(RNS) — Last week, America executed five people. We haven’t had that many executions in the U.S. in one week in over 20 years.
We also marked a terrible milestone during this recent execution spree — the United States carried out the 1,600th execution since the Supreme Court validated the death penalty as a legitimate form of punishment in 1976, after a four-year moratorium.
I’m almost 50 years old, born just as executions were resuming in America, yet in my lifetime most of the rest of the world has abolished the death penalty. When I was born, more than 100 countries used execution as a form of punishment; since then more than 100 countries have abolished it. The United States is one of the outliers, one of the few countries in the world that continues to execute. When it comes to the number of executions per country, the U.S. is always in the top 10, often in the top five, keeping company with China, Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Last week was a stark reminder of how messed up our criminal justice system is here in the U.S., especially when it comes to capital punishment. The execution spree began on Sept. 20, with South Carolina’s first execution in 13 years. Freddie Owens was killed hours after a witness admitted to lying during the trial. Legislators in South Carolina have been working hard to bring back the firing squad, but for now Owens was killed by lethal injection. Next up, we had a double execution on Sept. 24. Travis Mullis was killed in Texas after waiving his appeals, tragically committing “suicide by state.” Also that day, Missouri killed Marcellus Williams despite strong evidence of his innocence. DNA testing, though not available at the time of his trial, later concluded there was no match for Williams. That was only one of many travesties of justice in his case, including the removal of a potential Black juror from his “jury of peers.” It was enough to lead the county prosecutor (yes, a prosecutor!) to request the court vacate Williams’ conviction. Trial jurors and even the victim’s family did not support the execution, but Missouri killed him anyway.
Then the killing paused for a day.
On Thursday (Sept. 26), there was another double execution, one in Oklahoma and one in Alabama. In Oklahoma, Emmanuel Littlejohn had to be wheeled into his execution in a wheelchair, as his health was failing. It’s not unusual for a state to nurse someone back to health in order to kill them. What’s more, in Littlejohn’s case, it is quite clear he did not kill anyone but received a death penalty by proxy, in what is often called “the law of parties,” for being at the scene of the crime even though he did not kill anyone. The Oklahoma parole board voted for clemency for Littlejohn, but Gov. Kevin Stitt — who appointed many of the board members — defied the recommendation and the execution proceeded.
The final execution last week was in Alabama and was just as horrifying and sickening. Alan Miller survived his first execution attempt in 2022 when he was poked and prodded with lethal injection needles until the death warrant expired at midnight. In this second execution attempt, the state used nitrogen gas — an execution method veterinarians insist should not even be used on animals, let alone human beings. Miller died after gasping for air and pulling on the restraints as gas flowed for nearly 15 minutes, according to eyewitnesses.
The more you know about the death penalty, the more disturbed you become.
A new report released by the Death Penalty Policy Project reveals just how ineffective the death penalty is as a deterrent. The report found that states with the death penalty have higher rates of death by gun violence than states that have abolished the death penalty. Even states that still have the death penalty but are not actively executing have a lower rate of murder than states actively executing. Eighty percent of the high-profile mass shootings where 10 or more people were killed have taken place in states that have an active death penalty.
There is also ample evidence of wrongful convictions. For every eight executions carried out in America, there is one exoneration — that is, one person sentenced to death that has been able to prove their innocence (this number doesn’t even account for those who plea bargained or found another legal way to challenge their conviction). Imagine if, for every eight planes that took off, one of them crashed. We’d ground the planes.
It is clear that the death penalty is the direct descendant of racism and slavery. While Black people make up about 13% of the U.S. population, they represent 42% of those on death row. The states that held on to slavery the longest are the same states holding on to the death penalty. Where lynchings were happening 100 years ago is precisely where executions are happening today.
One more thing worth noting, something I found deeply disturbing as I did the research for my book “Executing Grace,” is that more than 90% of executions happen in the states with the largest number of Christian voters and legislators. The Bible Belt is the death belt. The death penalty would not stand a chance in America without the support of Christians, many of whom claim to be “pro-life.”
Here’s the good news. Americans want to see alternatives to the death penalty. The number of executions has been dropping nearly every year, and new death sentences are the lowest they have been in decades. There are only a handful of states that continue to carry out executions each year, and one state, Texas, accounts for nearly half of our country’s executions. Nearly every year or two, a new state abolishes the death penalty. And yet, it is clear the death penalty will not die without a fight. Just this year, the Democratic National Committee removed death penalty abolition from the official party platform, even as 65% of Democrats oppose capital punishment.
It is my hope that this recent spree of executions will cause all of us to renew our commitment to abolish the death penalty, once and for all. And for my fellow Christians, I hope we will play a role in the abolition of the death penalty. After all it was Jesus who said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” It was Jesus who interrupted an execution by saying, “Let the one who is without sin cast the first stone.” It is time to end the death penalty. And for some of us, let’s abolish it in the name of the executed and risen Savior.
(Shane Claiborne is an activist, author and co-director of Red Letter Christians. The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily represent those of RNS.)
