Spring 2001: Does Capital Punishment Have a Future? Transcripts Rick Halperin's Answers to Questions The views expressed in this document have not been approved by the House of Delegates or the Board of Governors of the American Bar Association, and accordingly, should not be construed as representing the policy of the American Bar Association, nor do they represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice or the ABA Standing Committee on Public Education. Dr. Rick Halperin has worked with various international, national, and state organizations to abolish the death penalty since1976. Dr. Halperin is administrator of Death Penalty News and Updates web page. He is currently President of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. Dr. Halperin is a member of the board of directors of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty and of the Capital Punishment Investigation and Education Services. He also serves on the Amnesty International USA Program to Abolish the Death Penalty National Advisory Committee. Dr. Halperin is a member of the History Department at Southern Methodist University since 1985, where he teaches both undergraduate and graduate classes in Human Rights, the Old South, and Racial and Constitutional History. [Read Dr. Halperin's bio.] [Note: Dr. Halperin was unable to participate in the scheduled summit Web chat due to technical difficulties; however, he did respond by e-mail to questions that participating summit students brainstormed in preparation for the Web chat. His answers follow.] Q. What is your position on the death penalty? A. I am unequivocally opposed to the usage of the death penalty anywhere in the world, against any individual(s) or group(s), for any reason whatsoever. There is absolutely NO circumstance which can ever justify the liquidation of a human being. Q. What is Amnesty International's position about the death penalty? For juveniles? For the mentally retarded? And why? A. Amnesty International is also unequivocally opposed to the usage of the death penalty anywhere in the world, against anyone (juveniles, mentally retarded, etc)...AI recognized the view that the death penalty is a human rights violation and can NEVER be justified for any reason(s). Q. What kinds of things do you do as the Amnesty International coordinator to Abolish the Death Penalty for Texas? A. I work with a wide variety of groups, both Amnesty student and local groups, and community groups, to help educate folks about the nature of capital punishment. We try to publicize this issue as often as we can; working with family members who have lost loved ones to homicide, or who have loved ones on death row. We work with legislators to try to enact restrictionist/abolitionist legislation. We work with the media, with lawyers, and with the international community, and with any other individuals and groups who have the abolition of the death penalty as part of their overall focus and agenda. As state coordinator, my responsibility is to lead the effort to prevent/abolish the violation of human rights in the specific form of the death penalty, in Texas. I also communicate with, provide information to, and facilitate the work of the death penalty program within Texas. I disseminate a great deal of death penalty news, and attend appropriate meetings to help further the work of abolition in this state and across the country. Q. What do people from other countries ask you about the US policy on the death penalty when you meet them? A. They mostly want to know WHY the USA in general and Texas in particular execute people, and HOW the system operates.....These are the 2 most frequently asked questions I hear. Q. Do other countries still execute people for treason? A. Yes...many countries which still execute people do so for the crime of treason. Q. Why do you think that the U.S. still has the death penalty even though its Western European counterparts and political allies have abolished it? A. The USA has a cultural love and acceptance of the usages of violence. And, the death penalty in the USA has ALWAYS been used against the have-nots of our society, namely, the poor, minorities, and people who have the least means (economic or otherwise) to help defend themselves. It has always been a norm for the near 400-years that this country has had and used the death penalty that we should rid society of persons who we can classify as less than human and who ultimately "deserve" to be killed. Europe, which suffered the ravages of 2 terrible and devastating world wars in the 20th century, has seen the futility of the death penalty as an answer to violent crime or political opposition. It is easier for Europeans to see the terrible dangers of giving the state the power to obliterate human life; Americans have traditionally lived in a sheltered country which has, for the most part, not experienced occupation or devastation from war. Q. What do you think it would take for the U.S. to abolish the death penalty? A. It will take a lot more education, and more experiences to continually show the flaws and shortcomings of capital punishment. As more and more innocent people are released from death rows in the USA, there will be a greater appeal to the conscience of people to ultimately demand a halt to this evil practice. Q. What do you feel is the most compelling argument against the death penalty? A. I think we should ask ourselves the following questions about the death penalty: "Is the BEST response that this country can offer for some violent felons execution? If yes, then WHY are hanging, gassing, shooting, electrocuting and chemically poisoning people the BEST answers that we as a nation should accept? why can't we be better than this? If execution is NOT the very BEST response to violent offenders, then WHY are doing it? In the year 2001, why do our political and judicial authorities and leaders demand the need to extermination as a solution? So I feel that the most compelling argument against the death penalty is one which stresses the moral arguments, and urges people and society to be better than they already are. The other arguments, such as non-deterrence, racial prejudice, exorbitant costs, etc., are also valid, but I think the moral argument is the most compelling. Continue reading>> Spring 2001 Summit Home | Learning Links & Readings Student Activities| Participants | Transcripts National Online Youth Summit Home