RK ARCHIVE - Why the Commonwealth of Virginia Should NOT Execute Dexter Lee Vinson

On April 27th, the Commonwealth of Virginia is scheduled to execute Dexter Lee Vinson. Vinson was convicted in 1998 of murdering his ex-girlfriend, Angela Felton.

Many political pundits (Larry Sabato, +óGé¼+ôMudcat+óGé¼-¥ Saunders, and Lowell Feld) state that Tim Kaine should execute Dexter Vinson. I strongly disagree. Before any of you support this execution, I want you to think through a couple of questions.
1. Is it right to kill a man?

I do not believe it is right to kill a man. When the state kills a man, it is killing in our name. If it+óGé¼Gäós not right to kill, than why is it OK for the state to kill a man for us?

On Easter Christians celebrate Jesus+óGé¼Gäó resurrection. But when a man is executed, there is no resurrection, only the extension of the circle of death and suffering to another man+óGé¼Gäós family. Our society tells victims+óGé¼Gäó families that killing a murderer will bring them peace. By this we do them a disservice. Healing comes with justice and forgiveness, and justice comes a lot faster when the family does not have to wait for an execution. The cycle of violence must end, and ending the death penalty is a good place to start.

Virginia, like most other states, executes inmates using a three-drug lethal injection cocktail. Many inmates have asked the courts to examine the current lethal injection protocol, noting that many veterinarians consider the lethal injection protocol unfit to kill dogs, or cats, let alone a human being.

Lethal injection, as currently practiced, may mask the intense pain of the executed before their deaths. A district judge in California has required that the lethal injection be administered by a licensed practitioner to make sure that the injection is done correctly, but medical providers have refused to participate in executions on medical ethics grounds.

Cases on the current lethal injection protocol will likely go to the U.S. Supreme Court later this Spring to determine whether the current legal injection protocol is cruel and unusual, and therefore unconstitutional according to the Eighth Amendment. The Commonwealth should postpone any and all executions until the Supreme Court rules on the legality of lethal injection.

3. Is it right to kill a man when the alternative of life imprisonment without parole is less expensive, and just as effective?

Every state that has done a study on the cost of capital punishment has found that the death penalty costs much more than the alternative, which is life imprisonment without parole (LWOP). (www.deathpenaltyinfo.org; scroll down to +óGé¼+ôFinancial Facts about the Death Penalty+óGé¼-¥) This is due to the high costs of both a capital trial and appeals. In spite of the high costs of a capital trial, many innocent people are convicted and sent to death row. Since the reinstitution of the death penalty in 1976, 1016 people have been executed. However, to date 123 others have been convicted of a capital crime and later exonerated. This is a near 1-in-9 error rate, and doesn+óGé¼Gäót include others that were executed that were probably innocent. LWOP ensures that a dangerous criminal never leaves prison without the increased costs of the death penalty and the problems inherent in the current system.

4. Is it right to kill a man when he receives incompetent counsel and is the victim of prosecutorial misconduct?

During Vinson+óGé¼Gäós trial, one of his two defense attorneys was suing the other attorney for racial discrimination. At the time of the trial, his two attorneys weren+óGé¼Gäót even speaking to each other. Would you want to be defended by such attorneys? In addition, prosecutors do not dispute that they presented perjured testimony at the preliminary hearing and to the grand jury. A State witness gives Vinson an alibi. Doubts expressed by witnesses to police were never passed along to defense counsel or jurors. DNA evidence was collected but never tested, including semen from Ms. Felton+óGé¼Gäós body. Will Virginia allow a potentially innocent man to be executed without resolving this evidence of innocence?

5. Is it right to kill a man when the judicial system that sentences him to death is horribly flawed?

In May, Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty will release a report on the sorry state of Virginia+óGé¼Gäós death penalty system. Before declaring a moratorium on executions in Illinois, Gov. Ryan put together a commission to study the death penalty system in Illinois. This commission made 85 recommendations for reform to the Illinois death penalty system. In addition, the Commission stated that even these reforms would not guarantee that an innocent man would not be executed. The VADP report, written by the law firm of Dickstein Shapiro Morin & Oshinsky LLP, compares Virginia+óGé¼Gäós death penalty system to the reforms recommended by the Illinois Commission. Virginia only fully satisfies 13 of the 85 recommended reforms and completely fails to satisfy 48 out of 85 reforms, a clear majority. These reforms include common sense steps such as pursuing all reasonable lines of inquiry and requiring videotaping of interrogations. Given how flawed the capital punishment system is in Virginia, how do we know that we aren+óGé¼Gäót executing the innocent?

Over the course of our history, politicians have defended the indefensible just because the indefensible was currently popular with voters. Lest we not forget, segregation and preemptive war were once very popular with the voters of Virginia, and defended by our leaders. In both cases, change happened because people of faith and goodwill stood up against the failure of immoral policies. It is time for us to stand up against the killing of other human beings.

