This is why I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT THE DEATH PENALTY IS JUST:

 Damien Echols, 19 years old                                             Damien Echols, 30 years old

Damien Echols was convicted of the murders of three eight year old boys in 1994, and sentenced to death.  There has been no evidence found to directly link him to the crime, other than the testimonials of two people, who both recanted their testimonies claiming they were coerced by police investigators.  One of them, Vicki Hutchinson, said that  "the police had insinuated if she did not cooperate with them they would take away her child, and that she implicated Echols to avoid facing criminal charges, and to gain a reward for the discovery of the murders."

John Mark Byers, adoptive father of one of the eight year old victims, gave a knife to a camera man filming a documentary of the murder case.  The camera man discovered blood on the knife and turned it into the West Memphis police, who found that the blood matched both John Mark Byers' and his adopted son's blood type.

Bite marks were discovered on the victims.  Echols submitted imprints of his teeth, but a match was not made.  John Mark Byers had his teeth removed after the first trial, never offering a consistant reason for their removal.

In 2007, "a hair from Terry Hobbs, stepfather to Stevie Branch, one of the eight year old victims, was found tied into the knots used to bind the victims."   Pamela Hobbs, Stevie Branch's mother, "has come out in favor of a retrial and says she believes her ex-husband may have committed the crime."

John  Mark Byers also claims he now believes Damien Echols is innocent, and is in favor of further investigation and a retrial.




OTHER FACTS ABOUT THE DEATH PENALTY

It costs far more to execute a person than to keep him or her in prison for life.

States without the death penalty have much lower murder rates. The South accounts for 80% of US executions and has the highest regional murder rate.

One in twenty death row inmates is later found not guilty.

Newly-available DNA evidence has allowed the exoneration of more than one person per year since 1992 in the U.S., but DNA evidence is only available in a fraction of capital cases.


A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE

It seems that it is a pretty common Christian belief that the death penalty is just.  I didn't research statistics (although I should for curiosity's sake), but I figure it's common knowledge that a vast majority of Christians consider themselves conservatives (republicans), and another vast majority of republicans are for the death penalty.

However, as a follower of Jesus Christ, I do NOT believe he advocated the death penalty.  As a matter of fact, Jesus himself was executed UNJUSTLY, was he not?

In Jesus's day, adultery was punishable by death according to the Jewish law.  When an adultress was caught IN THE ACT and brought to Jesus, he told the people that only those without sin could cast the first stone.  He actually put a stop to a lawful execution!

Jesus, in his serman on the mount, said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist one who is evil. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also; if anyone would sue you and take your coat, let him have your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.” [Mt. 5:38-41]  According to biblical, historical scholars, the old testament "eye for an eye" principle was not meant to be taken literally.  It simply meant that the law was to provide equitable retaliation for an offended party, and is often interpretted to mean equivalent monetary compensation.  Scholars believe that Jesus was not critisizing the Jewish law, but he was calling his followers to seek forgiveness and love, even when they had a just claim to vengeance. 

Jesus also said, “You have heard that it was said to the men of old, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment.” [Mt. 5:21-f.]




........I just found out that DNA evidence was found that could set Damien Echols in the clear, so I thought I'd throw all that out there.  I can't imagine innocently living on death row for 13 years!  wow.  My mind just can't wrap around how people can think that in our corrupt society the death penalty is just.  OH, and also- the other boy who testified against Damian Echols had such a low IQ he was considered mentally retarded.  I researched several cases in which mentally retarded people were interrogated, and they confessed to comitting crimes they were later found to be innocent of.  I watched a video of a mentally retarded man who was convicted of murdering a woman when he was 16, and died by lethal injection when he was 35.  That was 19 years of our tax dollars paying for appeal after appeal.  It would have been cheaper for us (tax paying citizens) had he just spent the rest of his life in prison.