In my personal opinion based on the information presented in class, I do believe that Clifford Boggess should have been executed. This was a difficult and somewhat lengthy debate because I found myself going back and forth between the person Clifford was and the person he seemed to be. In the beginning, he was a cold blooded killer; one that loved the thrill of taking another person’s life and felt little to no remorse about the crimes he was committing. After time on death row, it would seem that Boggess was taking a new perspective on life and what he had done. He expanded with art, became a loyal and devoted follower of Jesus Christ, and claimed over and over again that he was apologetic about killing the two old men. However, I found myself getting more and more aggravated as Clifford went on and on about the person he had become. He seemed so cold about his murders, almost as if they were nothing. He rarely acknowledged himself as a killer or came to terms with what he had done because he was hiding behind his “Christian” way of life that he had somehow found on death row. It is unrealistic to think that he should sit in his cell, day in and day out, crying and repenting for what he had done, but he seemed completely unphased by what he had done and how it has affected people other than himself.
I do believe that people have the ability to change, but not in the drastic ways that would need to occur in order for a killer to suddenly become a good person. Many people who are driven to kill have a psychological predisposition to have little to no feelings about killing and in some situations even enjoy what they are doing. Someone can change their outlook on life or their anger management, but it isn’t as simple as changing what a person is biologically destined to do. I have to say that I have a lot of faith in human beings, but I sincerely believe that a lot of what Clifford Boggess said was simply what he thought everyone wanted to hear. Even when Lisa Hazelwood wrote Clifford simply asking for an answer as to why he killed her grandfather, he stuffed the letter with bible passages and found what seemed like every way possible to avoid the question. She found the letter as equally frustrating as I did which in many solidified the fact that she wanted him to die. In taking Clifford’s life, I do feel the justice system gave the families of the victims at least a little peace of mind in knowing that this killer was not going to have the opportunity to hurt anyone else. I know that personally, it would be a relief to know that the justice system put an end to the person who took a loved one from me.
While Clifford appeared to have made some decent life changes in prison, I don’t believe that someone who has the ability to live with the actions they have committed, like taking another person’s life, can be any kind of value to society. There are many devoted Christians in the world who would never even consider the possibility of murdering someone, there are rising artists all over the world who can travel and find inspiration without having to be behind bars. I can’t find any possible way to justify Clifford Boggess as an asset to society because he was secure with his decisions to execute a living, breathing, human being just like himself. It may seem harsh, but if he was okay with doing it once, and then okay with doing it twice, I am a firm believer that a third time really isn’t going to mean anything to his conscience.
