A&E ‘DOOM Eternal’ brings a cure for dull days
Opinion
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Should the death penalty be enforced?
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Wednesday, March 25, 2020
Volume 154 No. 27 SERVING SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1934
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COVID-19
First responders feel the pressure By Chris Padilla STAFF WRITER
Santa Clara County Public Health officials issued a shelter-in-place order to mitigate the risk of catching the coronavirus, but not everyone can afford to follow this ordinance. Among them are first responders – emergency medical technicians, f i re f i g hte rs and police officers. Within their normal routines, patrol officers, firefighters, EMTs and other first responders interact with the general public often. Because of this threat, Santa Clara County police departments, fire departments and emergency medical services are taking precautions to keep employees and the public safe during the coronavirus pandemic. “The first responders throughout Santa Clara County are such a valuable part of serving the public,” the Santa Clara County Public Information Office stated in an email. The county is prioritizing coronavirus testing for critical personnel so first responders who test negative can get back in the field, according to the email. Those who test positive are prioritized for treatment. Law enforcement officers will have personal protective kits – masks, gloves and disinfectant supplies. According to an email from the Santa Clara County Sheriff ’s office, this equipment will be on hand for patrols and available within jails. Gina Di Napoli, San Jose State University Police Department chief of police, said officers and cadets alike will have enough sanitation gear on hand for themselves and anyone they apprehend.
MAURICIO LA PLANTE | SPARTAN DAILY
San Jose Police Department officers pull over to approach a man on East San Fernando Street near San Jose State Saturday afternoon.
Di Napoli also said officers making arrests will not be sent in as a group to help prevent the spread of the virus, and that if they encounter people with symptoms, arresting officers will wear gloves and masks. In a news conference Friday Edgardo Garcia, San Jose Police Department chief, pointed out that officers are no strangers to the risk of catching communicable diseases in the line of duty, and that officers who are symptomatic will be tested for COVID-19. The San Jose Fire Department is making similar efforts to avoid contracting the virus and are equipped with their own personal protective equipment consisting of gloves, masks, goggles and gowns.
Because firefighters eat, train and live together while on duty, practicing social distancing can be difficult. But while they are out in the community, firefighters will practice social distancing, according to the SJFD Public Information Office. Though the SJFD said it is following special communicable disease response guidelines, they declined to state the specifics of those guidelines. “Generally speaking, there are safety practices that guide our response when h an d l i ng communicable diseases such as the current COVID-19 pandemic,” Erica Ray, SJFD public information officer, stated in an email. During the news conference, Garcia and
It’s important for all of us to stay home because it takes the pressure off our first responders to be out there, having to interact with folks. Sam Liccardo San Jose mayor
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo asked people to do their part during the pandemic. Liccardo also urged people to stay indoors in compliance with the shelter-in-place order. “It’s important for all of us to stay home because it takes the pressure off our first responders to be out there, having to interact with folks,” Liccardo said. He also asked people to report anyone who they
feel may be violating the shelter-in-place order. Garcia encouraged nonessential businesses to stay closed during the shelter-in-place order and to that end, he said SJPD will be deploying “compliance cars,” officially known as Help Order Compliance Cars. These compliance cars are tasked with looking for businesses staying open and informing them why they should close down,
giving them a chance to voluntarily comply with the order. GARCIA B u t starting this week, they may be switching from a stance of education to enforcement. “Those of you that know me, we’re not gonna stay educational for long if people aren’t paying attention to this,” Garcia said. Businesses that continue to defy the health order run the risk of criminal citation, health order violations and business license sanctions. However, Garcia noted that violators will not be detained. Follow Spartan Daily on Twitter @SpartanDaily
SJSU moms’ club offers resources By Briana Conte STAFF WRITER
I was able to join clubs as Spartan Mamas or other moms groups around campus too, so I was really able to balance out, like, my student life when I was at San Jose State, and my mom life when I would come back home.
