The Death Penalty: A Face Of Mercy

Davis, who has advocated for a number of social justice causes around the world over the years, told the audience that he initially wasn’t enthusiastic about the prospect of taking on South Dakota’s death penalty.

"I actually did not want to do this work," he said. "When I was asked to do it by the former director, I told him immediately, ‘No. Work on the death penalty in South Dakota? Who in their right mind would do that?’ (But) I got a phone call after that from Gabriella Crowley. … she’s kind of convincing."

Davis has filled the director’s role since 2012.

Despite being an opponent of the death penalty, Davis said he doesn’t demonize those who believe it to be just.

"It’s very, very understandable that many people are for the death penalty for a varying amount of reasons," he said. "There are a number of circumstances why the death penalty has returned and why we continue to use it."

Davis’ noted the number of executions carried out since the death penalty’s reinstatement. The figure includes the states that retained the penalty, the federal government and the U.S. military, and it’s currently at 1,422 executions since 1976. Currently, 2,984 inmates are on death row across the country, including three in South Dakota.

Davis said three of his group’s focuses have been on the deterrence factor, cost and innocence.

"Eighty-eight percent of experts in the field rejected the notion that the death penalty acts as a deterrent," he said, citing a 2009 study on the subject. "I always say if the death penalty in South Dakota was a deterrent — I think there were six women killed in 2014 in Sioux Falls from domestic violence — where’s the deterrent? Just two days ago in Sioux Falls, we had another murder. It isn’t like someone who’s going to kill someone stops to think, ‘Gee, does South Dakota have the death penalty?’ These are crimes of passion."

Davis also spoke on costs, saying the average cost of a death sentence far exceeds a life sentence, costing cash-strapped counties dearly. He cited a SDADP study finished in 2015.

"Death cases were almost $400,000, life sentences were (around) $40,000 — 10 times," he said. "The counties have to pay for this. It isn’t like it comes out of the state coffers. … Counties are in Pierre every year begging for money, and they’re spending this kind of money on death cases."

Davis also spoke on how more than 100 people on death rows across the country have been exonerated due to new evidence and reexamination of old testimonies and evidence.

"I’ve always asked the question, ‘How many have actually been executed that are innocent?’" he said. "I think that’s a valid question."

Davis presented testimonies on the collateral damage that executions have on the families of victims, guards, wardens and other legal officials before delving into Biblical teachings that speak against the act.

He argued that those who use Scripture to support the death penalty are inadvertently using a ploy Middle Eastern terrorists use to justify their actions.

"It’s not that they’re bad people and I’m not putting any judgment on anybody," he said of death penalty proponents. "But I’m just saying that the Scripture we use is being used to kill people. That’s fundamentalism. It’s the same thing that’s happening in the Middle East. They’re taking a few phrases out of the Koran and starting to kill people, and the vast majority of the Islamic people say, ‘This is not the Koran.’ Same thing with Christian Scriptures."

Davis said ultimately the tide is turning against the death penalty.

"Nineteen states have banned the death penalty — Nebraska was the last one," he said.

He added that repeal in South Dakota is plausible due to the state’s fiscally conservative attitudes and the changing attitudes towards the death penalty, which the SDADP plans to poll South Dakotans on in the near future.

Davis said there’s been some apprehension about putting the death penalty up for a vote of the people.

"Our fear of taking it to the voters has been that if we lose, then the legislators won’t hear it anymore," he said. "So I’ve been very cautious about taking it to the voters, especially if the consensus is they want the death penalty."