Time to end the death penalty’s cycle of violence



BY RONALD CARLSON
Special to the Star-Telegram
June 13, 1983, and Feb. 3, 1998, are two days that will forever be 
etched in my memory.

On that fateful day in June, I lost my dear sister, Deborah Thornton, 
senselessly murdered along with her friend Jerry Lynn Dean.

Fifteen years later, I witnessed another senseless act of violence: 
the execution of Karla Faye Tucker, the woman condemned for the crime.

Before I lost my sister, I had no opinion on the death penalty. But 
Deborah’s tragic death made the question of capital punishment a 
painfully personal one. When I learned of the murder of my only 
sibling, who had helped raise me after our mother died, I was filled 
with hatred. I would have killed those responsible with my own hands 
if given the opportunity.

But when I learned that those responsible — Karla Faye and her friend 
Daniel Garrett — were in fact facing death sentences, I was uncertain 
that justice was being served.

I’ve since had 25 years — almost half my life — to examine the 
subject, and the conclusion I’ve come to is a clear one: We as a 
society should not be involved in the practice of killing people.

Wanting to see those who killed your loved ones suffer the same fate 
is understandable — no one can sit in judgment of those who have 
faced such loss — but our justice system should not be dictated by 
vengeance. As a society, shouldn’t we be more civilized than the 
murderers we condemn?

Finding faith is what led me to this conviction and helped me 
confront my pain and anger.

Turning to God enabled me to realize that, while lashing out might 
satisfy our instinctual desire for revenge, we as a society must 
strive not to indulge those desires. Jesus preached the need to love 
one another and the sanctity of life — all life, no exceptions, no 
asterisks to the rule.

What could be a more egregious violation of his teachings than the 
state executing its own citizens in retribution?

The death penalty does nothing more than continue the cycle of 
violence that is corroding our society.

I have stood more than one time with Death Row families as they 
prepared to watch their loved ones head to the execution chamber. The 
pain that they feel is no different from the pain that I felt for my 
sister. When we engage in the practice of capital punishment, we 
force more people to suffer through the tragic loss I had to endure. 
We simply create more victims — victims of the very criminal justice 
system meant to protect us.

The broken nature of this system makes the practice of capital 
punishment all the more unconscionable. From inadequate counsel to 
the staggering number of wrongful convictions, it is morally 
deplorable to continue with the death penalty while these problems 
persist. Daniel died in prison before his execution could be carried 
out, but I was present at the execution of Karla Faye as a witness on 
her behalf. It was one of the most highly publicized executions in 
Texas history.

Karla Faye’s religious conversion while on Death Row had led many, 
including Pope John Paul II, to express support for clemency, but it 
was to no avail. Watching the execution left me with horror and 
emptiness, confirming what I had already come to realize: Capital 
punishment only continues the violence that has a powerful, corrosive 
effect on society.

While many advocated sparing Karla Faye’s life because of her 
redemption story, I consider myself an advocate for all life — and an 
opponent of all killing, whether it be the murder of innocent victims 
or the execution of the condemned.

As I watched Karla Faye die, all I could think was this: I can’t see 
Jesus pulling the switch.

Ronald Carlson lives in Houston and is an advocate against the death 
penalty.

http://www.star-telegram.com/245/story/802181.html