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Cynthia's Reviews > The Autobiography of an Execution
The Autobiography of an Execution
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I grew up in Texas and spent the majority of my adulthood there. Knowing this you might think I am for the death penalty and you would be wrong. The author is a death penalty attorney and law professor. He writes of many cases and references them and his family throughout the book. The main story of "Quaker" brought tears to my eyes. I have often wondered how "Christians" can play the part of God and put a person to death instead of just jailing them for life. I realize they refer to "an eye for an eye" from the Bible, but where does it say "kill someone because you think they are guilty?" The cost of appeals for a death row inmate is so much higher than to just imprison a person for life. And if you are rich and white, 99% of the time you won't end up on death row. (I know there are a few exceptions but how often do you hear of them being executed?) Basically in Texas, the judicial system is a sad joke for those of color and little financial means facing a murder charge. DNA does not always exonerate a person there. I personally know of a famous former oilman who got away with murder in Texas who lives in the same neighborhood as a good friend of mine. He is rich and white. He became a Christian after his former wife's daughter's death and used this to his advantage in court. Between that and his expensive attorney, he now lives in a nice house with a new wife scott free.If he had been darker skinned and poor,good luck to him with a state appointed attorney. Those guys are not always bad - but many are burned out and get little to nothing in pay, so why should they bother to adequately research a client's case? Anyway, if you are on the fence regarding the death penalty, this book should persuade you against it. If you are for it, this book will probably make you think you are right. And if you are against it, this book will just make you angrier and sadder about the state of Texas's judicial system. I am proud to be a Texan but I am ashamed about the executions that take place just off of the freeway on the drive to Houston from Dallas.
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April 22, 2011
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Cynthia
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Apr 22, 2011 06:27PM
Yes, why make it easy on those who do kill for no reason or terrible reasons to have a "painless" death? If they feel true guilt, I would think living with that pain would be much worse than having a planned death. And life in prison without parole should be just that. I don't want to be responsible for killing an innocent person, either.
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Added to my to read list. Not a fan of the death penalty since I read the Texas Monthly crime issue a few years ago.
You're right Robin, that influenced me, too.
The thing I don't get about Christians supporting "eye for an eye" is that Jesus himself spoke out against "eye for an eye," in his famous "turn the other cheek" story. His purpose was to try and change the retaliatory mentality into forgiveness. If you're a Christian, why wouldn't you follow Christ's example? As I'm sure you can tell, I don't support the death penalty, for the same reasons as you, Cynthia. It's disproportionately punitive against the economically disadvantaged. Aren't the poor the ones we're supposed to try and help, according to Jesus?
So many Christians are hypocrites. Especially the ones I grew up with in Texas. It's a do as I say, not as I do philosophy.
