Jan 16 2006
Clarence Ray Allen’s Last Day of Life
Today is Clarence Ray Allen‘s 76th birthday. The Choctaw Indian is the oldest man on death row. He is wheelchair bound, nearly blind and is in need of open-heart surgery. While KPFK joined many other news outlets in focusing on the Samuel Alito hearing all last week, the news of Allen’s impending execution on Tuesday January 17th has gotten little coverage on our airwaves or others’.
As was expected, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has refused Allen’s clemency petition. Given his contempt for the incarcerated, no one expected him to grant clemency. Unlike the case of Stanley “Tookie” Williams, Schwarzenegger turned down the request for a clemency hearing which would have enabled Allen’s lawyers to explain why he should be spared.
The death penalty is a form of cruel and unusual punishment that most of the industrialized world has given up. Here in the US, it is consistent with the commonly stated values of vengeance that are spouted in main-stream discourse.
But there is a growing movement of Americans opposed to the death penalty that have won some victories, even as more men on death row continue to be murdered by the state. The victories include moratoriums in Illinois and Maryland. New Jersey is on its way to declaring a moratorium and even California is considering it.
Activists have pointed out in Tookie’s case as well as in Allen’s case, the rampant instances of racist behavior that contributed to the convictions of these two men. Many rallied behind Tookie’s innocence. Ultimately no one will know for sure whether Tookie was really guilty of the crimes for which he was convicted. But is that really the point where the death penalty is concerned?
The death penalty has been statistically shown to be a racist tool to eliminate people of color, particularly black and brown men. Whether the men are guilty or not of the crimes they were convicted of, the fact is that they are more likely to be put to death based on the color of their skin.
And then, even if the death penalty was someday fairly applied across race, is it still right? Given the large number of people exonerated through the use of legal tools like DNA evidence, it is mind-boggling how many innocent people could be on death row.
But even if we could somehow, miraculously know that 100% of all death row inmates were 100% guilty, is it still right?
“Execution” is a euphemism for murder. Murder is wrong. If you’re religious, it’s a sin. If you’re a police officer, it’s a crime. How can one “sin” be punished through another “sin” (unless of course the state is equated with “God”). How can one crime be punishable by another?
Activism Against the Death Penalty:
- Campaign to End the Death Penalty
- Death Penalty Focus
- Death Penalty Information Center
- National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
- Amnesty International Death Penalty Campaign
- Murder Victims’ Families for Reconciliation
Listen to Sonali’s Interview on Clarence Ray Allen’s case
One Response to “Clarence Ray Allen’s Last Day of Life”
No immigrant worker should settle for less than complete unconditional citizenship and the same rights as native born citizens (excluding the office of the presidency)!!! I was at City Hall when 500,000 people exercised the basic constitutional rights guaranteed to those under the rule of the constitution in the most admirable manner I have ever seen or heard of. I would suggest that any person who is the parent of citizens born in this country be granted unconditional permanent residency quickly as possible and citizenship when their oldest child is 21. No empire ever grew stronger by denying citizenship to the workers who came from other places to benefit from its culture, and add their voices to its harmony. The Senate Bill is to me criminal in the most basic way–it makes practices that have been common for many decades (albeit unenforced misdemeanors!) into felonies!!!!!! Furthermore, the practice of hiring a person or working for a person can hardly be seen as something that is wrong in itself. For “Big Brother” Uncle Sam to tend toward enslaving people at least as civilized as people who have been American citizens for many, many generations undermines any belief I have in the noises our rulers make about freedom and democracy. It was an almost perfect demonstration, a peaceable assembly of people to ask for responsible laws that are more in keeping with the spirit of the Constitution of the United States. Compare the sixties (the decade non pareil?!!?)–the civil rights demonstrations were in general bigger than the anti-war demonstrations–until the war got bigger. Slavery costumes itself in many disguises. It masquerades as religion, as science, and in the most loathsome manner as patriotism. How an American can feel like we should live with a “great fence agaist Mexico” is more then I can figure out. The denial of human rights is ugly, no matter how good the disguise. I first met Mexican immigrants and worked with them in a Michigan auto factory. There were very, very few people in that factory (with a force of 12000 workers) who would inform on an “alien.” I was one who would have had to see their space ship first. All I knew is that they were some young guys like me who happened to get a break and get into auto assembly–not the best of situations, but certainly (around 1969) much better than almost any other blue collar work. And what are these jobs that “Americans will not do,” that are mentioned by the highest in our government. I may hazard the guess that most of these jobs include illegal working conditions and unreasonably low pay. Is this our freedom!!! Do we use workers up like they were machines and get new ones??