The Frontline episode "The Execution," portrayed the story Clifford Boggess as he waited on Death Row. Clifford Boggess admitted to committing the murder of two older men and is guilty of stealing their money. I do not think that Boggess should be executed solely because I do not believe in the death penalty, but I do think that Clifford Boggess should get a harsh punishment (life in jail). Boggess clearly committed the crime and it is clear that he does not feel remorse for his crimes. Every time Boggess was pictured he seemed to be putting up a front of humanistic behavior, but ultimately did not truly apologize or recognize his crimes with any emotion. He tried to convince others that he had changed during his time on death row through his conversion to Christianity and his new passion for art. However, I think that Boggess is still the same man who is just trying to appear different for the cameras. I do not think that his religious conversion was legitimate as he seemed to be quoting Bible passages without true knowledge of their meaning. He said that he believed the Bible stated that G-d had forgiven him for his sins, so I think that his search for absolution is a more reasonable explanation for his religious conversion. He wanted to pass off his crimes as not being a big deal, and used religion as an excuse to do so. The art was also just a distraction as he planned to use the money to have his body cremated. He was attempting to make a spectacle and a story out of his death. Even if his religious conversion and artistic aspirations represented true change, it does not alter the fact that Boggess was guilty so he should be punished.
However, the death penalty is not the answer. I personally am against purposefully taking another humans life when there are other options. Life in prison is a more reasonable punishment that serves the same purpose as the death penalty. Criminals are off the street and in confinement. Victims families should get the same satisfaction from this punishment as they might from the death penalty. Although, I do not think that the death penalty really brings closure. It just represents another death, but this death is now on the hands of the jury and the victim's families. We should not make these people bear that burden. The problems with the application of the death penalty were apparent in Leslie Gosch's experience. He was actually in the death chamber multiple times before he was eventually executed. Not only does this represent psychological cruelty as Gosch is forced to face death various times, but it reveals the inconsistencies with the application of the death penalty. Clearly, many could not agree on what was an appropriate sentence for Gosch who is legally blind. If minds are changed to the extent that Gosch is rescued from near death, then it is obvious that human minds cannot handle the strain of deciding on someones right to live or die.
Overall, this movie and these cases changed my understanding of the death penalty as they represented two sides of the situation. Boggess is guilty, but is it right for him to die? Gosch is legally blind and forced to face death multiple times, can humans really sentence other humans to death? I think that inherent problems with the death penalty's application (whether they are racial, monetary, etc) reveal that the death penalty should not be used as a punishment for crime.