During her freshman year at San Jose State in 2016, Fatima Lopez Sandoval became pregnant but was still determined to graduate on time in 2019. “I wanted to make sure that when I graduated, I did it with a child and with hard work and determination. [With] absolutely no [assistance],” Lopez Sandoval said. “I was never ever given extensions, I never had to make up the work. I didn’t want to feel different because my situation was already different.” She said she knew from the beginning Fatima Lopez Sandoval SJSU sociology alumna that she had to shrug off any prejudice or stereotypes about teen moms and demonstrate that she earned her bachelor’s “I want her to see that, ‘Yeah, mom degree in sociology with hard work graduated. Yeah, mom has an amazing job and persistence. and she is doing what she wants to do.’ ” “I want to make sure that I make a Before giving birth to her difference in childrens’ lives and in my MOTHERS | Page 2 own child’s life,” Lopez Sandoval said.
BRIANA CONTE | SPARTAN DAILY
Fatima Lopez Sandoval and her daughter, Bella, play at home in Palo Alto. Bella attended daycare at the Associated Students Child Development Center while her mom was in school.
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NEWS
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2020
MOTHERS Continued from page 1 daughter Bella, Lopez Sandoval’s mother-in-law referred her to RealOptions Obria Medical Clinic, a nonprofit clinic, where she received an ultrasound and prenatal appointments. After giving birth in August 2016, she took the fall semester off. The following semester, RealOptions clinic contacted her to inform her of Spartan Mamas, an almost decade-old club at SJSU. Spartan Mamas and RealOptions work together to provide student mothers with childcare resources. Lopez Sandoval said these resources helped her get through school and helped her graduate. She was able to secure child care at SJSU in Fall 2017 through the Associated Students Child Development Center on 8th Street. “I was just very, very glad to have had childcare at SJSU,” Lopez Sandoval said. “I was able to join clubs [such] as Spartan Mamas or other moms’ groups around campus too, so I was really able to balance out, like, my student life when I was at San Jose State, and my mom life when I would come back home.” Spartan Mamas is currently organized by club president Grace Perlman who was part of a similar club at her community college. “We [Spartan Mamas] table every week, and we give out free pregnancy tests and within every packet of pregnancy tests, there’s a little coupon for [a] free ultrasound,” Perlman said. “So if [a pregnancy test] does come back positive, they’re able to go to [a RealOptions] clinic and get a free ultrasound.” Brianna Baxter, outreach manager for
the RealOptions clinic located in The Alameda, said the nonprofit and Spartan Mamas are collaborating on a pamphlet that supplies a roadmap of different services available and how to attain them. In addition to medical services and childcare classes, Spartan Mamas hosts events. SJSU Spartan Bookstore scholarships help relieve some of the stress that academia and motherhood engender. “We kind of go based on what they want, what they’re craving to do,” Perlman said. “We even [have] a babysitting night where they can bring their kids, and then they can all go out and do something while we watch their kids.” Lopez Sandoval said her identity as a student mother heavily influenced her academic pathway. Along with her sociology degree, she declared a concentration in social interactions and a minor in child and adolescent development. She said she wants to work with student mothers in the future to help them navigate through that precarious life change. Citing her own support system through her family and university, Lopez Sandoval acknowledged her success is not a universal story. “Somebody else, who maybe doesn’t have the same family help and who doesn’t have a university or even a high school [which] will provide childcare, they won’t have the same outcome as me.” Lopez Sandoval is currently unemployed because she is an undocumented resident. “I busted my ass to obtain a good GPA standing in school, a well-deserved
BRIANA CONTE | SPARTAN DAILY
Lopez Sandoval’s husband works and takes Bella to daycare on weekdays so she can learn and play with other children. On weekends, she stays home with her mom.
