BPF | Why Fighting the Death Penalty is Still Critical

President Bush has declared victory in Iraq. Massive numbers of humans, animals and plants are dead; the seeds of hatred and bitterness toward the American government have been sown worldwide. President Bush has been equally victorious on the domestic front: On March 18 (24 hours before the start of the "shock and awe" campaign), Louis Jones, Jr. was executed by the federal government in Terra Haute, Indiana. He was an African-American Gulf War I veteran.

In the last issue of Turning Wheel I wrote about the Listening Project, in which Judith Stronach and I asked passers-by what the American flag meant to them. Many said it symbolized American ideals they would like to share with other countries, like Afghanistan. But many of the ex-military I interviewed spoke of their disillusionment with the vision of America that had motivated them to enlist in the first place. I was moved by their courageous break with the traditionally patriotic line, though many had yet to find a new perspective to replace their old views. Our most vivid discussions involved searching for peaceful alternatives to war and bombing.

Louis Jones, Jr. suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from his Gulf War traumas. He was the third man to be executed in the federal system since they reinstated federal executions in 2001. The first was Timothy McVeigh, who, like Jones, had served in the military. Trial transcripts mention that he had been seen as an "outstanding soldier … the top gun in his platoon. [Other soldiers] said they felt safe in the Persian Gulf when they were with him because he was such a good gunner and such a strong soldier." His honed skills yielded tragic consequences. Another former soldier who committed murder was Manny Babbitt, executed at San Quentin State Prison, California on March 7, 2000. After returning to the U.S. from Vietnam he ambushed and murdered an elderly grandmother -- in the combat style he had learned in Vietnam.

Buddhadharma teaches the law of cause and effect. If you sow "A", then you reap an "A" result. However, an event seldom has only one cause. It tends to have a complex set of "causes and conditions" that, in their turn, lead to complex results. The current American administration is not only engaging in a conflict that will lead to more wars; it is planting the seeds of violence in our children, and setting the stage for future executions of PTSD-suffering war veterans.

During the many execution vigils I have attended, I have thought: we are modeling to our kids that violence is the best response to conflict. We recruit young people into the military and train them to kill; then we honor them for it. However then we take their lives with a death sentence when they come back from war with PTSD and continue to commit murder.

Research shows strong associations between PTSD and violence, including murder. Clarence Darrow, the famous American lawyer, referred to this association in his 1924 closing arguments of the Leopold and Loeb case:

Since the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, we have fed 852 people into the jaws of our execution machines. They have been disproportionately people of color, poor, and working class. This national practice is continuing to create the conditions that lead to an endless cycle of violence in this country and others.

As we survey the domestic consequences of the violence we have spread abroad, let us continue our work to end the death penalty. We have to plan a wise and functional strategy toward this goal. Securing a moratorium on executions is a realistic first step. It has happened in Illinois; it can happen in California. It can also happen in Texas, Virginia, Oklahoma, Missouri, Florida, Georgia (in descending order of annual executions) and the other 25 states which continue to execute prisoners. I remind those of us, who in the last few months, have been so intensely focused on the war: Ending the death penalty is karmically connected to working for peace.

The BPF national Prison Project is working to strengthen and extend the network of chapters and members who are engaged in prison dharma work. If you'd like to connect with others doing this work, please email us at prisons@bpf.org.