Kelsey West
Stephanie Dugger
English 102
14 Oct 2014
Karla Faye Tucker: A Fight to Save Her Life
In the United States, the death penalty is a subject that will most likely always be controversial. The eighth amendment of the U.S. Constitution states, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted” (Bill of Rights). Executions are not new to history, but does a humane way to kill another human being exist? Is there is difference between a humane way to kill a man and a humane way to kill a woman or child? It is a fact that more men than women are executed in the United States yearly; is it due to the difference between men and women, or do men just commit more violent crimes? On …show more content…
The next day she was sentenced to death by lethal injection. After years of failed appeals attempts, her execution date was set for June 30, 1992. On June 22, 1992, however, the Court of Criminal Appeals granted her a stay of execution. When the court reevaluated the case, she was denied relief based upon the conclusions of the trial court. Over the next six years, Tucker was repeatedly rejected and denied when attempting to receive relief. Eventually her final execution date was set for February 3, 1998. In her final month, Tucker was interviewed by Larry King in which she told her story, and she wrote a letter to the then Texas governor George W. Bush seeking 30 days of clemency from her execution (Karla Faye Tucker …show more content…
Even up to her last few days, Tucker fought long and hard for her life. She used pathos, her religious beliefs, and her gender to play upon the sympathies of the American public. Although seemingly genuine, she knew that the only way to have her sentence commuted was to go over-the-top with her statements; she needed to say all the “right things” so the public would feel pity or even guilt for such an “honorable person.” Her main goal was to gain support for her cause so she could save her own life, and she was willing to do just about anything for that—even over-exaggerating her miraculous
Stephanie Dugger
English 102
14 Oct 2014
Karla Faye Tucker: A Fight to Save Her Life
In the United States, the death penalty is a subject that will most likely always be controversial. The eighth amendment of the U.S. Constitution states, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted” (Bill of Rights). Executions are not new to history, but does a humane way to kill another human being exist? Is there is difference between a humane way to kill a man and a humane way to kill a woman or child? It is a fact that more men than women are executed in the United States yearly; is it due to the difference between men and women, or do men just commit more violent crimes? On …show more content…
The next day she was sentenced to death by lethal injection. After years of failed appeals attempts, her execution date was set for June 30, 1992. On June 22, 1992, however, the Court of Criminal Appeals granted her a stay of execution. When the court reevaluated the case, she was denied relief based upon the conclusions of the trial court. Over the next six years, Tucker was repeatedly rejected and denied when attempting to receive relief. Eventually her final execution date was set for February 3, 1998. In her final month, Tucker was interviewed by Larry King in which she told her story, and she wrote a letter to the then Texas governor George W. Bush seeking 30 days of clemency from her execution (Karla Faye Tucker …show more content…
Even up to her last few days, Tucker fought long and hard for her life. She used pathos, her religious beliefs, and her gender to play upon the sympathies of the American public. Although seemingly genuine, she knew that the only way to have her sentence commuted was to go over-the-top with her statements; she needed to say all the “right things” so the public would feel pity or even guilt for such an “honorable person.” Her main goal was to gain support for her cause so she could save her own life, and she was willing to do just about anything for that—even over-exaggerating her miraculous