diploma that is just sitting there,” Lopez Sandoval said. “It’s very frustrating.” Lopez Sandoval has been in the process of getting a U visa since her senior year of high school. The U visa is a nonimmigrant visa for people who have suffered some sort of abuse in the U.S. and are willing to assist in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. “Currently, [USCIS] is reviewing that the abuse I encountered is enough to obtain the visa,” Lopez Sandoval said. “I will know within the next few months if the evidence I provided is enough.” She is also in the process of meeting with an academic advisor at SJSU to start her graduate education. With recent complications because of the coronavirus pandemic, RealOptions
Outreach Manager Baxter said that the medical center is still open but only has essential clinical staff on site and has had to limit some resources such as parenting and childbirth classes. Baxter said that maternity and child care supplies are still provided during this time, but the clinic is taking precautionary measures to avoid the spread of the coronavirus. “Right now, it just works a little bit differently,” Baxter said. “Basically, we ask patients who need those things to give us a list and then they’re pulled out and given to them so they don’t have to come all the way in the clinic.” Follow Spartan Daily on Twitter @SpartanDaily
Corrections On Wednesday, March 18, the Spartan Daily published a story titled “ ‘Blackfishing’ is the new blackface,” in which the photo should have been attributed as a “Creative Commons Photo from Wikimedia Commons.”
On Thursday, March 19, the Spartan Daily published a story titled “UPD dispels ICE on-campus fears,” which should have stated Rep. Judy Chu is from Monterey Park, CA.
On Thursday, March 19, the Spartan Daily published a story titled “UPD dispels ICE on-campus fears,” in which Deferred Action for Child Arrivals was misspelled.
The Spartan Daily regrets these errors.
CLASSIFIEDS CROSSWORD PUZZLE
SUDOKU PUZZLE Complete the grid so that every row, column and 3x3 box contains every digit from 1 to 9 inclusively.
JOKIN’ AROUND What streets do ghosts haunt?
Dead ends!
SOLUTIONS
ACROSS 1. Mix together 6. Border 10. As just mentioned 14. 3-banded armadillo 15. Its symbol is Pb 16. Infamous Roman emperor 17. Make legal 19. Blockhead 20. Move unsteadily 21. Bog 22. Every single one 23. Fit out again 25. Tapestry 26. Sandwich shop 30. A copy from an original 32. An arc of colored light 35. Hearing range 39. Beneficial 40. A type of organic compound 41. Beginning 43. Gist 44. Irritability 46. Consider 47. Hurried 50. Dog-___
53. Against 54. Damp 55. Unusual person 60. Novice 61. Beekeeping 63. Brother of Jacob 64. Heredity unit 65. A tart fruit 66. Stitches 67. Therefore 68. All tuckered out DOWN 1. Kiln-dried grain 2. Type of sword 3. Anger 4. Fortitude 5. Consumer of food 6. Shade tree 7. Like a god 8. Newspaper 9. Biblical garden 10. Fascinated 11. Type of vacuum flask 12. Genus of heath 13. Sweater eaters
18. Anger 24. Not many 25. French for “After” 26. Medication 27. Convenience 28. Mortgage 29. Contagious 31. Wild Tibetan oxen 33. Shaggy 34. Hodgepodge 36. Sharpen 37. A single time 38. Swarm 42. Roomette 43. Mistake 45. Dining 47. Despises 48. Licoricelike flavor 49. Chaff 51. Large flightless bird 52. Certain aromatic herbs 54. Hourly pay 56. Stair 57. Be furious 58. Press 59. Canvas dwelling 62. Chief Executive Officer
03/24/2020
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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2020
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Intricate gameplay stuns in ‘DOOM Eternal’ By Chris Padilla STAFF WRITER
“Rip and tear, until it is done.” With these immortal words and the heaviest of metal riffs, “DOOM Eternal” sends you into battle against the legions of hell. It’s good to be home. “DOOM Eternal” is a sequel to 2016’s “DOOM,” in which the protagonist, the Doom Slayer, rips apart the hellish host invading Mars, only for the demonic forces to set their sights on Earth. The sequel picks up sometime after the events of the first game, with the invasion of Earth beginning in earnest. The 2016 installment in the “DOOM” series bucked first-person shooter trends with a game design more akin to games such as “Quake” or “Duke Nukem” by ignoring modern genre standbys. No longer will players prioritize finding cover and reloading. Instead they’ll focus on frenetic gunplay and a mob of demons out for your blood. “Eternal” continues the pedigree the series is known for, but adds flourishes to the formula that make it feel like an evolution of the genre rather than a simple tribute. The combat is still a kinetic dance of bullets and gore, where standing still means death at the claws of the legions of hell. But, all sorts of mechanical checks and balances mean that you can’t turn off your brain for even a second.
