ROBERTSON, BUSH, RELIGIOUS RIGHT IN DEATH PENALTY MIASMA

National media attention to the Karla Faye Tucker case is snowballing, as a date for execution is set. Would clemency, though, be an act of humane compassion, or a dangerous precedent which establishes "special rights" for religious believers?

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Web Posted: January 8, 1998

or many Christian fundamentalists, it is an example of mercy, compassion and the ability of human beings to change.

    For opponents of the death penalty, it is a another possible reason why state sanctioned killing should be abolished.

    And for state-church separation activists, it raises complex questions about "special rights" for certain religious groups, and even exposes the hypocrisy of many Christian social conservatives.

    On February 3, 1998, a petite 38-year old woman is sentenced to die by lethal injection in the Texas State death chamber. As noted earlier by AANEWS, Karla Faye Tucker and an accomplice were convicted in the June, 1982 slayings of a Houston couple who were beaten to death by a hammer and axe. The accomplice, Daniel Garret, died in 1993 from liver disease while in prison.

Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson (Above). Is his opposition to the death penalty for a born-again Christian woman in Texas an example of genuine compassion, or just another effort to achieve "special rights" for religious believers?

    Texas leads the nation in the number of executions; since 1982, a total of 107 men have been killed by lethal injection. 361 others perished in the electric chair from 1924 to 1964. Karla Faye Tucker would probably be just another figure in the controversial tally, another excuse for crowds to gather outside the Mountain View Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice facility near Gatesville, for a gruesome "tailgate'" party which includes food, booze and signs bearing legends such as "Fry 'Em!" Her case is different though, since Tucker is female; and the government has not executed a woman in Texas since 1863 when Chipita Rodriguez was hanged near Corpus Christi for allegedly murdering a horse trader.

   Texas has the dubious distinction of breaking another record, too. Since the death penalty was reinstated by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1976, only one woman has been put to death. Velma Barfield was executed by North Carolina in 1984.

    Besides Tucker, six other women reside in the Texas death row facility having been convicted of various forms of murder. But again, Tucker's case stands out. When she arrived on death row 13 years ago, she was considered a hardened thug who as a child and young woman had lived in a murky, violent world of illegal drugs, petty crime and prostitution. Now, she is a born- again Christian, has married a minister, and gained the support of powerful fundamentalist political players like Pat Robertson of the 700 Club. Throughout America's fundamentalist and evangelical community, the cause of Karla Faye Tucker has become an altar calling; and her case is now snowballing in the national media, with coverage in the New York Times and the NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw just in the past week.

    While some media have concentrated on the sexual politics of the Tucker case, the religious overtones are inescapable. Robertson has publicly called upon conservative Texas Governor George W. Bush (son of the former President, and a possible contender for the White House in 2000 or 2004) to "let compassion prevail," and grant clemency to Tucker. Technically, though, even Bush may not be able to do this. He can grant a 30-day stay of execution, but the governor is empowered to grant full clemency only a recommendation by the State Board of Pardons and Paroles. Robertson and other religious leaders have been flooding the governor's office and the Board with faxes, letters, calls and telegrams urging some form of special consideration. Thus far, Bush -- a politically astute Texas politician who, like his predecessors, has publicly embraced the death penalty -- has refused to take any definitive action in the case. Lone Star State pundits note that Texas politicos generally see killing of inmates as "in touch" with the sentiment of most voters. But executing a woman -- white, considered by many as petite and attractive (a description which has echoed through many media reports) , and a born-again Christian -- may have mixed results, and possibly could jeopardize Bush's political future.

    There have also been reports that male prison authorities -- guards and even an executioner who releases the lethal "cocktail" of drugs into an inmate's arm -- may not cooperate in the procedure. Prison flak catcher David Nunnelee, however, told Reuters news service in December, 1997, though, that plans were already then in place to have Tucker "escorted" into the execution chamber by women guards instead of men.

