Introduction
“A black man is killing me,” those were the last words of 43-year-old Sonja Merritt Knippers before her death on early morning July 8, 1984 (Prejean, 2005). Her husband Herb heard her screaming and immediately called the police where he told them her last words “A black man is killing me” (Prejean, 4). Thus, the search for a black male suspect began; three black males were arrested, among one of them was thirty-eight years old Dobie Gillis Williams. The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale for IQ states that anything lower than 70 is considered retardation; Mr. Williams IQ score is 65 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mentally_retarded). Within one week, Williams was found guilty and sentenced to death. According to Prejean, Williams confessed to the crime and DNA testing matched the blood stains; on January 8, 1999, after nearly 14 years on death row, Dobie Gillis Williams was executed.
Is it justice for a man whose intellect falls short from the general population? Will your moral views silence your conscious, when you’re made aware that Mr. Williams reasoning and mental capacity puts him at the level of retardation? Whose (Mr. Williams) understanding of a complex subject, such as murder, can’t comprehend the severity and consequences of his own actions. Was William’s execution despite mental retardation just?
According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, by the end of 2003, there has been a 3,374 inmates in death row and 65 executions performed (Bonczar and Snell, 2003). Now, is the mental agony and emotional stress that the remaining 3, 374 endure justice or cruel and unusual punishment. This report will discuss the morality and immorality of capital punishment. I will walk you through the pros and cons, and depict the different opposing cultural and religious world views. In addition, conflict resolution for both, pros and cons, will be interpreted as an equally valid alternative to capital punishment. Finally, a comparison of the impact on professional views has on Health Service Administration and where my opinion stands in this controversial issue will be discussed.
