Why I Think the Death Penalty is Wrong

by Jessica Landry-Gaters

NOTE: Inspired by Rev. Jesse Jackson and 12-year-old Laura Friend, who both committed acts of civil disobedience in Oklahoma this year as a statement of opposition to the death penalty, Jessica decided it was time for her to stand up for what she believed in. She was completely unknown to Oklahoma anti-death penalty activists until the day she convinced her mother Camille, who was as equally unknown, to take her to a civil disobedience action meeting. Jessica, at 13 years old, introduced all of us to the power of standing up for one's convictions by being arrested on March 24, 2001, for unlawful trespass. She has since spoken to numerous youth groups and organizations, including the ACLU of Oklahoma at its annual meeting, about why she opposes the death penalty and chose to commit an act of civil disobedience.

This is the paper that I wrote for the city attorney so I would not have to pay a fine or go to jail for crossing the line in March. I also did a web site. You can see it at: http://www.geocities.com/stopthekilling2001/moratorium.html Tomorrow is my court date but Kalia White, the city attorney, said that she would accept a 2-page paper plus 15 hours of community service instead of a fine. I did it because it had to be done. Jessica ========================= Why I Think the Death Penalty is WRONG "Oklahoma is the 20th century success story. No other state went from frontier to the modern era so quickly, or with such energy …Our legacy (is) of progress and hope. Each of us here, mothers and fathers, leaders and stakeholders, all will be judged by what we do to make this a better place." ~ Gov. Frank Keating, January 11, 1999 The reason I took action on March 24, 2001 and trespassed onto state property is that I feel that the death penalty is wrong. My religion says that killing is wrong: "Thou shalt not kill" (Genesis 20:13). There are several reasons why I feel this way: 1.The death penalty does not stop people from killing. The chart below shows that Oklahoma is #1 in death sentences in the USA, but we still have a lot of murder. If the death penalty is such a good way to stop people from killing, why does Oklahoma have so much murder? The Oklahoma Legislature passed the death penalty law in 1977. That same year the United Nations said, "The main objective to be pursued in the field of capital punishment is that of progressively restricting the number of offenses." This means that the purpose of the death penalty is to stop people from killing. But it doesn't work. The killing goes on. 2. The death penalty is not fair.

The death penalty is not applied fairly towards people of color and people who are poor and people who are gay and lesbians and people who have lifestyles that are unpopular. Poor people get the death penalty so much more than rich people because poor people cannot afford good lawyers, and also because poor people do not know somebody who will stand up for them and say they were just misunderstood and should get a lower sentence than the death penalty. This is not fair. Our Pledge of Allegiance says "One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." But this is not justice. This is not fairness. This is not right. 3. The death penalty is a mistake sometimes.

The business with Joyce Gilchrist and mistakes in the investigation of crimes and criminals tells us that mistakes happen and sometimes innocent people get put in jail and sometimes innocent people get killed by the state. With Timothy McVeigh he had the best lawyers and the most attention from the news people and every person in Oklahoma paid attention to his trial but still a mistake was made. If this can happen with a famous person who also had good lawyers, what do you think happens with poor people that nobody knows who do not have a good lawyer? 4. The death penalty is wrong and is against our religion.

In the past our forefathers may have thought that the death penalty was a good thing for our country and our state because the Old Testament said "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." But most Oklahomans today say they are Christians and Christ brought us a new law. "Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger. But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, "Let the one among you who is without sin throw a stone at her." (John 8:6-7). Jesus also said, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us" (Matthew 6:12). To me, this means that we should not have death penalties. We should forgive people. We should lock up people who commit murder and we can punish them, but if the state says killing is wrong, then why does the state kill people? Sometimes I wonder how the people who execute other people can sleep at night or even sit down and eat with their families. They are killers, too but nobody kills them. The state is sending the message that it is okay to kill, which it is NOT. I feel so strongly about what I did that if myself dying would stop all of this, then I would happily die. That is why I committed a crime on March 24, 2001, and crossed the line, to tell the people of Oklahoma that killing is WRONG. I want Oklahoma's legacy to be a legacy of peace, not of violence. STOP THE KILLING!!!! Moratorium NOW!

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