Daphne Wright Trial: The recent Daphne Wright trial has brought the issue of the death penalty to the forefront of the Deaf community, igniting many debates both in favor of, and against, the appropriateness of this particular form of punishment. Without going into discussion of whether or not the Wright trial itself was a fair one, considering that Wright, a Deaf, African American, lesbian woman, was judged by a jury of hearing, Caucasian, and presumably, straight men and women, we would like to take moment to look at the death penalty from a psychological perspective.

Presumed Rationale of Death Penalty: The basic idea behind the death penalty is that if you kill someone on purpose, the government has the right to kill you, too. Think “an eye for an eye”, or one death justifies another. Those who support the death penalty believe its mere existence can deter people from murdering. They believe it’s cheaper than paying for life in prison. They believe it helps victims’ families heal emotionally.

The Fear Factor: Death penalty advocates argue that would-be murderers can be discouraged from committing crimes if they know that getting caught means facing the death penalty. The fear of death should make them think twice before killing. If this fear were enough to stop murderers, it follows that the murder rates in states with the death penalty should be lower than those in states without the death penalty. This is not true. In reality, murder rates are the highest, and have increased more over the past ten years, in states with the death penalty. Clearly, the psychological threat of death is not enough to prevent murders.

The Money Factor: Did you know that it costs millions more dollars to send someone to death row than it does to sentence someone to life in prison? While it might seem cheaper to flick the electric switch than to pay for a lifetime’s worth of prison food, lodging, health care, and so on, the fact is, death penalty cases are extremely expensive. The cost of the death penalty presents such a huge burden on county and state budgets, that every dollar spent on a death penalty case, is dollar that can’t be spent anywhere else. This means less money for social services, education, and other government-funded programs, as well as fewer job opportunities, all because of the dollars that need to be spent on death penalty cases.

The Vengeance Factor: Supporters of the death penalty often justify the punishment as being desired by victims’ families. Not all victims’ family members advocate the death penalty, however. Both Coretta Scott King, MLK’s widow, and Kerry Kennedy, RFK’s daughter, have opposed the death penalty. Death penalty trials and appeals drag out far longer than other trials. They bring unwanted media attention and scrutiny into the victims’ and their families’ lives. All of this can prolong a family’s grieving.

Other Psychological Factors: When someone is actually executed, it’s not just the victim’s family that deals with the emotional after-effects. The person who dies may also have parents, siblings, or children who will grieve. Then there is the issue of the death penalty being irreversible. If the wrong person is executed, there is no way to undo things. If an execution goes wrong, resulting in a slow, painful death, executors and witnesses can experience serious psychological distress.

One of a Kind: It’s not very often that a Deaf-friendly film comes along, written, directed, produced, and acted entirely by Deaf people. A creation from Julie Rems-Smario of DeafHope and Wayne Betts and Chad Taylor of Mosdeux, “Till Domestic Violence Does Us Part” is one such film, a smart and captivating portrayal of domestic violence. Told in ASL and from the perspective of a Deaf couple (acted by Amber Stanton and Jeff Pratt), it’s a must for viewing by any Deaf person who wants to learn more about domestic violence. As requested by DeafHope, ASC offers a review of the film here.

Two Versions: The DVD can be viewed in two ways – as a traditional movie-style version of a couple’s domestic violence-tainted relationship or as a workshop version in which scenes from the story are interspersed with accompanying narration (by Rosa Lee Gallimore). Presented clearly in an informative yet gentle manner, the narration expands on the story scenes by showing how they illustrate the various patterns and behaviors of domestic violence. The captions are useful, as they help clarify some regional signs such as “isolation” and “honeymoon” which may not be understood by every Deaf person.

Under-18 Audience: The adult content of the story, in particular, a scene involving sexual violence, may make it undesirable and uncomfortable for some parents, schools and other programs to consider showing to an under-18 audience. Because older children and teenagers can benefit greatly from learning about domestic violence early on, we would love to see a third, toned-down version of the story available on the DVD, or even a new film, showing domestic violence from the perspective of a younger Deaf person. By educating children and teenagers about domestic violence, we can give them the ability to recognize and cope with it, before it takes over their lives. Children need to know they can tell a teacher, a grandparent, or a trusted adult about any domestic violence that is occurring in their families. Teenagers need to be able to notice the first warning signs of domestic violence that can surface during their dating years. “If you love me, you’ll have sex with me” is just one example of threatening behavior that is related to domestic violence.

Subtle Forms of Domestic Violence: We were glad to see the film address the power and control behavior patterns that underlie domestic violence behavior. Beyond the stereotypical images of physical abuse and threats of intimidation, domestic violence also includes emotional and verbal abuse, financial abuse, and isolation. It’s far too easy for people to minimize the terrible impact of non-physical types of abuse, and remain in unhealthy and unsafe relationships because physical violence has not yet happened.

Straight, Gay, Lesbian, Rich, Poor, Educated or Not: Domestic violence is not limited to straight relationships only, nor does it always mean male-to-female abuse. Unfortunately, the film misses the opportunity to mention this in the narration or in a “fact sheet” at the end. Domestic violence can involve a woman hurting a man; it can also happen in gay and lesbian relationships. Domestic violence happens everywhere. Being rich, poor, or middle-class, white-collar, blue-collar, Deaf or hearing makes no difference, neither does coming from a Deaf or hearing family, being an ASL user or an oralist. Domestic violence does not discriminate.

Educational Tool: From our perspective as Deaf psychotherapists who have worked extensively with Deaf people whose lives have been affected by domestic violence, “Till Domestic Violence Does Us Part” is a wonderful and accessible educational tool. More than just a film that can help people recognize domestic violence in their own lives, it’s a film with an educational message that can go a long way in deterring people from becoming involved in unhealthy, abusive relationships. We highly recommend that mental health professionals and agencies who work with Deaf people have a copy of this DVD on hand.