[EDITOR'S NOTE: This story is a fictional account intended to illustrate the author's feelings about the controversial subject of capital punishment. While the case described therein is based in fact, the names and location have been changed. The author is not an attorney.]
It was around 10am when I arrived at the Fort Bend County Courthouse. I was late because my hot coffee spilled on my new white blouse. I tried to continue my morning routine of grabbing the mail, saying hello to my co-workers, and checking my emails.
As I approached Danny, a highly intelligent defense attorney, he smiled and said his usual, “How’s it going, beautiful?”
I replied with the usual, “Same old, same old, Danny.” He was always hinting that he wanted to date me, but we both knew it would never happen.
I continued to walk to my desk when I overheard two other co-workers arguing about some intense case. “You know he won’t be charged with the death penalty, John,” I heard Adam say.
“Probably not, but at least he’ll be locked up,” John replied.
I knew the exact case they were talking about. It was the case that everyone was talking about.
On May 12, 2008, Jose Gutierrez, age 29, was arrested for the murder of his wife Claire, 23, and their son Michael, 11 months old. Jose allegedly killed both his wife and son, and then stuffed them inside plastic containers in their home. After being advised of his constitutional rights, Jose admitted that he had murdered his wife and child and then stuffed them into a plastic storage container seven days earlier. The court case has just come up, and has brought controversy to the law office.
I myself, being a strong supporter of the death penalty, find it frustrating when murderers are stuck in jail for the rest of their life. Lethal injection is complex and expensive and I catch myself reminiscing about the old days where criminals were hung within days of their trial.
“Why should a murderer have a better life in jail than some innocent family struggling to make ends meet out in the real world?” I overheard Danny argue. “Sometimes I’m amazed why the country is the way it is.”
By this time, there were three prosecuting attorneys against five defense attorneys, and I knew it was not going to end in Danny’s favor.
“Chill out, Danny,” John replied, “You can’t win them all. And besides, Jose will be locked up forever.”
Amazed, the majority of my office smiled and agreed with him. As the dispute came to an end, and all of the lawyers got back to work, I noticed how upset Danny still was.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Glenn Contrarian
Amanda -
The death penalty is controversial because sometimes INNOCENT people are executed. Over the past two decades, dozens of innocent men have been removed from Death Row and freed. Why? Because when they were sentenced to death, they could not PROVE their innocence. They owe their lives to DNA tests.
Back when I was younger, I was a Republican and supported the death penalty. I now see it as an abomination, because it's hard to free an innocent man after he's been executed for a crime he didn't commit. All the 'true' verdicts that resulted in the execution of those who richly deserved death do NOT make up for the court-ordered death of ONE innocent man.
2 - El Bicho
That's a terrible idea
3 - Glenn Contrarian
And Amanda -
If you think I'm making this up, Google "The Innocence Project", and Google "Texas Perry Death Penalty" - and in the second instance, you'll find an innocent man was executed for the deaths of his three daughters.
One last thing - a few years back, Ted Kyzcinski (the Unabomber - remember him) wrote a letter begging to be put to death because the rest-of-his-life solitary confinement in the Supermax prison to which he had been sentenced was more than he could bear.
Think about that.
4 - Cindy
You scare me Amanda. Not just that I imagine you licking your chops with glee at the death of another, but the obnoxious way you glorify yourself at the expense of poor Danny. What counts as beautiful is in the heart and the mind, not in the body. After all, you actually have some control over the former. By the way, the saying is 'same old'.
5 - zingzing
disturbing. some people need to be kept far, far away from the law.
6 - Christine
Glenn: we agree on this issue. I am against the death penalty! The only time I would even consider it is in the event of a "child predator", you know the stories! But still, against!
7 - Dr Dreadful
I'm also against it, Christine. Just curious as to what you feel ought to happen in a case like this, which happened in a small town about 45 minutes from where I live.
8 - John Wilson
The reptilian mind at work, relishing the terms of vengeance.
9 - pablo
Amanda,
Imagine if you will that YOU Amanda were convicted of murder and sentenced to death, however you were innocent of the crime. Is that possible for you to imagine Amanda? You must be aware that there have been many others who were innocent of murder that have found themselves in just that predicament. So it could happen to you.
Now imagine yourself behind bars awaiting execution, and you know that you are innocent. Would you still hold the same views about capital punishment Amanda? We both know if you are honest with yourself the answer would be no. You would be begging and praying that the law was changed.
Now if this is true, that your belief in capital punishment would be different if the above was true, what does it say about you now?
It is fine that others who are innocent are murdered by the state, but if YOU Amanda were the one behind bars it would be a different story.
What it says to me dear, is that you don't give a crap about others in the same predicament, but only if YOU were the one waiting to be executed. That tells me a whole lot about you Amanda. Thanks for sharing your views with the world.
