[Buddha-l] Re: Texas liberals (death penalty)

[Richard P. Hayes]

On Thu, 2005-06-30 at 10:01 -0700, Michael Paris wrote:

> So much for eyewitness testimony, not to mention reasonable doubt.

There have been two similar cases in Canada where people have served
decades of a life sentence only to be exonerated by DNA testing. Both
involved eye-witness testimony that later proved to have been quite
suspect. But not until DNA testing came along were the people
exonerated. Every now and then there is a brief movement to reinstate
the death penalty in Canada, and these cases of people being convicted
for what would be capital offenses and then found innocent play a big
role of preventing the death penalty from returning. Fortunately, in
Canada the criminal code is federal, so provinces cannot pass
legislation allowing capital punishment (much to the dismay of Alberta,
a province in which George W. Bush would probably be rejected as too
left wing for most people's tastes).

> Apparently the jury never considered why a highly-skilled and well-paid
> engineer would rob a fast-food place at lunch then go back to work? But
> never let logic stand in the way of getting a conviction.

The impression I had from my years of reading Amnesty International
reports, I thought a person had to be both black AND mentally retarded
to warrant the death penalty in Texas and FLorida. Being a minor was
also a plus, as I recall. (Warning to Stephen Hodge: that comment was
tinged with a hint of irony.)

As a subscriber to The Economist, I received a fascinating book of all
kinds of international statistics for the year 2004. One of my favorite
pastimes is to ask my class in reasoning and critical thinking where
they think the USA ranks in these categories: 1) total number of people
in prison, 2) percentage of the population who are victims of murder and
other violent crimes, and 3) percentage of the population who are
victims of theft. (Try it. The answers are at the end of this message.)

Ever wonder where the USA ranks in carrying out the death penalty? Here
is an excerpt from an Amnesty International page:

\begin{quote}
In 2004, 97 per cent of all known executions took place in China, Iran,
Viet Nam and the USA.

Based on public reports available, Amnesty International estimated that
at least 3,400 people were executed in China during the year, although
the true figures were believed to be much higher. In March 2004 a
delegate at the National People's Congress said that "nearly 10,000"
people are executed per year in China.

Iran executed at least 159 people, and Viet Nam at least 64. There were
59 executions in the USA, down from 65 in 2003.
\end{quote}

The entire page can be found at
http://web.amnesty.org/pages/deathpenalty-facts-eng

In terms of religion, of the four countries at the top of the list for
using the death penalty, two are Buddhist, one is (according to Dr
Ziobro) Christian, and one is Islamic.

Incidentally of the 65 people executed in the USA in 2003, the
Department of Justice reports that 24 were executed in Texas; 14 in
Oklahoma; 7 in North Carolina; 3 each in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and
Ohio; 2 each in Indiana, Missouri, and Virginia; and 1 each in Arkansas
and the Federal system. Of the 65 executed people 41 were white, 20 were
black, 3 were Hispanic (all white), and 1 was American Indian. All 65
were men. (From this I guess we can conclude that the death penalty is a
subtle form of gendercide being carried out by women against men, eh?)

And now here are the answers to quiz given above:

1) total number of people in prison: The USA ranks number one in the
world in total prison population. Here are the top five countries:

USA 	2,021,223 (out of total population of 285.9 megapeople)
China	1,428,126 (out of 1,285.0 M)
Russia	  919,330 (out of 144.t M)
India 	  281,380 (out of 1,025.1 M)
Brazil	  233,859 (out of 172.6 M)

2) percentage of the population who are victims of murder and other
violent crimes: the USA ranks 11th in the world. The top 10 are
Australia, Sweden, Swaziland, South Africa, Belgium, Namibia, Ghana, New
Zealand, Botswana and Jamaica.

3) percentage of the population who are victims of theft: the USA ranks
10th after Sweden, New Zealand, Australia, United Kingdom, Netherlands,
Norway, Belgium, France and Germany.

For what it's worth, not a single country in which Buddhism or Islam is
a major religion ranks in the top 20 in serious assault or theft per
capita. The only Buddhist country in the top 21 for total number of
prisoners is Thailand, which ranks 6th in the world.

There is one Buddhist country in the top 20 countries in the amount of
dollars spent on alcoholic drinks per capita: Japan ranks 20th ($173 per
person per year). By way of comparison, the USA ranks 9th at $283.10
pers person per year, and Ireland ranks first at $1,335.50 and the UK
second at $901.80. (Most of the countries between the UK and the USA on
this scale are Scandinavian countries. I guess when Swedes not are busy
beating each other up and stealing from one another, they're busy
getting drunk.)

As I'm sure you all know, the first country to abolish the death penalty
was Venezuela in 1863. It is hoped that the USA will follow suit by 2063
and that citizens of the USA will then deserve--along with citizens of
Venezuela, Argentina, Mexico and Canada--to call themselves Americans.

-- 
Richard Hayes
http://www.unm.edu/~rhayes