|
March 1, International Death Penalty Abolition Day, marks
the anniversary of the date in 1847 in which the State of Michigan
officially became the first English-speaking territory in the
world to abolish capital punishment. It is a day to remember
the victims of violent crime and their survivors; it is a day to
remember those killed by state-sanctioned violence - guilty or not-
and their survivors; and it is a day for intensified education and
action for alternatives to the death penalty.
1828: Patrick Fitzpatrick was a Detroiter living
across the Detroit River at an inn in Sandwich (now known as
Windsor), Ontario, Canada. When the daughter of the innkeeper was
found raped and murdered, Fitzpatrick was arrested for the offense,
summarily declared guilty by the local Canadian government even
though the evidence was only circumstantial, and hung from the
gallows shortly thereafter.
1830: Stephen Simmons, a Detroit bartender with a
wicked temper which was exacerbated by drinking, came home from work
late one night (early one morning) after consuming large amounts of
alcohol, and engaged in a violent argument with his pregnant wife.
He began to beat her and in the process, killed her and their
infant-in-utero. Charged with murder, Simmons was sentenced to die
by hanging.
The Sheriff, however, convinced that Simmons had not really
intended to kill his wife but was too drunk to realize what he
was doing to her, resigned rather than carry out the death sentence.
A hurriedly appointed temporary Sheriff Woodworth, seeing this
situation as an excellent means to further his career, gleefully set
out to make this execution the gala event of the year.
Invitations were issued gratuitously, bleachers built, and the
community was caught up in a blood-thirsty roil. On the appointed
day, every inn and hotel was packed and masses of people jammed the
area, vying for the best seats to view the grisly scene and partake
of the carnival atmosphere. Accompanied by brass bands, local
officials and vendors hawking their wares, Stephen Simmons was
paraded along a circuitous route so that all could get a good
"last look" at the man to be hung on the gallows,
where now stands the Downtown Detroit Library.
As the condemned man stood quietly on the platform, the rope
already around his neck, Sheriff Woodworth magnanimously asked
him if he had any last words. Stone-cold sober and grievously
aware of the cost of his actions - the tragic death of his wife and
child - Simmons sang out in what history records as a rich baritone
voice:
|
|
Show pity, Lord, O Lord, forgive;
Let a repenting rebel live.
Are not Thy mercies full and free?
May not a sinner trust in Thee?
My crimes are great, but can't surpass
The power and glory of Thy grace.
Great God, Thy nature hath no bound,
So, let Thy pardoning love be found. |
The floor opened beneath and Stephen Simmons was hung 'till dead.
The stunned and horrified audience was deeply moved. A pall
was cast over the gathering. In somber silence they filed away,
disgusted with this version of "justice," feeling that
they were the ones who were ashamed. One witness called the execution
both "cruel and vindictive."
1835: Back in Sandwich (Windsor), Ontario, Canada,
Patrick Fitzpatrick's former roommate lay on his deathbed. Needing
to clear his conscience before departing this world, the man
confessed that it was he who had raped and killed the innkeeper's
daughter in 1828. In Detroit, Fitzpatrick's hometown, people
were enraged that an innocent man had been executed.
1847: Michigan had just become a State, and the first
official act of the legislature was to constitutionally abolish the
death penalty. The constitutional language was approved in the Spring
of 1846, and became official on March 1st, 1847.
They had learned their (history) lesson well. The
people of Michigan continue to hold forth to their noble heritage;
the current penalty for capital crimes is a mandatory life sentence
with no chance of parole. The sentence can only be commuted by the
governor. The very, very few, and none in recent years, life
sentences which have been commuted, occurred only after an average
of 29 years have been served.
There are many reasons to support alternatives to the
death penalty. Mistakes are one. Misapplication of
"justice" is another. No matter what one believes
about the concept of the death penalty, the way in which it is
practiced is morally, socially and economically bad public policy.
Learn more by contacting CUADP. |
