Katherine Dwyer, CCATDP’s past Charles Koch Communications Intern, recently penned an article for Western Journalism highlighting the undeniable relationship between death row inmates and mental illness, and she even presented the conservative case for exempting those with severe mental illness from the death penalty.
She said,
Many conservative states are considering measures to exempt the seriously mentally ill from the death penalty — and rightfully so. Proponents say exempting those with severe mental illness from the death penalty would lead to cost savings and help protect some of society’s most vulnerable members.
The mentally ill are in fact some of our society’s most vulnerable members. Their mental state is a diagnosable illness, not a choice.
Dwyer continued:
These illnesses interfere with individuals’ ability to appreciate the nature, consequences or wrongfulness of their conduct. They also impede the ability to exercise rational judgment in relation to the person’s conduct or conform the conduct to the law’s requirements.
Dwyer clearly pointed out that she feels it is immoral to execute someone who cannot control his or her own actions and doesn’t understand the consequences of such behavior. She cited many reasons why the death penalty simply doesn’t make sense for the mentally ill, including the increased costs, how it doesn’t deter the mentally ill from committing crimes, and how it violates her pro-life views.
Ultimately, she concluded,
Exempting the mentally ill from the death penalty is not just a legal matter, but a pro-life one as well. Those who identify as pro-life, as I do myself, aim to protect the most vulnerable in society, such as the unborn. I argue that the mentally ill are also among the most vulnerable members of our society, and thus should be protected from deliberate termination.
The best thing that can be done to support those with mental illness and promote public safety is to provide the care this community so desperately needs. Allowing these individuals to be eligible for the death penalty leaves them vulnerable to an unjust punishment that takes years to complete and costs taxpayers millions.