The “Glory Kill” mechanic comes back, allowing players to instantly kill weakened demons in grisly fashion, causing them to drop valuable health pickups. The chainsaw does the same for ammunition, which runs out much faster than in the previous game, meaning judicious use of it will keep your weapons from running dry. “DOOM Eternal” adds a “Flame Belch” move, which sets demons aflame and causes them to drop armor, keeping you alive in your battle against the unholy horde. Balancing these gameplay elements means that every encounter feels less like a shooting spree and more like chess at 90 miles per hour, a high wire balancing act where the wrong move means getting torn to shreds by Satan’s army. Each of the elements of gameplay and the weapons acquired are briefly introduced by text and a hands-on tutorial demonstrating how it works. “Eternal” also provides tutorials for the tougher enemies that have weak points you can exploit. These short demonstrations mean that players are prepared for the challenges that await them, without belaboring the point with a longform tutorial, allowing players to get back to the demon slaying. However, don’t mistake these tutorials for handholding, because the game will splatter you if you get complacent or fail to use your tools properly.
game review “DOOM Eternal” Rating:
Developer: id Software, Panic Button Games Genre: First-person shooter MSRP: $59.99
Indeed, be prepared to get familiar with death, because uncompromising encounters will likely lead you to the loading screen time and again. Mercifully quick loading times and generous checkpoints allow you to get back to the action in record time. Well-designed fights ensure that the deaths never feel cheap, even with the ultra-hard “Slayer Citadels” found hidden in some of the levels. Not content with a game full of just demon guts and explosions? Exploration also plays a big role in the game’s design. Cleverly hidden secrets pepper each level, ranging from neat things such as monster tchotchkes or audio vinyl records to useful things like power-ups or even cheats that allow you to break the rules of the game. For a brand that has made its name with firstperson shooter games, “DOOM Eternal” has a surprising amount of platforming, giving the
PAUL HANG | SPARTAN DAILY
‘DOOM Eternal’ brings the heat with a complex story that will keep players engaged.
game a Metroidvania-like feel between the gunfights. However, some parts of the game don’t indicate where to go very well, which can leave players stuck with admiring the scenery until they bumble their way to the right place. “DOOM Eternal” has plenty of replay value, so if you’re sheltered in place, there is still plenty to do after the credits roll. Aside from higher difficulty levels for the campaign, you can find missed collectibles or conquer the “Slayer Citadels.” The latter of which unlocks the ultra-powerful “Unmaykr,” a reference to the classic “Doom 64.” Not happy to store all the
collectibles behind a menu, “Eternal” keeps everything you find in the game’s staging area, where you can look at all the neat things you find in the campaign and find even more secrets. “DOOM Eternal” introduces “Battlemode,” a multiplayer experience in which players are either the Doom Slayer or a team of two campaign demons such as the “Pain Elemental” or the “Mancubus.” Each of the different demons that you can play as have unique play styles and skills you need to use to hunt the Doom Slayer. A warning for the faint of heart: playing as the Doom Slayer can be an exercise in frustration as the deck is firmly stacked in
the demons’ favor because they have more health and if both are not killed in quick succession, the fallen demon respawns to terrorize you once more. Winning as the Doom Slayer in “Battlemode” requires masterful use of every skill you’ve learned in the campaign against two other players who can adapt to your strategies and a horde of non-player demons out for your blood. All-in-all, “DOOM Eternal” is just shy of gaming perfection with a few minor flaws that hold it back. Follow the Spartan Daily on Twitter @SpartanDaily
‘Animal Crossing’ gives players an escape game review
By Andrew Glenn STAFF WRITER
For the player looking to simply pass the time, “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” is a cheerful family-friendly game to live out world-building fantasies. It’s the fifth installment in the main series. Released on the same day as its gaming polar opposite, “DOOM Eternal,” fans greeted it with eager anticipation. The game works in real time and allows the player to create a world within their control for their ideal getaway. It starts off with the player, a human, in an airport talking to two tanukis, or Japanese raccoon dogs, which work for a company called Nook Inc. Players can then choose which hemisphere to place their fictional island to better match the seasons of the real world in the game. The real-time aspect can be seen as a negative for people who prefer quick-paced games. Once you arrive at the island you will be given a tent and are instructed to place it wherever you want. It is also at this time you discover that you came to this island without paying and are now in debt to Nook Inc. The airport on the island opens up and allows the player to travel to other islands, find other non-player characters and bring them
“Animal Crossing: New Horizons” Rating:
Developer: Nintendo Genre: Social simulation MSRP: $59.99
ANDREW GLENN | SPARTAN DAILY
‘Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ lets players build connections and upgrade their status within their own island.
