Emotions ran high Saturday at the Arizona Death Penalty Forum, as people on both sides of the capital punishment debate shared and discussed their views on the topic.
The forum, sponsored by a number of organizations including the Arizona Civil Liberties Union, the Coalition of Arizonans to Abolish the Death Penalty (CAADP) and the ASU School of Justice and Social Inquiry, was a channel in which people were able to express their ideas as well as listen to experts discuss the topic.
Arizona Supreme Court Judge Michael Ryan began the forum with a brief history of the death penalty, and a lecture on the actual process the justice system takes when trying a capital punishment case.
"I am not here to advocate one way or another, because of my position," Ryan said. "But I will talk about the impact of it on our state," Ryan said.
Ryan was appointed to the Arizona Supreme Court in 2002, and was a member of the Arizona Attorney General's Capital Case Commission from 2000 to 2002. He also chaired the Supreme Court's Capital Task Force, which was established in order to look at and inspect the issues in the process of capital cases in Maricopa County.
Ryan discussed the process of trying a case for capital punishment, the time it takes to do so as well as its cost. "Death penalty cases are the most complicated and often the most lengthy." Ryan said that on average they last about 18 years from the arraignment until the end.
Although Ryan could not advocate one side or the other, he did talk about his feelings when it comes to actually signing the death warrant. "The hardest part for me emotionally is signing the death warrant," he said.
One of the most controversial topics in regards to the death penalty is whether it is justified.
Eleanor Eisenberg, the former executive director of the ACLU from 1997 to 2005, and an abolitionist of the death penalty, said that the death penalty is no justification for the victims' rights. She said, "I like to call the criminal justice system the criminal vengeance system."
Eisenberg went on to say that she feels absolute compassion for the loved ones of victims but that they don't have the right to get vengeance.
Bill Montgomery, a panelist in support of the death penalty, said that the death penalty is an extremely important component of the justice system. Montgomery, has worked as a deputy Maricopa County attorney, he also represented victims of crime with the Arizona Voice for Crime Victims.
"Although closure will never happen for the families of victims, they can get some closure in the sense that a balance of justice in some degree has been restored," Montgomery said.
Montgomery also said that while some people that want to abolish the death penalty feel that the government is simply killing a person, he said that it is not killing but instead it is justifiable execution.
"We need to recognize the difference of taking an innocent life and the death penalty. The person that committed the crime needs to be responsible for their actions," he said.
Another panelist that opposes the death penalty, Rudy Gerber, said that although the cases that are up for the death penalty are heinous he can't see the justification.
"These horrible killings are the worst of the worst, but despite the cruelty of the crime, our justice system can't re-impose what the attacker did to the victim. It is contrary to civil society," Gerber said.
Gerber has served as a crime prosecutor in Maricopa County, and a as superior court judge. He said that he used to support the death penalty, but simply can't support it anymore.
The Special Assistant Deputy County Attorney Timothy La Sota said that he supports the death penalty and that he has engaged in many discussions and forums about the death penalty.
"The punishment should fit the crime, and for some heinous crimes, death is the only option," La Sota said.
La Sota talked about many cases where the death penalty came too late, after convicted murderers escaped from jail and killed again. He said that should be enough to support the death penalty.
"Dead people can't kill again," he said.