    Tucker ran out of legal appeals on Monday, December 8 when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider her appeal. Texas authorities moved promptly, and have scheduled her death for February 3. Regardless of the outcome of appeals and other efforts, though, Tucker's case has ignited a debate over the morality of death penalty, the fairness of its application based on criteria such as gender, and concerns that group's like Robertson's influential Christian Broadcasting Network (which carry the televangelist's "700 Club" program into 90% of the nation's cable systems) are asking for "special rights" on behalf of believers.

    Indeed, Robertson's organization is now asking viewers to contact both the Board of Pardons and the Governor's office in time for their January 16, 1998 deadline. "If they do not recommend a commutation to the governor," says the CBN web site update on Karla Faye Tucker's case, "Mr. Bush has no authority except to delay her execution for a maximum of 30 days."

   Public debate on forums such as CNN and "talk radio" seem to concentrate on the sexual aspects of the case. Is it right to execute men, and not women? There are peripheral questions, too. What do "feminists" say about Tucker's case? If equal rights advocates argued for parity in the military, for instance, why not equality in facing the executioner? Why challenge one -- and not the other?

Selective Indignation?

    Atheists and separationists are not of one mind regarding the morality or practicality of the state sanctioned death penalty; but there are compelling reasons for being interested in the Karla Faye Tucker case. At the least, atheists see a person's life as finite in its duration, something which does not carry over into an ethereal afterlife where one lives on, presumably in some state of spiritual bliss. "When you're dead, you're dead." For many non-believers, the philosophical implications of such a position are stark indeed; we have one finite, even short life. Lacking some outside, existential purpose, this "life" then becomes a "thing in itself" which must define its own purposes and directions.

    Trying to extrapolate philosophical implications from that notion is a daunting, and possibly futile task. For separationists, though, the case of Karla Faye Tucker is somewhat clearer, as is the role of Christian social conservatives like Robertson and a good portion of the fundamentalist movement which has traditionally incorporate a pro-death penalty plank into its social agenda for America. The Tucker case has not elicited any remarks from Robertson, Bush, or any other comparable figure, that they are reconsidering the deeper philosophical and sociological aspects of state sanctioned killing. Indeed, Robertson goes to lengths to assure the public that his credentials as a death penalty booster are in tact; it's the Tucker case, however, that is an "exception."

   While Robertson refers to Tucker's status as a woman, he has not made any similar pleas for clemency on behalf of female death row inmates elsewhere, including the six others on Texas death row. In crucial respects, their crimes appear as gruesome as Tuckers. Betty Lou Beets, for instance, was convicted in the August, 1983 slaying of her fifth husband in what is believed to be an insurance scam. A similar motivation is given to Francis Elaine Newton, who was convicted of killing her husband and two children. Robertson, the "700 Club," and the religious groups who have taken up Tucker's cause are silent on these and other cases.

    The religious aspect of the Karla Faye Tucker case, however, seems to be the inspiration behind Robertson's new-found persona as a conciliator and advocate of mercy. Robertson and others are "convinced" that Tucker has "truly found Jesus and turned her life over to God." But even here, the gender aspects of the case are hard to ignore; death rows across the country are populated by male inmates who have converted to Christianity and other religious beliefs, including Islam. While fundamentalist groups such as Charles Colson's Prison Ministry advertise the alleged benefits of religion- based rehabilitation inside prison walls, they remain curiously silent about the fate of male, born-again death row inmates. Almost nothing is said for those who have "found god" in another form, such as Allah.

   Tucker's fate remains problematic; it is not certain that even Robertson, with his considerable political clout and influence over George W. Bush's future political fortunes, can convince the Texas governor to take the potentially risky step of being perceived as "soft on criminals," or playing favorites. And the morality of state sanctioned execution remains a topic for debate, dividing supporters and opponents along lines which are not always predictable and clear.

Our earlier story:

ROBERTSON SEEKING ''RELIGIOUS EXEMPTION'' FROM DEATH PENALTY?

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