On death row

Interview, Jan, 1996 by Tim Robbins

TR: What, for you, is the similar argument against the death penalty?

SHP: It is a profound moral contradiction to give the state the power to kill as a way of showing that murder is wrong. As a moral society, we must have, as firm bedrock, the idea that nobody is permitted to kill. How can we empower a government we barely trust to fill our potholes or collect our taxes with that kind of moral authority? What the death penalty has become is a political symbol that shields politicians from having to deal with the real issue of how to prevent crime, such as providing people with jobs, education, decent housing; in other words, bringing hope into people's lives so they can invest in our society.

TR: What is the most positive thing that has come out of your work in this field?

SHP: The human beings I have met and what each has taught me; victims' families who don't believe in the death penalty; some death-row inmates who have died very bravely, and had the courage to ask forgiveness for what they had done; prison officials who took a courageous stance and quit their jobs because their conscience wouldn't let them continue. I also value being close-up to the injustices of society, which prevent me from living a comfortable little existence behind an attitude of, "I've got it good and I happen to be blessed, so good luck to everybody else." It's given me a passion that I don't think will ever leave me.