back with them to populate the island. These other islands will also provide unique resources that can be collected and brought back to further expand your island. Once there are enough residents living on your deserted island, you may begin constructing the town. A multiplayer option allows for one user to interact with up to eight others. While previous games of the series required players to exchange a code to play with one another, “New Horizons” allows for players to open the island to visiting players. Players’ friends can now fly over to the island and visit
while playing. Safeguards are in place to prevent rogue players wreaking havoc. Other players on the “Best Friends” list of your in-game Nook Phone can interact with the island the same way you can. This system has its appeal as it brings together all who play the game and provides a platform for friendships to be made. Local play is also supported for those that do not have ready access to the internet. Players on the same system can play couch co-op, though the game only allows for one island per Nintendo Switch.
Players can then trade items locally or online with one another, as each island is determined by general location as well. Trees that produce fruit native to your island or swiped from elsewhere can be planted to grow more fruit for selling purposes. The game includes numerous activities such as bug collecting, fishing, gardening, woodworking, marketing and establishing a museum. Activities can earn the players Nook Miles or Bells, the in-game currencies, to pay off their debt. This continuous dedication to the game comes
with perks as each new day has something to offer. On the beach there is a daily message in a bottle that contains recipes for the player to craft new items. These items can be used to decorate the island or have practical applications or even be used to pass the time. A rock will randomly spawn on the island that can be hit multiple times for Bells. Each day brings something new for gameplay as well. Once the first-day tutorial has been completed, players can build a museum, turn their tent into a house and build a shop on the island. The restriction of access to certain items can be tedious
as there’s only so much that can be done in the small starting area. The implementation of real time and seasons can be frustrating when trying to collect insects and fish that only appear during certain times of the day and year. A lot of the activities can be done within a few days with patience and dedication, or one could time skip with certain items. Regardless of the playstyle or one’s genre preference, “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” is the charming game one plays as a simple escape from the world. Kick your feet up and relax during the COVID-19 quarantine and play this relaxing game to pass the time.
Follow Andrew on Twitter @SaviorElite10
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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2020
BRI’S BEAUTY
Beauty owes innovations to drag By Brianna Sheats SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The contemporary beauty world has changed tremendously in large part thanks to the creativity of drag queens. A drag queen is typically a male who overemphasizes their hair and makeup to exaggerate the typical features of women. William Dorsey Swann, w h o was
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considered the first drag queen, was a slave in the 1880s who fought for queer rights and referred to himself as a “queen of drag,” according to an article by The Nation. Swann paved the way for drag queens today by fighting for the right to express their art.
Over the decades, drag queen beauty has inspired many of the makeup trends we see today. One of the most popular trends people do when applying makeup is “baking” the face. “Baking” is when you apply a hefty amount of loose finishing powder or baking powder to certain areas, usually where you applied concealer. T h e areas
people tend to “bake” are the jawline, nose, underneath the eyes and even eyebrows. This helps control the oils on your face, conceal your pores, make your makeup last longer and brighten the areas you concealed. Drag queens originally “baked” their faces in order to stop the sweat oils from ruining and oi makeup. their ma The stage lights in venues are so bright some ve that it creates intense heat. Another trend involves Anoth directly applying craft supplies. supplies Using a glue stick, you comb the th eyebrow hairs upward, let it dry and upward proceed to cover it with foundation and powder. foundat Applying this Apply technique to your techniq makeup routine allows you to have a blank canvas to t create whatever brow sshape you want, having to without actually pull hairs to reshape them. Applying dramatic Apply was started makeup drag queens who by dra accentuated parts of their accentu face to construct a more feminine physique. feminin queens Drag pioneered this trick pioneer exaggerated to shape sha brows, framing the face femininely. feminin Some would argue the of drag were first phases ph witnessed in the 16th witnesse century theater.
