McKinley: Consider the death penalty when voting

This election season, we might get lost in debates and news stories surrounding issues seemingly…This election season, we might get lost in debates and news stories surrounding issues seemingly much more complex than us as individuals. It is easy to feel minuscule when the issues are framed in the larger contexts of national economic output or consulates in obscure cities. The Avett Brothers verbalize the feeling in lyrics by declaring, “your life doesn’t change by the man that’s elected.”

Terrance “Terry” Williams might disagree.

Williams, 46, is about to become the first executed Pennsylvanian in 13 years. Williams was convicted and condemned for brutally murdering two men in the 1980s. One man, Herbert Hamilton, was a sports booster. The other,Amos Norwood, was a chemist, a church volunteer and a husband. Both were established men in their 50s.

And both were sexual predators. Williams said  they victimized him. Chances are, he was not the only child they abused. When Williams killed them, he was putting a violent end to a cycle of abuse.

Before Williams the murderer, there was Terry the kid. Like many Pitt students, he grew up in a Philadelphia suburb. At Germantown high school, he was a promising student and quarterback of a championship football team. He is the example of a child destroyed by abuse.

Williams’ life was far from charmed. His story is of the boy whose abuse started at the hands, belts and cables of his mother when he was just six years old. Later Williams was abused by a stepfather, a neighbor and a teacher. He met Norwood at age 13, and the abuse began. Norwood’s murder would eventually lead to Williams’ own death sentence.

Times were different in 1986. Sexual abuse was less publicly discussed. The jury that sentenced Williams to death over 20 years ago never heard the evidence of sexual abuse.

As Pennsylvanians, we have been uncomfortably forced to confront sexual abuse in our state, our communities and our conscience. The scandal in State College coupled with the recent sentencing of the Bishop of the Philadelphia Archdiocese — which covers a significant part of the state — means that we, as a state, better understand sexual abuse than we did even just last year. As they ask for Williams’ clemency, five jurors and the wife of one victim exemplify the recent enlightenment about sexual abuse.

Knowing today that Williams’ victims were monsters themselves, would we still sentence him to death? If Penn State’s Mike McQueary had killed Sandusky instead of walking out of the locker room silently, would he, too, face the death penalty?

Gov. Tom Corbett says yes. In August, he signed off on Williams’ execution. On Oct. 3, a half-century of no contested executions in our proud state will come to a controversial end.

I am not arguing the legitimacy of vigilante justice; Williams should face some level of justice for two brutal murders, even though he was victimized. I am not asking to abolish the death penalty. And I am not demanding an overhaul of our judicial and executive branches.

I do challenge you to care about elections. In a republic as large as ours, we must rely on an imperfect system of representation. Our leaders are therefore not just elected officials in far-off capitol buildings, but rather a reflection of us as a people.

When Williams dies on Oct. 3, his blood isn’t just on Corbett’s hands, it’s on all of ours as Pennsylvanians.

Back to that Avett Brothers song. It might not seem like your life will change by the man who is elected, but as long as we live under the rule of representatives, we are in part defined by the actions and decisions of our elected officials.

So don’t be a part of the 30 percent of unregistered Americans. Registering to vote is easy. You can find the forms online or can visit either of the presidential candidates’ campaign offices. The deadline is Oct. 9. It’s an easy date to remember — it’s one week after Williams’ execution.

Email Rosie at romckinley@gmail.com