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Why I've lent my voice to the death penalty abolition cause Why I've lent my voice to the death penalty abolition cause
(40 minutes later)
In the UK, it's the human rights violation it's still socially acceptable to support: the death penalty. You can be pro-capital punishment and not get ejected from a dinner party. It's probably not going to cause outrage if a social gathering throws out a "we need a strong deterrent" line, or if someone says "it's what they deserve, an eye for eye." In the UK, it's the human rights violation that it's still socially acceptable to support: the death penalty. You can be pro-capital punishment and not get ejected from a dinner party. It's probably not going to cause outrage if a social gathering throws out a "we need a strong deterrent" line, or if someone says "it's what they deserve, an eye for eye."
Which, in a sense, is slightly strange. It's nearly 50 years since there was capital punishment in Britain and knowledge of it is increasingly filtered mainly through films like Let Him Have It, or Pierrepoint, or 10 Rillington Place. As it happens, these films, plus others like Dead Man Walking, hardly present an unproblematic view of the penalty, so why do people – quite a few, according to opinion polls – still hanker after the black cap, the noose and the trapdoor?Which, in a sense, is slightly strange. It's nearly 50 years since there was capital punishment in Britain and knowledge of it is increasingly filtered mainly through films like Let Him Have It, or Pierrepoint, or 10 Rillington Place. As it happens, these films, plus others like Dead Man Walking, hardly present an unproblematic view of the penalty, so why do people – quite a few, according to opinion polls – still hanker after the black cap, the noose and the trapdoor?
Basically, I think that – notwithstanding the occasional film or TV programme – if people are pro-death penalty, it's because time and distance have blurred the issue. Aside from specialists working for human rights organisations, almost no one in the UK has actually confronted the reality of a system that invests judges with the power of life and death.Basically, I think that – notwithstanding the occasional film or TV programme – if people are pro-death penalty, it's because time and distance have blurred the issue. Aside from specialists working for human rights organisations, almost no one in the UK has actually confronted the reality of a system that invests judges with the power of life and death.
For several years I've been living in the US, and here there's a strange attitude to capital punishment. In New York, my home, it doesn't exist and it's not much talked about. Meanwhile, in the "death penalty states", mostly in the south, it's widely supported. As a Brit abroad, you trundle along, not agreeing with everything but not necessarily speaking out about things in your adopted country. Then, last year, an old friend sent me an email about Troy Davis, a man facing execution in the US state of Georgia. For me, this sparked off a whole new wave of revulsion against capital punishment.For several years I've been living in the US, and here there's a strange attitude to capital punishment. In New York, my home, it doesn't exist and it's not much talked about. Meanwhile, in the "death penalty states", mostly in the south, it's widely supported. As a Brit abroad, you trundle along, not agreeing with everything but not necessarily speaking out about things in your adopted country. Then, last year, an old friend sent me an email about Troy Davis, a man facing execution in the US state of Georgia. For me, this sparked off a whole new wave of revulsion against capital punishment.
The case is now infamous. No forensic evidence linked him to the crime, seven out of nine of the prosecution witnesses recanted their evidence, another prime suspect who was identified by numerous witnesses was never properly investigated. And yet, the authorities still killed this man by lethal injection on 21 September 2011. It was abhorrent and a real shock when this happened. Even at the last minute, it somehow seemed the execution would be halted, that there'd be further appeals and he'd eventually be exonerated (like scores of others in the US in recent years). But no.The case is now infamous. No forensic evidence linked him to the crime, seven out of nine of the prosecution witnesses recanted their evidence, another prime suspect who was identified by numerous witnesses was never properly investigated. And yet, the authorities still killed this man by lethal injection on 21 September 2011. It was abhorrent and a real shock when this happened. Even at the last minute, it somehow seemed the execution would be halted, that there'd be further appeals and he'd eventually be exonerated (like scores of others in the US in recent years). But no.
