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NAVIGATION
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A Short Reflection on Michigan's Lack of a Death Penalty for Convicted CriminalsBy Andrew Shirvell, Section News
This past Monday, December 17, 2007, New Jersey Democratic Governor Jon Corzine signed a bill abolishing the death penalty in his state. New Jersey now joins only 13 other states in outlawing the ultimate earthly punishment for convicted criminals.
If you haven't noticed, Michigan is one of those 13 other states. In fact, according to Deathpenaltyinfo.org, "In 1846, Michigan was the first English speaking government in the world to ban the death penalty. Since Michigan became a state in 1837, it has had no executions." Of course, over the years there have been various attempts in the State Legislature to bring the death penalty to Michigan, but all such efforts have thus far failed. The fact that the State of Michigan has had no history of state-sponsored criminal executions has contributed to a bi-partisan endeavor to keep the status quo. Former Governor John Engler - our last GOP governor - was a death penalty opponent: "I think Michigan made a wise decision 150 years ago," said the state's governor, John Engler, a Republican, referring to the state's abolition of the death penalty in 1846. "We're pretty proud of the fact that we don't have the death penalty." (New York Times, 9/22/00) See: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=168 I agree with Engler's assessment to a large extent. There are many arguments in support of the notion that the death penalty does not actually deter violent crime. However, I am not going to rehash those criminal justice-based arguments here. Rather, I would like to advance the argument that Michigan's lack of a death penalty for convicted criminals is actually a prudential policy judgment in line with authentic Catholic Social Teaching concerning the "life issues."
In his magnificent 1995 encyclical, Evangelium Vitae (which means "The Gospel of Life"), Pope John Paul II wrote that the death penalty should be utilized only in cases of absolute necessity:
"It is clear that. . .the nature and extent of the punishment must be carefully evaluated and decided upon, and ought not go to the extreme of executing the offender except in cases of absolute necessity: In other words, when it would not be possible otherwise to defend society. Today however, as a result of steady improvements in the organization of the penal system, such cases are very rare if not practically nonexistent." The Holy Father did not elaborate as to what types of cases would constitute "absolute necessity," which would thereby warrant the execution of the convicted criminal. Rather, John Paul's authentic teaching on this matter leaves the application of the death penalty as a matter of prudential judgment. As I explained in my October 18, 2007 RightMichigan.com column, despite what some (inauthentic) Catholics may want to believe, there is, in fact, a profound difference between moral issues that call for prudential judgments, such as the death penalty, and moral issues that call for NON-NEGOTIABLE positions, such as abortion: "[T]here are certain moral issues, such as abortion on demand, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, etc. that one is morally obliged to take a certain position on in the public arena because they concern INTRINSICALLY EVIL acts, and are, hence, NON-NEGOTIABLE. That is, under authoritative Catholic Social Teaching, one is morally obliged to ALWAYS oppose these intrinsically evil acts as a matter of public policy. "However, Catholic Social Teaching does permit one to take differing positions on issues that call for prudential judgments, and these issues often times do have moral implications." See: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/10/18/12846/375 From the excerpt that I have provided from Evangelium Vitae, it is obvious that John Paul does not indicate that executing convicted criminals involves an intrinsically evil act. In fact, the Holy Father acknowledges that the State has a right to apply the penalty of death in cases of absolute necessity. Therefore, it follows that one is not obligated to take a position that the death penalty must always be opposed. Yet, the death penalty should be applied sparingly, especially, as John Paul correctly points out, when modern society is capable of defending itself from dangerous convicted criminals by virtue of maximum security facilities and the like. In a way, Catholic Social Teaching mirrors federal constitutional law on the death penalty issue. It is well-established that the death penalty does not violate the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment and, thus, individual States are free to utilize this form of punishment if they so deem it necessary. Yet, States' application of the death penalty has continually come under scrutiny as there has been a continual debate over how, and under what circumstances, to utilize this ultimate punishment. For over 160 years, Michigan has made the prudential policy judgment that it can defend its citizens from dangerous convicted criminals without employing capital punishment. This is in line with authentic Catholic Social Teaching. However, it would also be in keeping with authentic Catholic Social Teaching if Michigan were to employ the death penalty under certain limited circumstances, if the State so made that prudential policy judgment in the future.
In conclusion, Michigan's general prohibition of the death penalty does contribute to the building-up of a real Culture of Life in this State. But such a culture will not be destroyed if Michigan were to one day enact capital punishment in limited circumstances because executing convicted criminals is not an intrinsically evil act, unlike the legal execution of innocent, unborn children via abortion. As a side note, I'm not into all this "Happy Holidays" nonsense. So, Merry CHRISTmas!!! About the author: Andrew Shirvell, Esq., is a pro-life citizen activist who writes a weekly column that is published every Thursday for RightMichigan.com in which he focuses upon Michigan pro-life issues. Shirvell attended Ave Maria School of Law - Ann Arbor, where he served as president of the school's Bioethics Society, from 2004-2005. He also served as president of Students for Life at the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, from 2000-2002.
A Short Reflection on Michigan's Lack of a Death Penalty for Convicted Criminals | 1 comment (1 topical, 0 hidden)
A Short Reflection on Michigan's Lack of a Death Penalty for Convicted Criminals | 1 comment (1 topical, 0 hidden)
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