You can stop the execution of Dexter Lee Vinson. Tim Kaine does not want to execute him, or anyone else for that matter. He needs for you to write him and ask him to spare Vinson+óGé¼Gäós life, as well as the others on death row. You can call the governor at (804) 786-2211 or e-mail him at

You can also use the link below from the VA Catholic Conference to e-mail Tim Kaine.

If you want to get more involved in fighting the death penalty, please contribute to and join VADP (www.vadp.org). Together we can end the death penalty here in Virginia. Thank you.

Comments

I support the Death Penalty (DanG - 4/18/2006 5:17:32 PM)

If the man is guilty, I'm of the opinion he must face the punishment given to him by a jury of judge. It's not the job of the Governor to spare anybody unless there's sufficient evidence that questions the outcome of the jury's decision. The Governor doesn't make these decisions, juries do. There's a reason for that.

the Governor has the final word, and that's how it should be... (econlibVA - 4/18/2006 9:37:34 PM)

On death penalty cases, the Governor always has the last say, and that's how it should be. Governors have used this power differently in each state, ranging from George Bush's "kill 'em all" approach to George Ryan's moratorium. According to the law, all are legitimate.

The death penalty system in Virginia is considerably worse than that of Illinois, and Ryan did the right thing by commuting all death sentences there. There have been fewer commutations here because it is MUCH harder here to appeal sentences and Illinois has a lot of universities working to find the truth about capital cases.

The death penalty system here is rotten to the core, and needs to be repealed.

You trust one man to decide who lives and dies? (DanG - 4/19/2006 12:44:42 AM)

Tim Kaine is a great man, but he's not infallible. I don't think he can make the correct decision 100% of the time. I think that the jury system, multiple peoplem advised by a judge, is still the best thing we have. They sit through the trial, they hear the witnesses. If the jury makes the decision, it should be respected.

Of course, I will admit there are some exceptions to that rule. For example, I agree with Warner's pardon a few months ago. He was right, because true guilt had not been established. I have not read anything similar in this case.

I have very mixed feelings on the Death Penalty (Lowell - 4/18/2006 5:25:24 PM)

For heinous crimes and criminals like this, it's hard for me to oppose it. On the other hand, I know very well that the death penalty is not applied fairly if you're poor, a minority, etc. In fact, you have a much higher chance of being executed for the SAME EXACT CRIME if you're poor or black than if you're middle class white. That's wrong. Finally, I am troubled at giving the government power to execute people. My libertarian streak coming out, perhaps, but it makes me nervous, especially given all the mistakes that have been made.

In this case, however, there don't appear to have been any mistakes, the guy's evil, and I don't see why leaving him in jail the rest of his life accomplishes much either.

This is difficult (Ingrid - 4/18/2006 6:54:26 PM)

in a country like the United States. Just a little background about myself: I grew up in Suriname (not Guyana as some believe), South America, a former Dutch colony. The law overthere is still based on Dutch law, and society still imitates that of the Netherlands, except it's slighty more socially conservative. I was raised in a society where the poor, elderly, disabled, unemployed and underemployed were taken care of by the Government, because that was the responsibility of Government. Everyone had healthcare and practically free education, all the way through college. Crime, I learned, was often the result of economic circumstance. Often, not always. I still believe that in most cases, even in this country, this holds true. It amazes me that in a country like the U.S., where the majority of people are Christian, we allow people to be executed. I am not very religious, but in cases like this one, I ask myself "What would Jesus say about this?" I do not profess to know everything about this case, but because of my moral beliefs, I will send a message to Governor Tim Kaine tonight to ask him to spare Mr. Vinson's life.

what does killing Vinson accomplish? (econlibVA - 4/18/2006 10:02:15 PM)

There were VERY serious mistakes made in Vinson's case, ranging from the lack of testing most of the DNA evidence, to the perjured testimony used to arrest Vinson, to the incompetent lawyers that were suing each other at the same time they defended Vinson's life. If Vinson were defended by Ken Starr (or any other famous lawyer), the problems with this case would get more press and people would see the case differently.

I don't know whether Dexter Lee Vinson is innocent or guilty. I DO know that there were very serious mistakes made in his case that cast doubt on Vinson's guilt. Also, what does killing Vinson accomplish? Even if he is guilty, the public is safe with him behind bars for life without parole. Why extend the cycle of death and misery to his family?

Just a thought... (Mimi Schaeffer - 4/18/2006 11:14:49 PM)

I am one-hundred percent behind econlibVA and plan to forever more link to his site.

If killing is wrong when it's done by a murderer, why is okay for the state to kill?!?

Every Western nation has done away with capital punishment, save for good ol' Uncle Sam.

Thanks for this post, I was planning to write on the subject after news that yet another country has decided that killing for any excuse is just plan WRONG.

As for the economics, I don't give a frying fart whether it's cheaper to execute or not; a life should not hinge on economics; and for all you Bible-thumping Christians, please go back to the Good Book and read Matthews 18:21-22.

"Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, 'Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?'"

"Jesus answered, 'I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.'" (Matthews 18:21-22)

In other words, ALWAYS!

And yes, I've already written Gov. Tim Kaine.