Hidden Victims: The Effects of the Death Penalty on Families of the Accused

Preface

Preface Americans are obsessed with murder, as evidenced by headlines such as a recent one proclaiming,“Killings Increase in Many Big Cities.”As one journalist stated,“Crime reports are cathartic; we feel relief that the victim and offender are not like us.”1 For quite obvious reasons, we do not want to be like the victim, who has suffered or has even died. However, we also do not want to be like the offender, who is seen as possessing some degree of “otherness,” to be somehow less than fully human, particularly with murder. When we see the offender as “other,” it becomes far easier to sentence that offender to death. Prosecutors and legislators who refer to certain offenders as animals or subhuman further this sense of separation.2 But those facing a death sentence do not exist in a vacuum.They are someone’s brother or sister, mother or father, daughter or son, relative or friend. Our system of capital punishment often creates stress, hardship, and pain for persons in addition to those accused of a capital crime. Furthermore , the hardships occur whether or not the offender is executed. America’s focus on murder and the related response of capital punishment affect the families of those accused as well as those convicted and sentenced to death. Therefore, the problems faced by these family members as well as their responses to the crisis should be explored. Why study the families of persons facing a death sentence? Some may feel that this topic merits little attention. They are admittedly a small group. Murder itself is an infrequent crime, and prosecutors seek the death penalty in only a small fraction of all murders. Second,the families of those facing potential execution are often seen as culpable themselves. Violent offenders frequently come from appalling backgrounds, fraught with abuse and neglect.3 Thus, the families of those accused of a capital crime are not only guilty by association, but they may be viewed as guilty in their own right. Why, then, should a book be written about these family members? xi Preface In the spring of 2000, two areas of my academic life coalesced into the foundation of this book. My research partner and I had explored the effects of incarceration on families of prisoners, especially women prisoners . That project was coming to an end. I was, therefore, pondering what direction I would be taking with subsequent research. At the same time, I began teaching a senior capstone course for criminology students, focusing on examination of inequities in the criminal justice system.The course had a unit on capital punishment, and as I gathered materials for the class, I became increasingly disturbed by what I viewed as fundamental flaws in our system of capital punishment. I found myself pondering how the families of those facing a death sentence might feel. With some awareness of the social costs of incarceration on families, extending my research to the effects of capital punishment on families was a natural step. The project quickly took on a life of its own. Locating a population not easily identified was one difficulty that I faced. I thought that the proposed subjects might not want to talk about the problems they faced. Ultimately, I discovered that many family members wanted to be heard, wanted their stories to be told. The subjects’ own words led to the title of the book. Repeatedly, family members stressed to me that they were victims, too. From their perspective, they were being punished for a crime that they did not commit . As their stories unfolded, certain recurring themes emerged that are the focus of this book. As long as America maintains a system of capital punishment, the costs of that system—both economic and social—should be assessed.The effect of the death penalty on family members of those facing execution is an often ignored cost of the system. The existing literature about families of persons facing executions has stressed the effects that capital punishment has had on their lives. However, to date little is known about how early in the process these effects begin. In the current study, I examine the effects of capital punishment on family members at various stages of the process. This book focuses on the families of those charged with or facing charges for a capital crime as well as those sentenced to death. I believe that whether or not the person receives a death sentence or is executed, the family undergoes certain...