he/she is likely to wrongly i.d. the innocent person.

95% of subjects experienced change blindness (almost everyone thought the second actor was the perpetrator, when he was an innocent).

The Center For Wrongful Convictions identified and analyzed the cases of 86 defendants (84 men, two women) who had been sentenced to death but legally exonerated.

Eyewitness testimony was the only evidence used against 33% of them. (38.4%).

Not cool.

Inhumane methods:

The electric chair, last used in 1976

The first person to be executed by the electric chair was William Kemmler in New York's Auburn Prison on August 6, 1890; the "state electrician" was Edwin F. Davis. The first 17-second passage of current through Kemmler caused unconsciousness, but failed to stop his heart and breathing. The attending physicians, Edward Charles Spitzka and Charles F. Macdonald, came forward to examine Kemmler. After confirming Kemmler was still alive, Spitzka reportedly called out, "Have the current turned on again, quick, no delay." The generator needed time to re-charge, however. In the second attempt, Kemmler was shocked with 2,000 volts. Blood vessels under the skin ruptured and bled, and the areas around the electrodes singed. The entire execution took about eight minutes. George Westinghouse later commented that "they would have done better using an axe,"[7] and a witnessing reporter claimed that it was "an awful spectacle, far worse than hanging."[8 ]

Pedro Medina was convicted of murder and grand larceny.

Blue and orange flames up to a foot long shot from the right side of Mr. Medina's head and flickered for 6 to 10 seconds, filling the execution chamber with smoke.

The most common now: lethal injection

On December 13, 2006, Angel Nieves Diaz was not executed successfully in Florida using a standard lethal injection dose. Diaz was 55 years old, and had been sentenced to death for murder. Diaz did not succumb to the lethal dose even after 35 minutes, necessitating a second dose of drugs to complete the execution. At first, a prison spokesman denied Diaz had suffered pain, and claimed the second dose was needed because Diaz had some sort of liver disease.[51] After performing an autopsy, the Medical Examiner, Dr. William Hamilton, stated that Diaz’s liver appeared normal, but that the needle had been pierced through Diaz’s vein into his flesh. The deadly chemicals had subsequently been injected into soft tissue, rather than into the vein.[52] Two days after the execution, then-Governor Jeb Bush suspended all executions in the state and appointed a commission “to consider the humanity and constitutionality of lethal injections.”[53] The ban was lifted by Governor Charlie Crist when he signed the death warrant for Mark Dean Schwab on July 18, 2007.[54] On November 1, 2007 the Florida Supreme Court unanimously upheld the state's lethal injection procedures.[55]

A study published in 2007 in the peer-reviewed journal PLoS Medicine suggested that "the conventional view of lethal injection leading to an invariably peaceful and painless death is questionable".[56]

The execution of Romell Broom was abandoned in Ohio on September 15, 2009, after prison officials failed to find a vein after 2 hours of trying on his arms, legs, hands and ankle. This has stirred up intense debate in the United States about lethal injection

That’s sick. Poor man.

I could go on. But I wont. There is too much to talk about and too little time.

I’d like you to make your own opinion, your own position, even if you have had one previously. Just rethink. Expand on what it really is. Do you believe torture should be legal? Well, here it is. I don’t think you would enjoy that. Some people are on death row for thirty years before they're executed. That’s a long time to think about your prolonged death sentence. In prison forever, then killed when you're old and tired.

Thank you .

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And so a couple of students had their views of the sentence do a 180-degree turn, and I was also met with an upset colleague. They fired a few accusations and questions, to which I fired back with equal vigor, answering and holding their accusations to the ground. I cannot say I did not enjoy it, but it gave me strength to debate in a respectful manner; to argue with appreciation for the other party, and to give capital sentencing a whole new aspect.

This text below is my essay that I wrote. I hope you enjoy. Or not.

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Jesse Maes

Matt Schumacher

WR 121

December 11th, 2012

The Reality of Misguided Trials, and the Victims of Capital Punishment

Your Eye Assists Murder

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His hands tremble madly, and his body writhes inside of his black and grey suit. Clean and proper, but knowing the inevitable. His eyes cloud with tears as he hears the dreaded words from the judge behind the big maple desk.

“The jury has reached the verdict. You are hereby sentenced to death by lethal injection at the Allan B. Polunsky Unit in Texas.”

He is led away by two officers, sobbing quietly.

This is what the end of a murder trial looks like in Texas. Many other states have a death penalty policy, as well. This man was just convicted of murder and rape, but the little evidence such as eyewitness testimony was enough to sentence him to death.

