This week, students and residents of Gainesville will be able to have a discussion about capital punishment.
On Wednesday, state Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda will be speaking about the death penalty in the lounge at the Catholic Student Center at St. Augustine Church on 1738 W University Ave.
While the death penalty might not be a huge topic of debate this election year, at least on the national level, it is an important issue that is often overlooked. This issue deals with a fundamental question: life or death?
To be upfront, the event on Wednesday is being hosted by Gainesville Citizens for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. Clearly, the views and opinions expressed will be biased toward one side of the issue.
However, we would still like to encourage supporters and opponents alike to attend the meeting. Perhaps you will hear a side of the story that is often left out of the debate.
To encourage those who are unsure about their stance on the issue to attend, here are some facts to keep in mind.
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, 1,290 people have been put to death by the justice system since 1976.
Capital punishment is legal in 34 states in the U.S., including Florida.
As of Jan. 1, there were 3,199 inmates on death row in the U.S. At the same time, Florida had 402 inmates on death row. Since 1976, 73 death row inmates have been executed in the state of Florida.
Why do some states still use capital punishment?
Some argue that it acts as a deterrent to violent criminals. However, when looking at statistics, there doesn’t seem to be any correlation.
Data from the Death Penalty Information Center shows that although 80 percent of executions are conducted in the South, it has the highest murder rate of all regions in the country.
Others argue that the death penalty hands justice to the most violent criminals among us.
However, this argument assumes that everyone sentenced to death is guilty. The DPIC also reported that, since 1973, “140 people in 26 states have been released from death row with evidence of their innocence.”
Florida accounts for 23 of the exonerated inmates — more than any other state. Clearly, something within our justice system isn’t working when 23 innocent people were sentenced to death in our state.
If 140 people have been exonerated since 1973, how many innocent people did the state put to death based on faulty evidence or poor eyewitness accounts?
While these statistics and data are certainly biased to one side of this issue, we encourage everyone, regardless of your beliefs, to find out more about capital punishment.
You can do this by attending the event this week or by doing your own research.
We hope you can do both.