Dramatic lashes, snatched eyebrows, bold eyes and contour so sharp it could cut. All can be traced back to drag queens. Women were not allowed to perform, so men had to impersonate women according to the British Library website. To appear as women, men had to not only dress in women’s clothing, but also had to dramatize their makeup. Techniques such as contouring, overlining lips and bright eyeshadow were used to accomplish a women’s appearance. These methods evolved throughout the years. For example, the different undertones of contouring shades helped create different dimensions for the face. Bright eyeshadows are a staple in any drag queen’s repertoire. It was not too long ago that if you were seen with a substantial amount of makeup on with bright colors on your eyelids, the comment “You look like a drag queen,” may have been hurled at you as an insult.
For the past decade, blown-out colored eye looks have become a wellloved fashion statement – an art form. Dramatic lashes, snatched eyebrows, bold eyes and contour so sharp it could cut. All can be traced back to drag queens. These performers have stellar makeup skills and should be put on the highest pedestal in the beauty world, as they shaped the makeup looks of today. Drag queens are makeup icons for creating techniques widely used by makeup artists, including me. All these techniques earn Bri’s approval.
Follow Brianna on Twitter @briannaanna_ Bri’s Beauty appears every Wednesday.
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COUNTERPOINTS
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2020
5
ILLUSTRATION BY NATHAN DOYLE
Should the death penalty be enforced?
Yes, it should be used often No, justice is not met to give criminals a warning through acts of retribution Gia Pham STAFF WRITER
Capital punishment should be applied to convicted felons guilty of crimes, such as rapists and first-degree murders, to establish a more fair and capable justice system. The landmark Supreme Court decision in Kennedy v. Louisiana significantly changed capital punishment in the U.S. in 2008. According to Oyez, a multimedia archive of Supreme Court cases, the court chose to uphold the Eighth Amendment, claiming it was a cruel or unusual punishment, thereby prohibiting the death penalty for the rape of a child in cases where the victim did not die and death was not intended. Raping an innocent child is the epitome of corrupting innocence and should be met with the harshest of consequences in order to deter similar inhumane crimes. Enforcing the death penalty will serve as a warning to those degenerates who only wish to hurt other people. The death penalty should be enforced only in cases where viable evidence is provided in court because society has not only the right to keep the general public safe, but also the obligation. The proponents against the death penalty are simply too naive and soft to recognize the cruel realities victims and their families face. The death penalty will show the public that our justice system will address the needs of the victims, not the needs of convicted murderers and rapists. While lethal injection is legal in California, as well as 27 other states, Gov. Gavin Newsom put a halt on any further executions in late 2019, leaving 737 murderers and rapists incarcerated but alive. For example, in 1979 Marvin P. Walker shot three people and molested a young woman, but now has less than two years left in prison until he is sent out into the world, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Recidivism of sex offenders is incredibly difficult to measure because of the underreported nature of sex crimes. So there may be even more than authorities can track. Sex offenders are more likely to recidivate with a nonsexual offense, but these offenses are often sexual in their underlying rationales, according to the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking. Efforts to rehabilitate criminals who have committed capital crimes show the public that their grief and trauma matter less than a criminal’s redemption. Keep in mind that according to the 2019-20 state budget, 7.35% of California’s funds will go to prisons. This means that the public’s tax dollars are paying for the healthcare, recreational activities and rehabilitation programs of child rapists. California’s prison system is overflowing with people – criminals who have sadistically wronged others and do not contribute anything to society except hatred and violence. Increased enforcement of the death penalty will maintain prison populations at manageable levels, all while acting as a form of incapacitation, ensuring the public that those who have committed violent crimes can never act again. When notorious serial killer Ted Bundy was finally executed in 1989, citizens celebrated by hosting a tailgating event with beer outside of the prison walls, according to All That’s Interesting, a website dedicated to providing history, science and news factoids. In fact, 63% of the public believes that the death penalty is morally justified and more than half of the public is in favor of the death penalty in cases of murder, according to Pew Research Study in 2015. People such as Ted Bundy are not even human, but rather monsters that take up space and need to be eliminated from society in order to preserve the well being and basic right to life for others. Follow Gia on Instagram @phamtasticxx
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The Spartan Daily prides itself on being the San Jose State community’s top news source. New issues are published every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday throughout the academic year and online content updated daily.