My position on capital punishment; I do not support, or approve, of the death sentence. I could go on and on just like anyone else who doesn’t support CP, but I will just focus on two issues that I find with CP, and argue their points.

My two arguments are false eyewitness testimony and inhumane methods.

I’ll first say a few things about mistaken eyewitness testimony.

In June of 2010, not two years ago, the British Psychological Society published a study, stating, “Change blindness can cause mistaken eyewitness identification.”

What were they researching?

They were studying the effects of change blindness and crime severity on eyewitness identification accuracy.

How was it done?

They performed a simulated criminal act and examined change blindness’ effect on subjects’ accuracy for identifying the perpetrator in a photo spread.

What did they find?

Well, that in itself is a little unnerving.

Example: Suspect seems familiar in a lineup because he/she was previously seen in a mug shot. That’s a bit scary.

Change blindness: a phenomenon that occurs when a person fails to detect large changes between one viewed scene and another.

Although only 17 people detected a change in actors in the actor change groups (5% people exposed) more than 1/3 of subjects in these groups I.D. ed the second actor. This indicates unconscious transference. (Change out is after crime is committed.) In a situation where a witness does not notice that an innocent person has replaced a perpetrator in a visual scene, he/she is likely to wrongly i.d. the innocent person.

95% of subjects experienced change blindness (almost everyone thought the second actor was the perpetrator, when he was an innocent).

The Center For Wrongful Convictions identified and analyzed the cases of 86 defendants (84 men, two women) who had been sentenced to death but legally exonerated.

Eyewitness testimony was the only evidence used against 33% of them. (38.4%).

If this particular evidence is all that is used to convict someone of a crime, and they are put on Death Row, then what’s the difference between that and outright stabbing them to death?

Change blindness is often used in pranks; to confuse a passerby, or startle a store manager. But when it comes down to reality, even for rape or lesser crimes, there should be no eyewitness testimony that is depended on. Sure, it can be taken into account, but it should not be the sole piece of evidence against them.

According to the Death Penalty Information Center, forty-five out of eighty-six executions were wrongfully caused by eyewitness testimony.

Capital punishment is absolutely wrong because it is extremely difficult to completely and one-hundred percent identify someone as a killer. Methods are unreliable, and even DNA has been shown to be a faulty way of testing. According to the Council For Responsible Genetics,

“Although generally quite reliable (particularly in comparison with other forms of evidence often used in criminal trials), DNA tests are not now and have never been infallible. Errors in DNA testing occur regularly. DNA evidence has caused false incriminations and false convictions, and will continue to do so. Although DNA tests incriminate the correct person in the great majority of cases, the risk of false incrimination is high enough to deserve serious consideration in debates about expansion of DNA databases. The risk of false incrimination is borne primarily by individuals whose profiles are included in government databases (and perhaps by their relatives). Because there are racial, ethnic and class disparities in the composition of databases, the risk of false incrimination will fall disproportionately on members of the included groups.”

Since deoxyribonucleic acid testing in trials can be faulty, why is it still responsible for the vast majority of criminal cases’ testing methods? This leaves a minute possibility for error in this specific field. Therefore, should there be room for a man to be convicted of a murder based on DNA testing? This means that, setting eyewitness and all other evidence types, a person could be executed for nothing, and the real criminal getting away scot-free. No human life is worth being ended because one simply thinks that they are guilty.

The number of executions since 1976 is 1,317. Over a thousand killed convicts. Many were the actual criminals, but there have been over 10 inmates on Death Row that have been wrongfully convicted---just in the last 22 years.

Inhumane methods:

The electric chair, last used in 1976

The first person to be executed by the electric chair was William Kemmler in New York's Auburn Prison on August 6, 1890; the "state electrician" was Edwin F. Davis. The first 17-second passage of current through Kemmler caused unconsciousness, but failed to stop his heart and breathing. The attending physicians, Edward Charles Spitzka and Charles F. Macdonald, came forward to examine Kemmler. After confirming Kemmler was still alive, Spitzka reportedly called out, "Have the current turned on again, quick, no delay." The generator needed time to re-charge, however. In the second attempt, Kemmler was shocked with 2,000 volts. Blood vessels under the skin ruptured and bled, and the areas around the electrodes singed. The entire execution took about eight minutes. George Westinghouse later commented that "they would have done better using an axe," and a witnessing reporter claimed that it was "an awful spectacle, far worse than hanging."

Pedro Medina was convicted of murder and grand larceny.

“Blue and orange flames up to a foot long shot from the right side of Mr. Medina's head and flickered for 6 to 10 seconds, filling the execution chamber with smoke.”

