Editorial
Death and Dying
For years—and we do mean years—many of us have wondered what it would actually be like when the time came for the arguments to end, and the appeals to run out, and the opponents to light their candles outside the prison, and the state to resume its practice of capital punishment, something last experienced in Tennessee in 1960.
At press time, the best and worst of men were tossing and turning in the slowly concluding drama over whether civilized people should take the life of one of their own. It was hard to keep your hopes up. But if there were any elements of the theater to admire, it was that those close to the spectacle were sleeping little and working their butts off. And that somehow assured us that the investment of intellect and emotions in the process was not only adequate, but that it was to be admired: We seemed concerned enough about the stakes involved to make sure we were doing the right thing.
At least this is how we wished it was all unfolding. Most of the time, to us, it was just flat-out depressing. After all, just what is it that supporters of the death penalty really want? Would an execution bring them happiness? Vindication? Revenge? Or when the switch is pulled, would they just be over the whole thing, finished with it forever as they wanted all along?
Opponents of the death penalty, of which this newspaper is one, have certainly not been without their worst moments either. To be certain, it is likely that both Robert Glen Coe and Philip Ray Workman, the two men who are to die, are guilty. And many opponents have been grasping at straws in defense of the men. But in the case of Coe, the man is obviously insane. And in the case of Workman, while it is likely he committed the crime, reasonable doubt exists as to whether he did so.
But more importantly, this newspaper does not believe that Tennessee should sanction the killing of one of its citizens. As the morning daily editorialized this week, in one of the finest articulations on the issue to date, ”Before Tennessee officials take this step, they need to ask what killing this man—or any human being—will accomplish.“
Take Coe. Severely beaten as a child by his father, and forced by his father to watch as he raped Coe’s sister, Coe later raped and murdered 8-year-old Cary Ann Medlin. He acknowledged doing so. Coe has been labeled a paranoid schizophrenic by experts.
What will killing Robert Glen Coe accomplish? Does Tennessee want to kill a man who is obviously crazy? Why not leave Coe where he is, far removed from all of us, locked in prison?
Then there’s Workman, about whose guilt experts disagree. The man who said he saw Workman fire the shot that killed a Memphis cop now says he saw no such thing. And some experts say the bullet that came from Workman’s gun couldn’t have fired the shot.
What would killing Workman accomplish? Is there not enough doubt to spare Workman’s life and leave him in jail? Are we not better safe than sorry?
Through our leaders, we, as a people, are about to sanction these executions. The responsibility for them will be ours, and this is what makes it all so sad. We wish this civil society of ours was civil. And that capital punishment, like so many other things, was just something of a bygone age.
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