In 1962, Arthur Lucas and Ronald Turpin were the last two to be executed before capital punishment was removed from Canada. Neither of them were given much of a fair trial and their sentences are still debated, even though it’s too late now to do anything.
Capital punishment is a sentence given to a person consequently for committing capital offences and it has a lot of history in Canada. It is usually given to criminals who have committed serious crimes and could be a danger to society, such as murder, murder of an officer or prison guard, or murder from sexual assault. It was enacted in Canada in 1859 and not fully removed until 1976. In total, 710 Canadians were executed from the death penalty with the last being Arthur Lucas and Robert Turpin in 1962. Today in Canada, capital punishment is replaced with 25 years to a life in prison with no chance of parole. Canada has been completely opposed to capital punishment since the removal of it, but the sentence is still widely debated.
In the short story “Two Fishermen” by Morley Callaghan, Thomas Delaney was sentenced to capital punishment after killing a man who molested his wife. This story most likely takes place in the Southern US around the 1930’s-40’s, however; if the setting took place in Canada I believe it would take place around the early 1900’s. The story would have to take place in between the time frame of 1859 and 1962, as this is when criminals in Canada would be sentenced to capital punishment for the murder of anyone. Also in the story, “Thomas Delaney… was being hanged” (pg 1) as the method used in his death penalty. Hanging was the most common way used during the late 1800’s to mid 1900’s in Canada, which is another reason why the story would take place around then. The last piece of evidence to support this is that Thomas Delaney was “hanged in the town jail yard” (pg 5), which is inside the jail walls. This means that the hanging was private, and hangings were not private events until the law changed in 1870.
Thomas Delaney, a husband who killed to protect his wife, should not have been sentenced to capital punishment for his actions because it was out of protection, self-defence, and he is not a violent person. Delaney kills Mathew Rhinehart after he catches Rhinehart molesting his wife. Out of anger, Delaney and Rhinehart fight, but it ends with Rhinehart dead and Delaney getting the death penalty. To begin, Thomas Delaney should not have been killed because he was just trying to protect his wife. Delaney catches Mathew Rhinehart “molesting his wife when she had been berry-picking” (pg 1) which is what made him so angry and start to fight Rhinehart. His wife was just trying to pick berries when Rhinehart came along, showing that his wife clearly did not want any of these actions. This would be enough to make anyone crazy to try to protect them, especially someone you love, even if normally you would never hurt anyone. Secondly, Thomas Delaney should not have been sentenced to the death penalty because he was trying to defend himself. Before Rhinehart was killed, “there had been a struggle and Thomas Delaney had taken a bad beating” (pg 1). This shows that Delaney may have not even started the fight, and may have just been trying to protect himself. Self-defence is one argument against someone being sentenced to the death penalty and as it did come into play in this case, it should have been taken into consideration. Lastly, Thomas Delaney should not have been killed because he knew what he did was wrong. Thomas Delaney is not known as a violent person in his town, which is shown when “the crowd threw small rocks and sticks” (pg 7) at the hangman after the hanging. The people of his town know him as a young husband, not as a killer. Thomas Delaney was not trying to kill, he was just extremely angry in the moment, so he knew what he did was wrong. Even if he got sent to rehab instead of the death penalty, he would not be a danger to society and would most likely not murder again because it is not in his nature. Other forms of punishment, such as a life sentence, could have been used instead of capital punishment. In conclusion, protection, self defence, and knowing his mistake are three reasons why Thomas Delaney should not have been sentenced to the death penalty.
References:
Alamenciak, Tim. The end of the rope: The story of Canada’s last executions. 10 December 2012. 18 September 2017. <https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2012/12/10/the_end_of_the_rope_the_story_of_canadas_last_executions.html>.
Beliveau, Emily. The Last Public Hanging in Canada. 15 December 2014. 20 September 2017. <https://blog.huroncounty.ca/museum/the-last-public-hanging-in-canada/>.
Death Penalty in Canada. n.d. 19 September 2017. <https://www.amnesty.ca/our-work/issues/abolish-the-death-penalty/death-penalty-in-canada>.
Gendreau, Paul. Capital Punishment. 2 June 2006. 15 September 2017. <http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/capital-punishment/>.
Monroe, Susan. History of Capital Punishment in Canada. 6 February 2017. 15 September 2017. <https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-capital-punishment-in-canada-508141>.
News, CBC. Capital Punishment in Canada. 16 March 2009. 19 September 2017. <http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/capital-punishment-in-canada-1.795391>.