Jesse Joseph Tafero

“A particularly appalling instance of this took place on May 4th, 1990, in the case of Jesse Joseph Tafero in Florida. According to witnesses, when the executioner flipped the switch, flames and smoke came out of Tafero's head, which was covered by a mask and cap. Twelve-inch blue and orange flames sprouted from both sides of the mask. The power was stopped, and Tafero took several deep breaths. The superintendent ordered the executioner to halt the current, and then try it again. And again!

Apparently a synthetic sponge, soaked in brine, had been substituted for a natural one. This reduced the flow of electricity to as little as 100 volts, and ended up torturing the prisoner to death. According to the state prison medical director, Frank Kligo, who attended, it was "less than aesthetically attractive."

Another electrocution in Florida went seriously wrong in 1997 when Pedro Medina was executed on the 25th of March. Witnesses saw a blue and orange flame shoot 6-10 inches out of the helmet covering Medina's head. It burned for about 10 seconds, filling the chamber with acrid smoke and the smell of burning flesh.

An investigation by prison officials blamed the flare-up on a corroded brass screen used in the helmet.

Michael Morse and Jay Wiechart, both experienced in electric chair design and operation, blamed the malfunction on a dry sponge used in conjunction with a wet sponge in the helmet.

Electrocution was challenged through the Florida courts, by death row inmate Leo Jones as a "cruel and unusual" punishment, something which is banned under the American constitution.”

The most common now: lethal injection

“On December 13, 2006, Angel Nieves Diaz was not executed successfully in Florida using a standard lethal injection dose. Diaz was 55 years old, and had been sentenced to death for murder. Diaz did not succumb to the lethal dose even after 35 minutes, necessitating a second dose of drugs to complete the execution. At first, a prison spokesman denied Diaz had suffered pain, and claimed the second dose was needed because Diaz had some sort of liver disease. After performing an autopsy, the Medical Examiner, Dr. William Hamilton, stated that Diaz’s liver appeared normal, but that the needle had been pierced through Diaz’s vein into his flesh. The deadly chemicals had subsequently been injected into soft tissue, rather than into the vein. Two days after the execution, then-Governor Jeb Bush suspended all executions in the state and appointed a commission “to consider the humanity and constitutionality of lethal injections.” The ban was lifted by Governor Charlie Crist when he signed the death warrant for Mark Dean Schwab on July 18, 2007. On November 1, 2007 the Florida Supreme Court unanimously upheld the state's lethal injection procedures.

A study published in 2007 in the peer-reviewed journal PLoS Medicine suggested that "the conventional view of lethal injection leading to an invariably peaceful and painless death is questionable".

I could go on. But I won’t. There is too much to talk about and too little time.

I’d like you to make your own opinion, your own position, even if you have had one previously. Just rethink. Expand on what it really is. Do you believe torture should be legal? Well, here it is. I don’t think you would enjoy that. Some people are on death row for thirty years before they’re executed. That’s a long time to think about your prolonged death sentence. In prison forever, then killed when you’re old and tired.

I believe it is as wrong as the legal system can get. It should be no one’s decision to end another person’s life. That is not up to us; it is not for us to carry out.

SOURCES CITED:

Agora. "Stanford Journal of Legal Studies- Stanford Law School." 5 april 1999. agorastanford. 2012. 11 december 2012.

capital punishment uk. "The Electric Chair." unknown unknown unknown. capitalpunishmentuk. article. 11 december 2012.

DPIC Reporter. "Descriptions of Execution Methods." 13 november 2011. DPIC. document. 11 december 2012.

Northwestern Law Pritxker Legal Rsearch Center. Northwestern Law Pritxker Legal Rsearch Center. 23 august 2012. document. 11 january 2012.

Radelet, Prof. Michael L. "Some Examples Post Furman Botched Execution." 1 october 2010. DPIC. report. 11 december 2012.

Reporter, AmnestyUSA. "Death Penalty Facts." 1 january 2012. Amnesty USA. document. 11 december 2012.

Unknown. "Death Penalty Sites." 1 January 2012. Death Penalty Information Center. Document. 11 December 2012.

—. "Innoncence and the death penalty." 1 january 2012. DPIC. document. 11 december 2012.

wikipedia. "Capital Punishment." unknown Unknown 2012. Wikipedia. article. 11 december 2012.

Wikipedia. "Change Blindness." 19 march 2012. Wikipedia. 2012. 11 december 2012.

—. "Lethal Injection." 12 february 2012. Wikipedia. article. 11 december 2012.

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