Lying for life and death
By Brandon Astor Jones
"The Social Contract is nothing more or less than a vast conspiracy of human beings to lie to and humbug themselves and one another for the general good. Lies are the mortar that binds the savage individual ... into the social masonry." — Herbert George Wells, 1866-1946
Lies are as necessary as truth. I know that I am going to take a few hits for that sentence. Nevertheless, it is true. Not only are lies a social necessity, but they have been woven into the very fabric of almost every state government in the USA.
Alas, there are times when the average man and women must lie in order to preserve life and truth. Indeed, there are times when the only defence against a lie is yet another lie. There is no greater truth than life; and, in the US, sometimes one must fight death with lies. Moreover, you must tell the lie at least as well as those who have lied to promote death. For they will be in the majority.
For a long time now I have waited and hoped that someone else would write this essay.
The death penalty is sanctioned by the US judicial system. If you are chosen as a potential juror in a case in which the prosecution is seeking the death penalty — and you are opposed to capital punishment — you must lie and give the impression that you are in favour of capital punishment.
If you say or imply that you cannot vote for the death penalty, the judge is required by law to strike you from the pool of potential jurors. Conversely, if you say or imply that you lean more toward the death penalty, the judge is bound to strike you for that cause as well. How you feel about life or death, for the defendant, will be asked in many different ways during jury selection.
I have been watching this juror selection process for nearly two decades, and I have routinely found that more often than not, people who are opposed to the death penalty are much more forthright than those who favour it. Consequently, when questioned, they respond truthfully and are quickly excused by the judge "for cause".
As they exit the jury box, some will forlornly cast a final glance in the defendant's direction, knowing that their absence from the yet unchosen jury may condemn the hapless defendant.
On the other hand, those who are eager to vote for death are eventually chosen by the prosecution even though the prosecution knows that they are certain to vote for death. Therefore, when the prosecution seeks the death penalty, death has a decidedly unfair advantage over life. This is what really goes on in US courtrooms when the penalty of death is sought.
When the jurors pronounced death as my punishment, society as a whole told them that they had honoured their social contract well, for they had performed their civic duty. The fact that most of them had repeatedly lied was never considered, let alone mentioned.
Unfortunately for me, those people who honestly and openly declared their opposition to the death penalty were systematically excluded from the jury.
"A lie told well for the purpose of saving a life, any life, in my opinion carries far more integrity and truth than a lie told for death." — Irving Elmer Bell
I agree with Bell. When the prosecutor looks into the eyes of a potential juror and knows that that juror wants to kill the defendant but that juror lies about it, the diabolical social contract with death begins. In such a contact, truth and life become the sacrificial lambs.
[The writer is a prisoner on death row in the United States. He welcomes letters commenting on his columns. He can be written to at: Brandon Astor Jones, EF-122216, g2-57, Georgia Diagnostic & Classification Prison, PO Box 3877, Jackson, GA 30233, USA. An appeal against Brandon's sentence will be heard shortly by Judge Ken Nix. Readers may be able to help him reach a decision by writing short, courteous letters emphasising the humanity revealed in Brandon's columns, the contribution he has been able to make to society from death row and how his execution might affect them. (Do not argue against capital punishment in general, as this is not considered a relevant consideration in Georgia law.) Letters should be sent to: Judge Ken Nix, Superior Court, Cobb County, Marietta, GA 30060, USA. Please send copies to Australians Against Executions, PO Box 640, Milson's Point NSW 2061, fax (02) 9427 9489. Funds for legal expenses are also badly needed. Cheques can be made payable to "Brandon Astor Jones Defence Fund" and sent to Australians Against Executions.]