Since then, I've decided it's not quite enough to be vaguely against something as disgusting as cold-bloodedly killing another human being in the name of justice and I've become involved with Amnesty's death penalty work. Actors and causes don't always make for comfortable bedfellows, but why should life always be comfortable?Since then, I've decided it's not quite enough to be vaguely against something as disgusting as cold-bloodedly killing another human being in the name of justice and I've become involved with Amnesty's death penalty work. Actors and causes don't always make for comfortable bedfellows, but why should life always be comfortable?
As a father of three, an argument I sometimes hear is: "What if your children had been murdered? Wouldn't you want their murderer to pay with their lives?" And, to be frank, you're tempted to say: "Yes! Of course." Which is why, in that awful situation, I strongly believe you need an impartial justice system that acts in the interests of the victims and society at large, and acts not out of raw emotion or in a vengeful way.As a father of three, an argument I sometimes hear is: "What if your children had been murdered? Wouldn't you want their murderer to pay with their lives?" And, to be frank, you're tempted to say: "Yes! Of course." Which is why, in that awful situation, I strongly believe you need an impartial justice system that acts in the interests of the victims and society at large, and acts not out of raw emotion or in a vengeful way.
Actually, providing the voice of the Iranian death penalty lawyer Mohammad Mostafaei for a new Guardian film about his work has been quite emotional for me. And it was certainly a privilege. This man has risked his own life try to save the lives of scores of people in Iran. Through his dogged and fearless legal work, he's managed to avert hanging for about 50 clients, no mean feat in Iran's notoriously unfair legal system. His most famous case was Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani's, but it's his work trying to help juvenile offenders that most sticks in the mind. Eighteen have been saved because of his advocacy. Tragically, many have not, including the subject of the film, Behnoud Shojaee.Actually, providing the voice of the Iranian death penalty lawyer Mohammad Mostafaei for a new Guardian film about his work has been quite emotional for me. And it was certainly a privilege. This man has risked his own life try to save the lives of scores of people in Iran. Through his dogged and fearless legal work, he's managed to avert hanging for about 50 clients, no mean feat in Iran's notoriously unfair legal system. His most famous case was Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani's, but it's his work trying to help juvenile offenders that most sticks in the mind. Eighteen have been saved because of his advocacy. Tragically, many have not, including the subject of the film, Behnoud Shojaee.
Iran's brutal use of the death penalty – it executes hundreds every year – is a reminder to the UK's and the US's pro-hanging fraternities of what it means to support capital punishment. It means being lumped in with the few remaining death penalty states (headed by China, then Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and, yes, the US). It means either the ultra-rough justice of coerced evidence and unfair trials (one case in Iran that Amnesty International is campaigning on involved a trial that reportedly lasted all of five minutes). Or if your country tries to provide for proper appeals, the result could be like California, where each execution costs an average of $308m and the authorities spend hundreds of millions of dollars more every year than they would if death row prisoners were serving life imprisonment.Iran's brutal use of the death penalty – it executes hundreds every year – is a reminder to the UK's and the US's pro-hanging fraternities of what it means to support capital punishment. It means being lumped in with the few remaining death penalty states (headed by China, then Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and, yes, the US). It means either the ultra-rough justice of coerced evidence and unfair trials (one case in Iran that Amnesty International is campaigning on involved a trial that reportedly lasted all of five minutes). Or if your country tries to provide for proper appeals, the result could be like California, where each execution costs an average of $308m and the authorities spend hundreds of millions of dollars more every year than they would if death row prisoners were serving life imprisonment.
No. Getting acquainted with the facts on the death penalty will, I guarantee, give any pro-capital punishment people out there plenty to worry about. I don't particularly want to shout about my role here: I'm an actor, a professional voice. But also a sentient being with a conscience and views. My Mostafaei voiceover was deliberately quiet and measured because this matches the calm dignity of the man. I might occasionally play a hero, but Mohammad Mostafaei and others like him are the real-life heroes.No. Getting acquainted with the facts on the death penalty will, I guarantee, give any pro-capital punishment people out there plenty to worry about. I don't particularly want to shout about my role here: I'm an actor, a professional voice. But also a sentient being with a conscience and views. My Mostafaei voiceover was deliberately quiet and measured because this matches the calm dignity of the man. I might occasionally play a hero, but Mohammad Mostafaei and others like him are the real-life heroes.