Students march against death penalty

Three representatives from the MTSU chapter of the Tennessee Coaliation to Abolish State Killing attended the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty Conference in Austin, Tex. last weekend.

History professor Amy Staples, the faculty adviser of TCASK, and Melissa O'Flinn and Ginger Eades, the organization's president and vice-president, respectively, attended workshops, documentaries and a march in protest of capital punishment.

Approximately 200 people participated in the march, which included an excursion to the mansion of Texas Governor Rick Perry, during which protestors wrapped crime scene tape around the property and chanted, "Governor Perry, you can't hide. We charge you with homicide."

"It was an emotionally charged march for me," said O'Flinn, a freshman social work major.

According to Staples, the death penalty is unjust for a variety of reasons.

"We can't guarantee we won't execute an innocent person," Staples said. "121 people nationwide have been found innocent and walked off of this country's death rows."

"It's more expensive, and, certainly in Tennessee, I think we could put those taxpayer dollars to better use, and because Tennessee has both life without parole, as well as the 51-year sentence, we don't need the death penalty to be safe," she added.

O'Flinn said TCASK is striving to actively fight death penalty legislation.

"We're hoping in the next year and a half or so to call for a moratorium on the death penalty in the state of Tennessee," O'Flinn said.

According to O'Flinn, the party attended workshops on how to call for a moratorium, how to build public support and how to support the families of victims.

"This conference was just so awesome," O'Flinn said. "To hear people like Bud Welsh talk - Bud Welsh's daughter, his only child, was killed in the Oklahoma City bombing, and he is very much opposed to the death penalty."

"I think talking with the murder victim families was an inspiration for me," said Eades, a senior criminal justice major. "Compassion and forgiveness is paramount, because without compassion and forgiveness, we can't heal. There is no healing in vengeance."

"I was interested in hearing their stories, and how they could have someone killed in their life, and still take a stand against that murderer being executed," Eades said.

O'Flinn said she believes the key achieving a moratorium is increased public awareness.

"We need to educate the public," she said. "I think a lot of people don't realize how arbitrarily the system is imposed."

"They may not necessarily change their mind about the death penalty, but they may say, 'Well we may need to look at this. We may need to have a moratorium on this, and see if this is really working.' That's what we're working toward right now," O'Flinn continued.

"This year we celebrated the abolition of the death penalty for juvenile offenders," said Staples, who went to high school with Timothy McVeigh. "We really feel like there is real progress being made on the national level, like the momentum is on our side, if you will."

Eades said she bases her opposition to the death penalty in part on the sanctity of life.

"A human life is irreplaceable," Eades said. "Even if someone is a murderer, their life is just as worthy as the life of the person they murdered."