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Chapter 11 Conclusion It is difficult to do research of this nature and to maintain complete neutrality at the same time. When the idea for this project first started to emerge, I had not thought a lot about capital punishment. I knew that I opposed it in principle, but my opinion was not strong, nor was it well supported. The preparation for my class started me on a journey of learning more about capital punishment. In turn, the class led me to this project. That journey and this research have changed my life. I now find myself engaged in the type of “sociologically informed activism” described by Michael Radelet.1 My path has followed Professor Radelet’s in some ways. Research and teaching led me to seek a deeper understanding of the issues surrounding the death penalty. I began learning more about it, and the things that I learned led me to want a more personal understanding of the subject. That in turn led me to a desire to use my scholarship to effect social change. My earlier research with the families of prisoners had been a more quantitative approach, using surveys administered to prisoners. That allowed me to maintain a level of detachment. While I was concerned about these prisoners and their families, I did not get to know any of them on a personal level, nor did I spend hours listening to their stories. However, the study that culminated in this book was very different from the beginning. It required me to sit down face-to-face with people with heart-wrenching stories. I watched parents and siblings brush away tears as they answered my questions, waited when their voices became choked with emotion. Eventually, I became curious about the men and women on death row, and I began corresponding with three prisoners. One has died of natural causes, but during our correspondence he taught me to see the 178 basic humanity of those facing execution. They are men and women with hopes and dreams, much like the rest of us. However, they have also committed terrible crimes, resulting in their death sentences. I began developing a deeper compassion for the victims of crime as well as for the offenders and their families. It is impossible to spend much time studying the death penalty or those on death row without developing a sincere horror at some of the crimes they have committed. My belief in the futility of capital punishment also increased, however. I could not see how the deaths of the offenders would fix anything. Instead, a new set of victims would be created, their families and those who loved them. My research has led me to agree with Amnesty International. Capital punishment is indeed cruelty to the families of those sentenced to death.2 They are not guilty, yet they suffer as much as the families of the victims. I met many inspiring men and women as I conducted my research, and I corresponded electronically with many more. I was amazed by their willingness to share their pain in order to educate the public about the ways in which the death penalty affects families and friends of those facing execution. Many of the men and women that I interviewed kept in contact with me after the interviews, keeping me apprised of their loved ones’ situations. Several have become friends. This, in conjunction with my opposition to capital punishment, opens me up to criticism for lack of neutrality. The criticism is misplaced. I believe that I can accurately and objectively report what my research discloses and still have my own opinions and friendships.What this requires of me is the willingness to report everything, including data that do not support my position. I had expected to hear the family members talk about being “blamed” for the accused individual’s actions. Although a few alluded to this, none of my subjects talked about being maligned in the trial. Some did report people suggesting that they must have failed in some way, but none of them reported being described as abusive or in some way creating a “monster.” Perhaps this did not occur in any of the cases related to this research, or perhaps the family members simply chose not to discuss this with me. I can only speculate about this; I have no answers. At the beginning of this project, I was not sure how the family members would feel about capital punishment. Some of the subjects...

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