How it works in Texas…
You can go read this article, or soak in the money quote below:
The inmate, Duane Edward Buck, is set to be executed by lethal injection on September 15 for murdering two people at the home of his ex-girlfriend in 1995.
The issue at hand isn't Buck's innocence, but the means by which his death sentence was obtained. Prosecutors firmly established Buck's guilt, but to secure a capital punishment conviction in Texas they needed to prove "future dangerousness"–that is, provide compelling evidence that Buck posed a serious threat to society if he were ever to walk free. They did so in part with the testimony of a psychologist, Dr. Walter Quijano, who testified that Buck's race (he's African American) made him more likely to commit crimes in the future.
There's no way this should not be seen as racism. But it's happening in Texas to a black man already in prison and already found guilty. So white sympathy is at an all time low for this guy. Despite Texas being a part of the Bible Belt, "Thou Shall Not Kill" has always been a little fuzzy in the eyes of the people who support the death penalty. But despite Perry killing more people than anyone else, his mass-murder streak has still not scared criminals into retirement.
Capital punishment has not now, nor has it ever worked, and the only reason to kill any prisoner is to appease our own petty needs for retribution. It does not bring back the victims, nor take away the suffering of those left behind. It's simply an ugly way to erase problems rather than look at them.
This prison system in America has been shown time and again to be racially biased in who is incarcerated and who is given another chance. This is another case where simply being black is good enough proof that an inmate is unworthy of mercy.
If you can use some justification to make killing other people okay, then the next question you should ask yourself is, "What really separate me from them?" You won't answer honestly, because the truth is, there's less difference between you and the criminals than you want to see in yourselves. So instead of admitting a truth that will make you uncomfortable, you erase and dehumanize the criminals. They must be some kind of subhuman to commit such heinous crimes. And surely then, not sparing any mercy is justified.
But it isn't. An act of revenge is still wrong even if it's become socially acceptable. It used to be socially acceptable for any white people to keep slaves. Now, to do it, you need to get a license as a private prison.
Does it upset you that I say slavery and racism are alive and well in America? Because I can back up what I say, and bring you new evidence every other day. And what I keep asking you is, "What are you going to do about it? Work to change it, or get pissy with me for always being negative?"