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Shruthi Lakshmanan STAFF WRITER
In the name of deterring crime and protecting society, Americans have justified murder. The death penalty is legal in 28 states, three of which have issued moratoriums on executions, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, a non-profit organization providing research and analysis on capital punishment. Those three states, California, Oregon and Pennsylvania, have governors with just moral compasses allowing their justice systems to bypass the law and inhibit the penalty. According to the Los Angeles Times, California holds the national record for the number of death row inmates with an astonishing 737 as of March 2019. My colleague Gia Pham tells you that the death penalty should not be exempt from any state law because it is a rightful punishment for certain crimes. Her list of justified crimes that deserve the death penalty include sexual assault and first-degree murder, if defendants are convicted. I’m glad she agrees that it should be proven crimes because wrongful incarceration that leads to the death penalty is extremely high in this country. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, 82.4% of death row inmates who were released because of wrongful imprisonment were mistakenly convicted for official misconduct. Another 76.5% were on death row for false accusations. I disagree with death penalty supporters because families of victims will not overcome trauma through restitution. We should encourage people to prevail without retribution because as a society, we need to believe that we are better than those who have wronged us.
SENIOR STAFF WRITERS DIANA AVILA PAUL HANG BRIANNA SHEATS EDUARDO TEIXEIRA AUSTIN TURNER KELLEN CONCENTINE STAFF WRITERS JOCLYN AGUIRRE BRYANNA BARTLETT BRIANA CONTE ANDREW GLENN SHRUTHI LAKSHMANAN DAN NGUYEN CHRIS PADILLA GIA PHAM BRIAN SO PRODUCTION CHIEF MIKE CORPOS NEWS ADVISER RICHARD CRAIG
There is no difference between government-sanctioned executions and murders. The former is simply justified with an outdated law while the latter is not. Now, I am not saying that people like Ted Bundy, who raped and murdered dozens of women, should be given mercy. For his heinous crimes, he should have faced a life-sentence without parole and restitution. Killing him released him of his consciousness and accountability. It was freeing him from his actions. Criminals, regardless of the severity of their crimes, are aware that they risk life imprisonment when engaging in illicit activity. It is not the weight of the penalty, but the likelihood of getting caught that scares them. Beyond its moral implications, the death penalty also poses as a financial constraint on the American justice system. NBC News reported that in 2007, New Jersey became the first state to ban execution because of the financial burden it placed. A 2011 article by Arthur L. Alarcón, a United States Court of Appeals judge for the Ninth Circuit, and Paula M. Mitchell, Loyola Marymount University law professor, stated that the exorbitant costs of capital punishment was a damper in California residents’ wallets. “Since 1978, California’s [death penalty] system has cost the state’s taxpayers $4 billion more than a system that has life in prison without the possibility of parole,” stated Alarcón and Mitchell. Not only is this a chunk of our paycheck going to unjustifiable homicide, it is a damning valuation of American society’s morals. We cannot trust in a system that upholds the law of retaliation – an eye for an eye. Follow Shurthi on Twitter @shruthilakshmanan
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ASST. ADVERTISING DIRECTOR KUNAL MEHTA ADVERTISING STAFF LIZZY ALVES PARKER D’ENCARNACAO TIANA LAM SABRINA SALAS JESUS TRUJILLO ARMANI WARD ADVERTISING ADVISER TIM HENDRICK BUSINESS MANAGER CINDY LUU
EMAIL: spartandaily@gmail.com
ADVERTISING – TELEPHONE: (408) 924-3270 EMAIL: spartandailyadvertising @gmail.com
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EDITORIAL POLICY Columns are the opinion of individual writers and not that of the Spartan Daily. Editorials reflect the majority opinion of the Editorial Board, which is made up of student editors.