Guest article by Victoria Thorpe
On June 5, at St. John’s Cathedral, five faiths were represented from a panel focusing on this specific question: Should Washington State abolish the death penalty?
This was a forum specially organized to address the issue from religious perspectives. Not all faiths could be represented in one panel, so as many as possible were invited to attend the conversation. Retired United Methodist Rev. Phyllis Todd gave an inclusive invocation to begin the evening.
The Rev. Todd Eklof (Unitarian Universalist of Spokane) served as moderator and began the evening by saying the discussion would be one of mutual respect and open to all viewpoints — both in regards to religious precepts and to opinions on the current condition of our capital punishment system. This evening was all about the tough questions of what do we really believe versus what do we really practice.
Instead of a concentration of facts and numbers, this audience heard Sister Mary Ann Farley of Sisters of the Holy Names tenderly share her childhood experience, “I grew up in a home with two parents who loved and respected each other and us (kids),” and then she verbally lead us into her neighborhood today, where she lives with many who are not as privileged to have a stable, loving environment in their formative years. Farley concentrated on the great disparity in convictions passed on those deprived, the poor, minorities, the abused, the misunderstood; those whom Jesus loved and directed his followers to love also, she said.
There was a murmur from the audience as Rabbi Michael Goldstein of Temple Beth Shalom clarified rabbinical law qualifications for imposing the death penalty, according to the Talmud. Among the list of stringent qualifications: There must be two unrelated eye-witnesses, interviewed in private. They must exactly corroborate with each other, and cannot benefit in any way from their testimony. They also would face the same sentence if they were found to be presenting false testimony. That would automatically eliminate hearsay, snitch testimony, plea bargains, outside pressure, and imagine how seriously a witness would take their accusation if they were also facing the death penalty? The rabbi told the audience the Talmud teaches, “A court who convicts and executes someone in, once in 50 years, will be known as a bloody court.”
Ultimately the discussion kept coming back to human dignity, compassion and looking into real solutions to a violent culture.
The third member of this panel, The Rev. Bill Ellis, of St. John’s took on what he called a new dimension to capital punishment; the premise the victim’s family deserves “closure.” He explained that this term evolved out of the need to distance one’s self from such crude motives as “the motive of getting even,” because “it sounds brutal,” replacing the old expressions of revenge and retribution.
Finally the soft spoken experience of Venerable Thubten Chodron, of Sravasti Abbey, presented the listeners with this question, “…first how do we prevent violence, then how to heal from violence.”She said that was the underlying question. The Buddhist nun has been involved in communications and teaching with prison residents for many years, in 2011, one of those men was executed: Don Wackerly in Oklahoma. She said his death had a profound effect on her, in losing someone to a planned killing. She did not attend the execution because she did not think she could have just sat through it — there is no outpour of emotion allowed during a State sanctioned killing. Chodron submitted, “the Buddha said that hatred is not solved with hatred, but only through love.” The Buddhist teaching is about releasing anger, pain and forgiving.
Another aspect Goldstein covered was exploring our moral obligation to those convicted of a capital crime. The Talmud instructs on upholding the dignity of the condemned, among other directives to the process is the instruction to avoid isolation, psychological distress and degradation; all of which are integral components to the process carried out throughout these United States. This tied in well with the story told by Farley about her personal “ah-ha!” moment on a playground as yard duty. She had yanked the ball out of the hands of a child whom had been doing just that repeatedly to the others, and instructed him not to grab the ball! It hit her as soon as the words left her mouth that, “anyone who has the power, authority or strength can impose their will — right or wrong.” The racial disparity of death row is obvious by the population, the sister noted, but is also supported by the facts exposing more severe punishment is imposed when white victims are involved and a person of color is the accused.
During the Q&A that followed Eklof expressed that he was perplexed by the lack of passion within the D.P. subject. Farley confessed that her getting to know family members of condemned was the catalyst to stir her heart more ardently on the cause and pointed out that most are so distanced from the subject. Chodron said her relationships with prison residents, based on reducing suffering, have taught her “if not but for my gifts in life — there could go I.” It was agreed that bringing humanity into the equation would come when the system stops deciding who is a monster, or evil, and looks at each person as a human being; filled with frailties and built from experiences.
The title Honoring Life: A Compassionate Discussion on the Death Penalty, ended up a prophetic one. It was an evening centered on human dignity and empathy for our neighbors. The faith leaders who personally delved into the question on this panel all agreed Washington State should end the death penalty. Ellis’ words encapsulated the consensus, “I want to live in a world where we do indeed take away the rights of people who abuse the rights of others, particularly in this most dramatic fashion — but I also want to live in a world where we refuse to take away their humanity…in a world that believes that breaking the cycle of violence is a shorter path to justice than perpetuating the cycle of violence.”
Just before dismissing the speakers, a shadow in the audience stood to implore, “Are we going to organize an abolition coalition?!” Ah, motivation was brewing!
The night was closed with these words:
May the efforts here be cleansed and blessed for good to all human beings,
may these conversations not only lead to understanding and compassion for death row residents, but also the families of victims, and here within our own community.
We pray for connections to grow today, and the inner desire for relationships that reach beyond differing faiths, cultures, social standings, and life styles.
let us each see we are all brothers and sisters of one family — the human tribe.
Oh Creator, restore us to our original state; one of pure love.
Peace be with us all.
Thorpe is a local author ([email protected]), human rights activist, fellowship of peace director.
