Attitudes on the Death Penalty: Fear of Corruption and Lack of trust Among Ethnic Minorities
The death penalty is a form of penal punishment that has been highly debated. It’s a controversial issue that deals with moral, social and legal implications. I’ve always been interested in learning more about the death penalty and first formed an opinion when I did a presentation on amnesty international’s mandate to abolish the death penalty. Indeed, the laws on death penalty vary across the globe, but this raises an issue when it comes to multicultural societies; like Canada. Considering that Canada prides itself on its multicultural platform, this may result in different perspectives towards capital punishment. Canada once had the death penalty implemented but decided to remove it in 1976. Given the particular contexts of Canada, I was intrigued to examine the following question: does someone’s ethnicity or where they grew up affect their attitudes towards the death penalty?
In my analyses, I primarily concentrated on the “South Asians” and “White” ethnic groups given that they made up the bulk of my participants. Overall, my combined sample was small, so these findings cannot speak to broader patterns. Nonetheless, the research indicates a difference in opinion among South Asians and White respondents, and broadly among minority populations and White respondents.
I asked each participant to respond to three cases: i) the honour killing of 16-year old Pakistani Aqsa Parvez in Mississauga, ii) the Peshawar terrorists attack in Pakistan, and iii) finally the Manson/Tate Murders. Of these cases, the terrorist attack case illustrated that there is a difference in attitudes towards the death penalty among ethnicities.
Of the 9 White respondents, 7 (78%) agreed that the decision to execute the terrorist was not justified. The respondents cited reasons similar to the Aqsa Parvez case of wanting the perpetrators to suffer in jail; they also saw their execution as negative. A shared sentiment among the South Asians participants was illustrated in the following quote regarding the honour killing case: “want them to suffer, making them rot in jail, solitary confinement, is a much harsher punishment.” Another respondent said the following towards the terrorist case: “No [it’s not justified]. Although terrorism is a horrible act against society, fundamentally killing the terrorists does not resolve the underlying issue of the conflicting societal, religious or ideological beliefs. Terrorists should be taught that their actions were wrong.”
In the terrorist case, the participants had more to say regarding their opinion due to its harsh nature and brutality. When the two White interviewees were questioned about this case, they both were hesitant but said it was not justified. However, of these two participants, 1 participant was more concerned about the cost associated with the execution and did not cite moral factors.
Of the 14 South Asian respondents, only 4 said that decision was not justified. These four were also adamant that the terrorists should suffer the consequences of their actions. One of these participants raised the issue that there will always be terrorism and that killing a few of them will not stop the larger issue.
10 South Asian participants said it was justified to have them executed. Reasons for this included: general safety of the public, remorse for the children killed, and severity of the crime committed. The latter reason was a sentiment shared by two White respondents who also said it was justified. In one case, a South Asian individual responded that, “Yes, I do think this was justified, this seems like a group of people who could have continued to cause ongoing havoc on a massive scale. Also, these group of men seemed to be well trained and could possibly have connections increasing the likelihood of them getting free and recommitting similar crimes.”
Some participants also feared the potential networks terrorists had with the community and how it affected the ability for justice to be served. This was brought up among the three Pakistani interviewees as well as the two Black interviewees. The main problem was surrounding corruption. Both black individuals who were from Uganda and Jamaica said that back home, they couldn’t trust their government. The Jamaican interviewee said that “they’re all corrupt they’re all after one thing, and that’s money and power for themselves it’s all an ego trip for all of them.” When asked if the death penalty would affect this corruption, she responded that “they would use it for their own gain because that is a way for them to threaten people or to say you know what will happen to you if you don’t do what I want. I will write you up, and you’re going to die it’s simple as that and people fear for their lives.” The Ugandan interview expressed a similar situation where “the government had no care for people and for them to go for the death penalty, it emphasizes that the government doesn’t care, because they don’t already provide proper health care. All this tax money, nothing is coming out of it. Having a death penalty is like oh now they’re gonna kill us off.”
Relatedly, Participants also raised the issue of a country’s economic condition. Specifically, with regards to the terrorist case, participants stated that the majority of poor people live in poverty and resort to crime as a means of survival. Given these economic conditions, these people are disadvantaged when it comes to the death penalty. Since there are little options for social and economic mobility, individuals turn to crime and face severe punishment.
This research sought to provide some insight into the attitude surrounding death penalty across different ethnic groups. In so doing, it provides a look at the mindset of individuals in Mississauga who are connected to these extreme brutalities either through their ethnic background or personal experience. Their attitudes are shaped by what they have experienced “back home” and could affect the public opinion on the death penalty. These findings also call for more research on the topic of ethnicity and death penalty attitudes, especially regarding issues of trust in the legal system.
Tayyaba is in her fourth year at UTM doing a double major in Criminology and Political Science. She has worked on campus as part of the Office of Student Transition and Center for Student Engagement and ensures students are making the best out of their years at University. She enjoys innovative research and aspires to pursue a degree in public policy.