Death Penalty Essay: The Killing of the Killer

Capital punishment is a controversial topic. Whether or not you know the facts behind it, you have a stance on the issue. It is a quite controversial subject, one where an individual's ethics and morals are questioned. Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is still a prominent form of punishment across the world. In the United States, it is still a method of punishment in over half of the states. Many find this method to be unjust because it does not change anything. In fact, it only makes the justice system seem like  hypocrites who are equally guilty in the killing of human lives. Furthermore, there are many problems in the justice system, such as racial discrimination. This issue is very prominent in the United States. It punishes criminals of minority groups harsher than their white counterparts. In “Capital Punishment,” Sherman Alexie, a Native American poet, effectively argues against capital punishment with the repetition of the phrase “I am not a witness”, giving insight on racial discrimination in the criminal justice system, and the incorporation of the narrator’s sympathetic nature towards the Indian man.

Witnessing a death is frightening. Although the speaker of the poem is in fact a witness, he repeats that he is not a witness. Almost as if he is in complete denial of what is going to happen after he finishes preparing the Indian man’s last meal. Roush and Berglund claim that the repetition of the refrain “I am not a witness” is almost obsessive, as though the speaker is trying to convince himself that he is not a witness (145). The constant denial is a way of showing that even he, a cook who works at a prison where many executions take place, does not want to witness the horrendous act of killing someone. After repeating that he is not a witness on five separate occasions, the speaker reveals toward the end of the poem that he is a witness. As Ryan states, “the repeated line slowly undoes itself, and we know he is, like us, a witness” (19). This triggers the reader to feel the same guilt that the cook feels as he prepares the meal. Throughout the preparation of the meal, the speaker continues to describe his thoughts on the situation. According to Roush and Berglund, the shift in diction demonstrates “the speaker’s developing collective and Indigenous consciousness” (145). Although the speaker is not the one killing the Indian man, he still feels a bit of guilt for being there and being the one to cook his last meal. His consciousness reflects his emotions towards the situation that he is currently in. He does not want to be in this situation. He does not want to be a witness.

The most bothersome, yet very realistic detail that Alexie incorporates in his poem is racial discrimination. It is a sad reality that we face in society. Race plays such a crucial role when it comes to capital punishment. Alexie states, “You know, it's mostly the dark ones who are made to sit in the chair especially when white people get dead” (1). In this situation, the man is an American Indian. In a methodologically sophisticated study of capital punishment in Georgia, researchers found that “the race of the victim affected the likelihood that a defendant would receive a death sentence” (Allen & Clubb, 179). This implies that what Sherman Alexie stated in the poem, is in fact true. He even says, “it’s true, you can look it up” (Alexie, 1). Roush and Berglund support the claim by pointing out that, “his speaker is casual and understands that what may be news to the justice system or well-meaning white liberals is an everyday reality for minorities” (145). This insinuates that minorities are at a great disadvantage when it comes to the justice system because it is not something that one can merely avoid. To further support the claim in the poem that mentions the ones who are mainly put to sit in the chair are when a white person dies, it is also statistically proven that “defendants charged with the murder of a white victim were more likely to be sentenced to death than defendants charged with the murder of an African American victim” (Allen & Clubb, 179). These statistics indicate that the death penalty is not creating justice. It is a hypocritical and corrupt system that has race decide whether you should face execution for your crime. Putting an end to capital punishment would end the ending of lives, especially minorities.

The speaker’s character may seem detached, but it is actually quite sympathetic. Although he cannot stop the execution, he is putting a lot of effort into making the food taste good. In the words of Roush and Berglund, “he has prepared the prisoner’s last meal with care” (145). In a way, this is connecting the speaker with the prisoner. As Roush and Berglund put it, “In this remarkable exchange ⎯ via the bit of food that goes from to mouth ⎯ the cook and the prisoner become intimately linked” (146). The connection that Alexie created between both Indian men is an effective way to argue against capital punishment. Not only is the connection important because of their ethnicity, but it shows that the cook, who works for the prison wanting to kill the prisoner, can show sympathy towards him. As previously mentioned, ethics and morals are questioned when debating whether or not capital punishment should be permitted. Alexie’s method of showing his stance on capital punishment is more suggestive, yet firm. In other words, “the poems ethics and aesthetics unite to enact community and collectively for the speaker and his fellow prison workers and inmates ⎯ and readers as well” (Berglund & Roush, 147). This shows us the power that the ethics has by transferring from prison to prison worker and reader. The speaker’s sympathy goes on a step further when he himself tastes the meal before he serves it to the prisoner. By taking his time on preparing the meal and tasting it to make sure it is good, one can infer that the speaker genuinely cares about the prisoner and shows sympathy in these last moments of the man’s life.

In his poem “Capital Punishment”, Sherman Alexie effectively argues against capital punishment by showing how the speaker denies his consciousness by repeating “I am not a witness,” providing insight on the racial disparities faced in the criminal justice system, and incorporating an empathetic nature to the cook who serves the Indian man’s meal with much care. When reading the poem, the reader follows along the same thought process as the speaker. First, the constant denial of being a witness to such a horrendous act. Next, is the realization of how people of color are put to sit in the electric chair more often than white people. This claim is supported by the fact that the speaker says that those who kill a white person are even more likely to sit in the chair. The reader is told that the statement is true and that they can even fact check it to verify the credibility of this statement. It is in fact true. The speaker also shows much sympathy towards his fellow Indian man who will face execution after his last meal. This was effective for Alexie to do because it connects the reader to the story and allows for the reader to feel sympathy for the prisoner. Towards the end of the poem, Alexie leaves the reader pondering on which stance to take on the issue by adding a hypothetical. This subtly persuades the reader to call for the abolition of the death penalty.

Works Cited

Alexie, Sherman. “Capital Punishment.” Arguing About Literature : A Guide and Reader. 

Second ed., edited by John Schilb and John Clifford, published by Bedford/St. Martin's, 

New York, 2017.

Berglund, Jeff, and Jan Roush. Sherman Alexie : A Collection of Critical Essays. University of 

Utah Press, 2010. EBSCOhost, 

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54216&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Ryan, Katy. Demands of the Dead : Executions, Storytelling, and Activism in the United States. 

University Of Iowa Press, 2012. EBSCOhost, 

search.ebscohost.com.libraryproxy.tulsacc.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=4

47427&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Howard W. Allen, and Jerome M. Clubb. Race, Class, and the Death Penalty : Capital 

Punishment in American History. SUNY Press, 2008. EBSCOhost, 

search.ebscohost.com.libraryproxy.tulsacc.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=2

28262&site=ehost-live&scope=site.