The recent execution of Karla Faye Tucker raised several important issues about the death penalty, religion, and gender. It drew the attention of the world, including that of the Pope, and divided a strongly pro-death penalty state in half.
Whereas roughly 75% of Texans are in favor of the death penalty, only 45% supported Karla Faye Tucker’s execution, despite the gruesome nature of her crimes.
The single most important issue raised, in my view, was that of the value of human life. Ms. Tucker gained the support of hundreds of thousands of people; at first, because she was a woman, and the first woman to be executed in Texas since the late 1800’s, and then, because of her religious conversion to a so-called born-again Christian.
Religious leaders around the world pleaded that authorities give her a reprieve. Why? Because she "found God". Or more accurately, she found the Christian God, the same God the majority of Americans believe in, giving Karla Faye and the people something in common. But what would have happened had she found Allah, the Muslim God, or the God and Goddess of Wicca?
Even though each of these religions promote values similar to the Christian religion, I somehow doubt that people would have noticed her change towards goodness. In fact, I dare speculate that had she found the God and Goddess of Wicca, she would have not only lost the support she received, but the people would have been more willing to see her die.
Which raises the question: Do we place a higher value on the life of Christians? It seems that we do.
But Karla Faye had more going for her than her religious conversion alone. She was a woman - and since her imprisonment, she was a gentle, kind woman who knitted in her spare time. The alleged innate kindness and fragility of women prompted many to support her reprieve, which is in itself placing a higher value of life on woman than on men. I somehow doubt that a man who became soft spoken and gentle in his ways, and who took up knitting would have been given the same consideration.
But even more sickening was the reaction of death penalty supporters upon the announcement of her death. Cheers went up within the crowd, and people celebrated her demise. It was apparent that these people placed a much lower value on her life because of her crimes, notwithstanding the fact that she was STILL a human being.
Karla Faye Tucker did not live a perfect life. She caused many people harm and pain. She had to be removed from society in order to protect the innocent. But she was also a human being, who caused some people joy and happiness. Killing her did not take away any of that pain, or erase any of that joy. It did not bring her victims back. It is, in my opinion, quite inhumane to cheer the death of another. Perhaps it needed to be done - I am, quite frankly, undecided on the issue of the death penalty. But no life is deserving of such disrespect, no matter how harmful that life was to society.
It’s ironic how death penalty supporters made her out to be less of a human being because of her crimes, when their own reaction to her execution was probably the most dehumanizing thing I have ever seen.
