Capital Punishment Lee Hawkins, Jr. 1 Imagine being ready to die. On January 7, 1988, at 3:19 a.m., Texas began to execute convicted murderer Robert Streetland by pumping lethal drugs into his veins. Before he was pronounced dead seven minutes later, the telephone rang in the death chamber. The governor’s office had received word that the United States Supreme Court was ready to consider a new motion of appeal. In the words of a prison spokesman, “The …showed first 75 words of 1073 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1073 total…many of the people who are committing capital crimes.” Deterrent? I think not. 11 In conclusion, we must realize that capital punishment is discriminatory. We must realize that capital punishment is immoral. And finally, we must realize that capital punishment is not an effective deterrent to crime. I would urge all of you who support capital punishment to reassess your views and to see its injustice, its immorality, and its ineffectiveness as a deterrent to crime