10 - pablo
Ohhhhhh thats right Amanda it could never happen to YOU!!
Ummm that's that the word INNOCENT means dear. Welcome to the real world.
11 - Ruvy
Looks like the anti-death crowd here has been grilling you and your views, and I imagine they figure the barbecue is about ready - is that Pablo I see carrying the steak sauce over to put on the er meat?
The way I figure it, if you cold-bloodedly take someone's life, you deserve to die. This is particularly true for terrorists who kill not the enemy soldier - that's understandable - but the women and children. But there needs to be a high enough bar of proof so that the mistakes will be very minimal. But we are human, mistakes in attempting to bring justice to fruition will be made, and it ought never be forgotten that execution of an innocent soul is not a reversible - or harmless - error.
12 - pablo
Yup Ruvy its me. :)
13 - Glenn Contrarian
I notice that Amanda isn't replying.
But I understand that - I remember how I felt when I began to realize that my pro-death-penalty stance was morally wrong.
Growth in one's life is sometimes painful, Amanda. I do know how you feel.
14 - Ruvy
Don't make assumptions, Glenn. There are several reasons she may not be answering.
The first is that she is busy lawyering. Lawyering does take up time, and you can't stick everything onto the paralegal, you know....
The second is that she may not have come back to the site.
The third is that she may have a policy of not answering comments.
The fourth is that she may be composing an answer to you all.
The fifth is that she may be too insulted to answer you all. Trust me on this: every argument you have raised on this issue - including yours, Pablo, she has encountered already. We had similar debates in law school, and your argument was the most common one used by opponents to the death penalty.
Finally, and least likely: she might actually be having a change of heart. She's a lawyer, and my buddy on the volunteer police who is married to a lawyer tells me you really have to work hard to get a lawyer (especially one you are married to) to change her mind.
15 - zingzing
ruvy, i doubt she's a lawyer. without mentioning the lean cuisine meals, the lack of legal reasoning would suggest she's either still in school or is a paralegal herself.
16 - Jet Gardner
...or she only plays one on television
17 - Christine
7 - Dr Dreadful:
Oy my gosh, that just makes me ill! There are two other cases being covered by Nancy Grace. I watch her a lot, even though I get very upset at the stories. One is about a teen that killed a 9 year old girl. This is where I lose it, especially with cases like Jessica Lunsford and Polly Klass. There are just way too many of these and we need to something about it. I as a mom of a teenager live in fear because of these monsters!
18 - Ruvy
i doubt she's a lawyer. without mentioning the lean cuisine meals, the lack of legal reasoning would suggest she's either still in school or is a paralegal herself.
from page 2 of the article:
There wasn’t much I could say; I agreed 100% with him.
“Danny, life isn’t fair, you should know that by now,” John whispered as we walked by.
“Life isn’t fair, and since we’re lawyers, we should know that by now,” I muttered.
The first question that occurred to me, zing, while reading this was, "was Amanda a lawyer?" The answer - in the positive - is found in the quote above.
This article is not about convincing you that the death penalty is good. That is why there is no legal reasoning here. This article is about the uproar that crime - especially one where the death penalty would seem appropriate - causes in a law office where work has to get done.
I got a Regent's Scholarship from the State of New York to go to university, zing. I got it for two reasons - I could write; and I could comprehend what I was reading.
19 - zingzing
hrm. well, i read the article last night. must have forgotten... on her own blog, it says she's a student. so... meh. sometimes, you miss things, eh? (like you on the catholic post.)
her "brilliant idea" is impossible, as well as ridiculous, as well as so legally repulsive and antiquated that i'd have to say i'd not want to have her on my side in a trial.
still, one must wonder if we are reading too much into what we think we read.
and yes, the article is more a story about outrage than it is about debating the death penalty to any real degree. hopefully.
20 - Amanda
This piece was intended as a personal opinion based on my experiences with victims. I am not a lawyer, but I have very strong feelings on the subject. I used a story medium to get my point across more dramatically.
21 - Ruvy
Having also gone to the young lady's blog, I also noticed that she was a student studying advertising, zing - and her blog was about movies. Maybe this "opinion" piece is more along the line of fiction?
Heh! - Now, I noticed that she comes clean!
22 - Glenn Contrarian
Ruvy -
On the possible reasons you listed above...true, true, true, true, true, and true. It's hard to argue with you when you make sense.
23 - Ruvy
Well, folks, there goes my thinking on the matter!
24 - zingzing
ha! i knew it.
25 - Ruvy
Glen, it looks like Jet read this one the best. Amanda was playing lawyer. That would explain the big weakness in this article - that lawyers should have so much time to debate the things that they had already spent three years debating in law school, and that they were willing to do it without billing clients!!