The United States of America has legally exterminated Kenneth Lee Boyd. He has become the 1,000th victim of a senseless and brutal system.
When we take the life of a condemned person, we do not deter violence. Rather, we create additional suffering through another act of violence. The family and friends of the executed are victimized by a system grounded in vengeance.
Several years ago, I was talking with a pastor from the St. Louis area. He had a son on death row. When his son was arrested, put on trial for his life and subsequently condemned, friends and family members distanced themselves. The father felt that people that he knew and loved were pointing fingers at him, accusing him of “raising a killer.” When he needed help, he was abandoned.
Recently, Indiana executed another human being. His sister maintained contact with the condemned man during his time on death row and was at his execution. After witnessing the state take her brother’s life, she was immediately told to get out of the witness room. She was then taken from the execution site in a prison van and dumped in a parking lot in the dark of night. This is the compassion of a system where the goal is death.
The mantra of officials who pursue execution is “dehumanize, demonize, kill.” It would be very difficult for most people to take the life of a fellow human being, simply because it’s a legal option. Through a variety of methods, prosecutors strip defendants of their humanity and turn them into living, breathing monsters. (A worn out phrase is “worst of the worst.”) Then they seek extermination of the beasts.
We have an option to the debasing violence of execution. It’s life in prison without possibility of parole.
Tom Broderick
Oak Park
