When thinking of the Dylann Roof’s case, if we were to compare that to the case of Maurice Boyd, does the capitol sentence seem to be a bit much for either criminal? In the article by Kieran Platt, capitol sentencing had been done over with back in 1972 due to the court determining it unconstitutional because of excessive discretion. However, with all the issues thought of, the death penalty was reinstated in 1976under the premise that some conditions be met.  Per statisticbrain.com, there were 72 death sentences in the year of 2014. Over the past decade with the most death sentences given was the year of 2000, with a total 223 sentences. Different states have different laws concerning capitol sentencing. Only 32 states have death penalty laws while the remaining states have banned capital punishment. In the state of South Carolina, the only crime that is served by the death penalty is homicide. There have been only 43 executions in this state since the year of 1976. The state of Virginia is a little different. It is the first state to have held an execution back in 1608 when Captain George Kendall was executed in Jamestown for spying. Like South Carolina, the only crime that is punishable by Capital Sentence is homicide. Lethal injection or electrocution can carry out this sentence. After the year of 1976 there has been 111 executions.  The death penalty had been proven to carry many issues once and should be done over with again but not only temporarily this time. The main issue with this penalty is the conviction and kills of innocent people. There are two criminals; Maurice Boyd and Dylann Roof. One having escaped the death penalty and the other only beginning his journey into his conviction. Per exonerations of Innocent Men and Women, for every 10 people who have been executed one is set free. Henry and Lee Mcollum and Leon Brown were exonerated in 2014. These were two mentally disabled brothers who confessed to the 1983 rape and murder of an 11 year of girl and was sentence to death. It was later found that due to DNA testing these two were innocent. 

The article written by Alan Blinder and Kevin Sack focuses on the sentencing of Dylann Roof. Within this writing, we are exposed to the unapologetic actions of Roof who shot and killed nine church gores in Charleston South Carolina. Sack and Blinder breaks down the reaction of not only Roof but the families of the victims. While some are forgiving and remorseful others aren’t. The point Sack and Blinder attempt to make is strictly about Roof’s disturbing act on a church full of innocent people and how the death sentence may have been a great fit for his previous and current actions. Here we are told “It’s a hard thing to know that someone is going to lose their life, but when you look at the totality of what happened, it’s hard to say that person deserves to live when nine others don’t,” Mr. Graham said at a news conference. “How do you justify saving one life when you took nine, and in such a brutal fashion?” this is only one example of what the surviving distant victims felt. The victim’s surviving friends and family for the most part were forgiving and even though he had no remorse for his own disturbing actions they continued to be able to look over what terrible act had been committed.

Mr. Maurice Boyd had also committed a horrible crime but in Virginia. While he’s had such a long rap sheet we are introduced early to someone who had always in some way ran into trouble with the law. Having records showing assault, car thefts and murder; we are completely aware of who this person is. The author Jim Spencer of the daily press makes a point stating that “compassion is a wonderful thing. But calling a convicted “Cop Killer” like Maurice Boyd a victim of racism rather than a perpetrator of crime foes as much for the cause of racial equality as a Ku Klux Klan cross burning. 

 In the case of Maurice Boyd, there was an article where his mother about while she was testifying at a sentence hearing for her son. She went on to say. "I just pray. I just pray for my son," Boyd said. "I'm praying that he doesn't get killed." She looked at the jurors and said, "Please have mercy on my son." There were some controversial issues within the jurors. One African American woman decided to say that the only reason Boyd had been up for the death sentence is because of the color of his skin. She pulled the race card and did not contribute her vote along with every other juror on the stand who felt he deserved the capitol sentence. 

Jack Greenberg argues that the standing and value of the death sentence doesn’t focus on those who should be recipients of this punishment. In many cases, I do agree. There have been cases where people who are innocent have been convicted of crimes they did not commit. This is one good reason the death penalty should be completely done over with and for good. Even though the decision and process behind putting someone in the electric chair or lethal injection can be long thought out and take quite a while, some cases go unseen in the correct manor. There may be evidence that was looked over as well as false testimonies from outside people. 

The readers of these articles may vary between the three victims left behind in the Dylann Roof case as well as family and friends of both criminals and the victims. The police involved and other authors and writers may also be interested in what these articles are about. Family and friends of course will be interested, this is one way they can keep up with updates in the case. Also, these articles provide a broad aspect of different point of views and opinions. In the case of Maurice Boyd, the author strongly disagrees with the standing of one of the jurors involved. As stated earlier, she’s an African American woman who felt Boyd had been more of a victim of racism than a criminal who killed a police officer. The author made statements comparing this situation to one of the Ku Klux Klan’s cross burning ceremonies. He also pointed out by-standers who made comments such as they would be embarrassed to be on a jury as such. He used this as fuel to his fire to make his point. Without that vote from the juror Boyd has escaped the death penalty and is only sentenced to 25 years of imprisonment and 25 year of parole. My question was, is that enough? Dylan Roof is receiving the death penalty but Boyd had been able to escape it.  

The arguments within these two articles stem from race. In both situations, there had been some racial conflict which caused issues. Dylann Roof killed a church of African Americans because he didn’t like “black” people. Maurice Boyd (black) shot a white police officer after a normal traffic stop routine and one member of his jury claims Boyd had been a victim of racism which caused him to avoid his original sentencing of the death penalty. Using this information. An inset by Richard C. Dieter on the Death Penalty Information Center website reads; “It is tempting to pretend that minorities on death row share a fate in no way connected to our own, that our treatment of them sounds no echoes beyond the chambers in which they die. Such an illusion is ultimately corrosive, for the reverberations of injustice are not so easily confined.” Race shouldn’t be the focus of point when dealing with capital punishment. The most important factor should always be the innocent verses the guilty. In the executive summary on the same website, there were two new studies done on the on the continuing injustice of racism with the application of the death penalty. Dating back to slavery, yes the death penalty had been affected by race. But as time goes by this may remain true but how relevant is it? Not too important when comparing to the troubles of convicting innocent people and taking their lives. 

I had to re-evaluate my research question a few times. The more research I did I found out that Boyd had gotten out of the death penalty after being under the assumption that he received it.  I wanted to find a way I could compare a situation to another dealing with race and crime resulting in the death sentence. For whatever reason the Dylann Roof case had suck out to me from the start then decided to add Maurice Boyd to compare situations.

There are too many cases where mistakes in our criminal justice system has been made. It should not be up to a judge or jury to determine rather or not someone keeps their life. In my opinion I believe that in any case the death penalty is a hard subject to jungle. But when innocent lives have been taken what other measures are there to consider? 
