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Why the death penalty is wrong : Story
of Charles Sullivan,who reluctantly witnessed an execution
Jim Pressman,
Gender Reporter, Abuja.
The first things that bowl you over as you meet this ex-catholic
priest with a new mission in prison reforms, is his incredible
humility and infectious camaraderie. In three minutes of
conversation, he gets on first name terms with you and treats
you like you have been friends since kindergarten days! This was
my experience at the 2011International Conference on Prison
Reforms, the 5th in the series, hosted in Abuja by
the NGO called CURE-NGERIA, with the quite apt theme:”from
Retribution to Restoration, Rehabilitation and Re Integration,”
February 22 – 24 at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, which gave
the hosts support...
Here is Sullivan’s story, in his own words (minimally edited),
and the reason he thinks that the Death Penalty is wrong:
Charles Sullivan (middle)
“The letter from Billy arrived January 2000. He wrote that he
did not want to ruin our Christmas and so the notice is late,
but that his execution date is set for January 21st.
For over 20 years, I had expected this letter. Billy G. Hughes
#557 had been on Texas death Row for 23 years, having arrived
there in 1977 when he was only 22.
“Over these years I had written numerous times and visited him a
few times. We were from the same city, Mobile, in Alabama, a
different state (from) Texas. In fact, my sister told me about
Billy after seeing one of his friends at work who was crying
over the news of his conviction.
“One of the reasons for this conviction in Texas for capital
murder was that he was because he did not have the community
resources that he might have had in Alabama. His trial lasted
only three days and his mother, who could not be present in the
courtroom because she was testifying, did not even know that he
could receive the death penalty.
“Another reason for this conviction was that he was tried for
killing a policeman. Billy was close to a nervous breakdown from
a failed marriage and drove from Alabama to Texas. He was parked
on the side of a highway on a rainy night, when two young Texas
police officers approached his car. When Billy drove away from
them, they riddled his car with bullets.
“One of the police officers died and Billy thought that one of
the officers might have accidentally shot the other. However,
Billy did have a gun and did fire back, once. But, the angle of
his shot could not have hit the policeman, since this occurred
as he sped away.
“For the next 23 years, Billy would relieve that evening in
court appeals. But, trying to undo a poor defence in original
trial was almost an impossible task. And yet, other judges knew
that a strong case could be made that Billy was not guilty and
these appeal judges would continually delay his execution.
“At the same time, Billy became a model of rehabilitation. He
became an artist that specialized in drawing horses. In growing
up, he had developed a love for them. Billy was also concerned
about their welfare, especially when the horses travelled. From
death row, he did research throughout the United States on
stables where they could be housed when their owners stayed in
nearby motels. Billy interspersed these listings with cartoons
that featured “Happy Horse.”
“Happy orse Horses
Horse” was really
Billy, a smiling, caring individual with a great sense of
humour. No one reading his horse hotel listings would ever know
that Billy was on death row waiting for his date to be executed.
When this date notice came as I mentioned earlier, he asked me
to be a witness. Hs father had just died and his mother was in
ill health. I knew I could not turn him down.
“Although CURE (Citizens Unite for Rehabilitation of Errants)
started in Texas, I had moved with my wife, Pauline, to
Washington, DC, to seek to expand CURE to a national
organization. This meant that I would have to fly back to Texas
to be a witness. When I arrived in Houston which was near
Huntsville, the city where the death chamber is located, I
was greeted by two religious brothers from Italy. I was amazed
to learn that this order had as one of its missions a ministry
to people who were on death row in Texas.
“For the next few days, I and the other witnesses had an
opportunity to visit ... Billy. As usual, he entertained us with
jokes including such things as what he should request for his
last meal and the execution gown he would have to wear. I have a
picture that shows him smiling on the very day he was executed.
Incredibly, I am smiling, too! [I can be aggressive in lobbying
for prison reform. He sent me (a) drawing which I treasure.]
“Billy could make you forget your troubles even in his impending
death! Also, Billy loved everyone, including the correctional
officers. On our last visit, when these young officers had to
bring him from the visiting room back to death row, they ‘broke
the rule’ by not handcuffing him. It was their way of saying how
much respect they had for Billy, how they trusted him and how
they would miss him.
“But, not everybody in law enforcement knew Billy. As we arrived
at the entrance of the prison to walk into the witness room of
the death chamber, you could see about 25 policemen in a vigil
in support of the execution. After that, my memory of the
execution is like blur (red). Tears streamed down our faces as
we heard Billy’s final words. And true to his character, he
ended his life with a humorous comment while smiling and trying
to wave to us. ‘If this is what life is about, I want a rebate.’
A “rebate” is a reduction from an amount to be paid and as I
look back, there are at least three reasons why Billy should
receive this rebate:
1.
There was a real question whether he actually shot the police
officer. But, the politics of who he was charged with shooting,
a police officer, overrode whether he was guilty or not. Also,
besides politics, he did not have the help he needed to prove
this in court. Billy could not afford a good attorney. And, in
Texas and in many areas of the world, you are guilty until
proven rich!
2.
Whether guilty or not, he became one of the most rehabilitated
people ever to be on death row. The prison officials recognized
this, but they were obliged to put him to death. We justifiably
think of the victims as the relatives of those murdered and
those
who are executed. What came through to me ten years ago is how
the ones who do the execution are also victims.
3.
Finally, Billy deserves a rebate in life because the odds that
he would be executed were almost impossible to contemplate. He
would be similar to the odds of winning the lottery where
millions have bought tickets.
In fact, since then even in Texas, there is much better legal
assistance given to people charged with capital offences. Also,
innocence in regard to persons already executed has caused major
newspapers in the state to editorialize in support of death
penalty abolition.
Thus, the death penalty in Texas and here in Africa is on its
way out. A country should ratify the Second Optional Protocol to
Convention on Civil and Political Rights. This not only
abolishes it, but locks the door so that it can never return.
Many arguments for this can be made and include the sacredness
of life and people can rehabilitate themselves as Billy did.
But, for even those who support the death penalty, the statement
made by Marquis de La Fayette, America’s revolutionary hero,
should be used. “I will believe in the death penalty when you
will prove to me the infallibility of human beings.”
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