wfn.org | Longtime death penalty opponent optimistic about change

["NewsDesk" <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

April 1, 2003 News media contact: Tim Tanton7 (615)742-54707 Nashville, Tenn.
10-71B{191}

NOTE: This report is a sidebar to UMNS story #189.

A UMNS Report
By Tom McAnally*

Harmon Wray, a longtime advocate for eliminating capital punishment in the
United States, is more hopeful than he has been for many years.

He gives several reasons for his optimism: 

7	The moratorium movement and a growing realization among citizens that
the system is not infallible.
7	The work and influence of Sister Helen Prejean, who wrote the book,
Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United
States, on which the 1995 movie "Dead Man Walking" was based.
7	Additional sentencing options for jurors, including life without
parole statutes.
7	Growing recognition that a disproportionate number of death row
inmates are poor, non-white, mentally ill or brain damaged, and charged with
killing white people. 
7	A growing number of family members of victims who are speaking out
against the death penalty. 

While Catholics are visibly working to stamp out capital punishment, Wray
says other church groups are not as aggressive. "Positive resolutions have
been passed by the United Methodist Church and other denominations, but that
doesn't mean much without action, " Wray said. "Church leaders are afraid to
confront the powers."

Until last year, Wray was director of a United Methodist Office of
Restorative Justice, based at Scarritt-Bennett Center in Nashville, Tenn. The
office was closed in a cost-cutting move by the church's Board of Global
Ministries. He is the author of Restorative Justice: Moving Beyond
Punishment, a popular study book produced for the 2002 annual United
Methodist Women mission studies. 

The 1995 Oklahoma City bombing was one of many events, along with the
terrorist attacks of 2001, that have prompted many to jump on the death
penalty bandwagon, Wray said. "I understand the feelings of family members of
victims and the concern for public safety, but (bomber) Timothy McVeigh was
possessed with a spirit of revenge, just as are the people who put him to
death."

The reason many people support capital punishment is simple, Wray said. "They
want revenge. People with this view are not evil people. They are concerned
about the victims of crime and public safety." He expressed concern that many
people, particularly jurors, support capital punishment out of a sense of
loyalty to the victim. "There is a false sense that some capital punishment
brings closure."

Wray also seeks to discount the idea that if criminals don't get the death
penalty they'll get out of prison in three or four years. "A recent study of
jurors showed that they think that if they hadn't given the death penalty,
the individual would have gotten out in five or six years, even when the
state law guaranteed life in prison without parole. People convicted of
first-degree murder aren't getting out early anymore." 

He is heartened by public opinion surveys that show support for the death
penalty has dipped slightly in recent years. He said one reason may be that
other options are available.

"If given more than one option, people change their opinion," he explained.
"If asked only if they are for or against, the majority would say yes. Asked
if they would execute juveniles, many would not say yes. More would likely be
against executing mentally retarded individuals. 

"Asked about alternative sentencing, such as requiring a convicted murderer
to serve 25 years before a parole hearing, many would change their minds," he
continued. "Even more would be against the death penalty if the convicted
person was required to work and provide money to the families of victims." 

#  #  #

* McAnally, retired director of United Methodist News Service, resides in
Nashville, Tenn.

*************************************
United Methodist News Service
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