Recently, in Texas, one of the infamous 7, who broke out of prison and killed a police officer was sentenced to death by injection. During the penalty phase of his trial it was revealed that he had as many as 18 felony convictions and was serving 6 life sentences when he escaped from prison. Where do you stand on the death penalty in general and on this case specifically?

Blessings,

Pastor Paris

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2001

Answers

Dear Rev. Paris,

In Virginia, Donald McEachin is making history by becoming the first African-American to run for state attorney general in Virginia. Might I remind you that another Virginian, L. Douglas Wilder was the first African-American in the U.S. elected as a Lt.Gov and Governor respectively. As much as I want to vote for my democratic candidate and especially under these circumstances, I find myself struggling to do so. As I understand it, he wants to abolish the death penalty. I am also against the death penalty and would never serve on a jury if it was being considered. However, if we remove the death penalty, the criminal element will be encouraged to murder. I think that we need to keep it as a reminder of just how precious human life is to society. Instead of abolishing it, there should be more rigorous requirements for its implementation. However, on the other hand, studies have shown that race, geographic area, and income are closely related to who gets the death penalty.

JazzMan

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2001

Very insightful answer. It is a sticky problem.

Blessings, Pastor Paris

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2001

Reverend Paris,

The DEATH PENALTY is what Texas BELIEVES in. Texas law allows individuals to "shoot to kill" if anyone is caught on the LAWN in an atempt to commit a crime. (That must make life hard for repossesion and recovery agents.) With that in mind, I'm sure you understand that taking a felon's life for capital murder is probably considered par for the course.

Sincerely,

-- Anonymous, September 01, 2001

Rev Stocker, What is your opinion on the case I presented? This man was serving 18 life sentences when he escaped with 6 others and gunned down this police office who caught them in the act of robbing an Oshmans store stealing guns. What would you do with him?

I also abhor the death penalty. It has been very close to my family also. But my problem is what to do with persons such as the one described above. You can check the facts by going to the web sites of the Dallas Morning News since the trial compled this week in Dallas.

By the way, you have to let the person enter your house in Texas and even then you may not be justified in using deadly force. If someone was breaking into your house while you were there, where would you suggest I shoot him in order to protect you?

Blessings,

Pastor Paris

-- Anonymous, September 01, 2001

Reverend Paris,

Usually, I am an opponent of the death penalty for "everyman's death diminishes me." However, in this case, this man probably needed to have been put to death and probably should have been put to death much earlier, because he broke out of prison and KILLED again. And this happens very often. We try to prevent imposing the death penalty on someone who has murdered and is a threat to society and end up imposing it on some INNOCENT sales clerk, farmer, or in this case a police officer who was just doing his job. We had a case similar to this in Arkansas, a young man killed a 19 year old BLACK coed one Sunday afternoon and he got a prison term. He broke out of prison and robbed and killed a WHITE farmer and then the courts decided that he should get the death penalty. The race factor and the insignificance attached to the coed's life because of her race prevented the courts from imposing the penalty to begin with. Her family couldn't get the satisfaction of knowing that her death had been vindicated. The truth is these courts impose the death penalty upon whomever they wish to impose it upon.

States spend a lot of taxpayer's money housing, feeding, clothing, medicating, recreating, educating and litigating for hardened criminals who don't value their lives or anybody else's lives. Very little rehabilitation goes on in the prison systems, and personally, I don't believe the prison systems would rehabilitate anyone if they could. Prison systems are big @*&^%$! business in America today. Some communities get excited when a new PRISON is being built because there will be more jobs to keep the prisoners that society, the public schools and churches have cheated or neglected to begin with. People don't raise their own children but want to work in the prison systems, churches don't have outreach ministries to address the needs of society but want the fat paychecks or the board positions that prison systems offer, and state and federal governments don't try to do anything to PREVENT problems before they begin by imposing early interventions such as mandatory parenting classes for welfare recipients or closer evaluation of foster parents (many of whom, by the way, add to the emotional problems many children already have by abusing them because they get paid to keep them, and they want the money more than the children.)

There are more African American males in prison than any other race and nobody seems to care why. In Arkansas, criminals get three charges and they're in for life. That is a lot of money to spend on somebody who steals or sells drugs for a living. The prison system is the pot and black men are the meat in that pot.

Personally, Reverend Paris, I would like to see more Black male oriented groups such as 100 Men who would employ their skills and wealth of experience to gain our children before they become deliquents and end up in the prison systems. Children from single parent homes need guidance and role models. I would like for citizens and elected officials to legislate parenting education for at-risk parents and follow them through the course of the child's life from birth to age 18 or 21. If this country cared about its youth they would do exactly that. The home is the primary place of influence.

As far as your other question, how should you handle an attempt on someone's life. I think the best thing to do would be to do work within the state's guidelines. If they have to be inside the house, make sure they are inside the house. Personally, I value my own life, so I would be prepared to defend myself by whatever means necessary. Usually, however, I pile up several prayers and plead the blood of Jesus around everything before I undertake to do anything.

By the way, what remedies do you think the state of Texas should have taken to deal with this man in the wake of his 18 life sentences, prison escape and obvious lack of rehabilitation?

And how was your family affected by the death penalty, and was the penalty justified in the eyes of the court?

I am sorry I didn't check this earlier.

Sincerely,

-- Anonymous, September 05, 2001

Correction: His 6 life sentences, escape from prison and obvious lack of rehabilitation.

-- Anonymous, September 05, 2001