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Dylan Brock

Ms. Oberg

English 11

10/10/16

The Voice of Anguish: Why Families of Victims of Capital Crime should Effect Rulings

Capital Crime is when the courts have decided a crime has crossed a defined

line that is found in US Title 18, which describes certain crimes and actions that an

individual can commit and be possibly sentenced to the death. Now, there is a lot of

controversy about the death penalty and its many issues, however the focus of this

paper is whether the families of victims of capital crime should impact rulings or

that they shouldnt be taken into account when deciding this major punishment.

Both sides have some convincing arguments however the claim fighting for families

is more powerful and convincing due to its many points and ideas it brings up.

Some of the major points that win the argument for this ideal is as follows: the

death penalty will be sentenced less due to families having to act as executioner to

a point, an amendment states that condition of the family can be already be used to

impact rulings on capital crime and it allows the family to have a feeling of impact

and justice after affecting a ruling.

You stand in a room, with a hospital bed in the middle of it with straps and

various instruments to restrict movement covering the bed and a cart covered in

needles of various sizes and bags of chemicals, waiting to be use, off to side of the

bed. There is only one door to enter and exit the room, which a man in prison garb

enters through with various individuals ranging from guards, men in lab coats and
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man with in formal wear, with a pin stating warden, resting on the right side of his

chest. They strap the man on the bed and the men in lab coats begin to put needles

with various concoctions of chemicals into man. This is the scene that an individual

has the opportunity see as member of a family who had a victim of capital crime.

Now this sounds like a very proper and well thought process, however this process

of the lethal injection is far from it, as described from David Von Drehle opinion and

thoughts about the death penalty: rooms full of witnesses shifting miserably in

their seats as unconscious men writhe and snort and gasp while strapped to

gurneys (Von Drehle). We have had the death penalty painted as effective, cruel

less method of punishment, however it far from it for the individual that is physically

experiencing it and the those who watch this cruel and savage punishment.

Everyone that is anti-death penalty almost argue that the death penalty is

inhumane for those sentenced to this crushing punishment, however almost no

argues that it is also wrong for those who watch the executions. Now, how does this

connect to the idea that families of victims of capital crime should impact the

ruling? Well, imagine what the family is thinking about when they are participating

in the sentencing of the accused. They will be thinking of the suffering of their son,

daughter, father, mother, etc which was caused by a cruel and savage act of

hatred and will realize that enough suffering has occurred already, which Austin D.

Sarat brings up in his argument on this topic, The desire to experience a direct,

immediate, passionate connection to the suffering of the criminal fuels the victims'

rights movement. Only when victims become agents in the suffering of the people

responsible for their own suffering is a kind of social equilibrium reached (Sarat).

Sarat brings up the idea that if allow the family of the victim play a role in the

punishment of the accused will bring more logical sentences and less sentences
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that end in the scenario that was described early, with a room full of grieving

individuals having to watch inhuman acts.