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As I’m about to board a plane to Alaska to join the celebrations of 62 years without the death penalty in that state, I hear that the federal government plans to restart executions later this year after a 16-year hiatus. The DOJ regresses as the rest of our country evolves.
For decades we have been gradually shutting down the machinery of death, until it is rarely used, a geographical freak practiced by outlier counties. And now here we have the federal government revving up the death machine.
The seemingly measured statement from the DOJ belies the fact that this is a rush to kill: they plan three executions in one week using a new, untested—and not yet approved—lethal injection protocol.
We know that the death penalty is deeply flawed, with a terrible history of racism in its implementation and an equally terrible history of errors, resulting in many innocents on death row. We know that it does not offer the healing balm to victims’ families that is promised.
It is disheartening that the administration has chosen to follow the death road, when the life road calls us to work for justice for all.
Admittedly, following the life road demands more from us. It demands that we spurn myth-based thinking; that we educate ourselves on issues, policies and practice; that we reflect deeply; and that we commit ourselves to justice built from the ground up.
And let’s think about this power we have placed in the hands of governments: the power to take the life of our fellow citizens. What confidence can we have that our governments can be trusted with such power?
