The Ethics of Punishment

p Ethics of Punishment in Truman Capote 's novel

In Cold Blood

Introduction

On November 15 1959 , the Clutter family was murdered at their home River Valley Farm in Holcomb Texas . Within a few days , the hunt for their murderers would spread nationwide . When they were captured , the fate of the killers would spark national debate over the subject of capital punishment . It would be the impetuous behind many states strengthening their capital punishment laws . The debate over capital punishment is one that still rages today

The Clutter family included

Herbert Clutter , his wife Bonnie and their two youngest children , Nancy , 16 and Kenyon , 15 . The Clutters were well to do farmers although they did not employ a great deal of household help . When help was hired , it was mostly for farm work . According to Capote (10 ) Herbert Clutter was a generous and fair employer except when it came to employee drinking . Bonnie Clutter was a mentally ill semi-invalid who had been in and out of hospitals for years . The family although they kept to themselves were well thought of in Holcomb even though they did socialize very much . The Clutters death had a very strong effect on the community and the of the manhunt for the killers was much debated

The criminals too had their history , much of it troubled . Perry Smith and Richard Hickock had both been in and out of the prison system and according to Capote (30 ) had a great deal in common . Both young men had been severely injured in car accidents and had troubled relationships with their families . Dick Hickock was the leader of the pair and Perry Smith was very much the follower

Smith and Hickock deliberately planned and thought out the crime , which was initially planned as a robbery including , gloves , masks and rope to tie the Clutters up with . Hickock had also stolen his father 's gun . Then they traveled to River Valley farm and hid in the bushes until everyone went to bed . According to Capote (52 ) Bobby Rupp a boyfriend of Nancy 's state , I think somebody must have been hiding there . Maybe down among the trees . Somebody just waiting for me to leave . `This would be the last time Bobby would see Nancy alive . Shortly after he left Smith and Hickock snuck into the house and murdered the entire Clutter family during the course of the robbery

The Clutters were found the next morning by their close neighbors the Ewalts . According to Clarence Ewalt in Capote (60 , I couldn 't make head nor tails . I thought maybe the child was hurt . It seemed to me the first thing to do was call an ambulance ' Ewalt thought the Clutters were still alive but upon entering the house the Holcomb County Sheriff found the entire family dead . According to Capote (62-64 , the entire family had been bound gagged and shot . According to Conniff (77 ) the Smith and Hickock were not , even good criminals since they failed to enquire of anyone how much money Clutter actually kept on the property They only got away with a transistor radio and less than 500 dollars in cash . According to Capote (70 ) rumors about the murders began to spread quickly throughout the town with some citizens of Holcomb theorizing that Bonnie Clutters depression had caused her to kill her family and then kill herself . A Kansas Bureau of Investigations Agent named Alvin Dewey was placed in charge of the murder investigation . Smith and Hickock would go on to pull cons across the American West until they were finally captured on December 30 1959

The debate began to rage almost instantly , over whether Smith and Hickock should receive the death penalty if convicted . The criminals according Conniff (80 ) rather disappointed KIA agent Dewey and the people of Holcomb County because they appeared to be so normal . Many people including some members of the Clutter family had been arguing against the death penalty for the murderers . This would lead to a fierce debate in Kansas over the death penalty . In the opinion so some citizens of Holcomb County , the killers should only have received life imprisonment , as they had not initially intended to murder the Clutter family

There is so much resentment in this community . I have even heard on more than one occasion that the man when found , should be hanged from the nearest tree . Let us not feel this way . The deed is done and taking another life cannot change it , let us forgive as God would have us do Bonnie Fox 's Brother Howard Fox in Capote (107 ) the families of Smith and Hickock were also pleading for leniency for their sons . According to Capote (259 ) Hickock 's father stated How it is , way folks feel , he don 't stand no chance . They 'll hang them both , and having your boy hang knowing he will , nothing worse can happen to a man

Others would not be so merciful however . According to Capote (246 Agent Dewey , although he was sympathetic with Smith and Hickock 's troubled lives felt that they ought to be hanged back to back according to Capote (246 ) The County Attorney Duane West also agreed with Agent Dewey stating in Capote (257 ) If the case goes before a jury , I will request the jury upon finding them guilty to sentence them to the death penalty . If the defendants waive right to a jury trial and enter a plea of guilty I will ask the judge to set the death penalty

Both Smith and Hickock had little hope of escaping the death penalty even though they thought the judge was the type who might give them life in prison . According to Smith , he was certain that he was going to Climb those thirteen steps ' Capote (265 ) Hickock says little about avoiding the death penalty but what he does say indicates that he to have little hope . In March 1965 , Smith 's prediction that they would be sentenced to death came true and he and Hickock were hanged by the State of Kansas for their crimes

The death penalty is in the end one of those ethical issues that just will not go away . All through human history , the decision about what we do with our violent criminals has been difficult for society to make According to Conniff (82 ) often death penalty cases such as the Clutter case end up disappointing the public because in the end they find out that the criminals really are not that much different than they are Finally , the death penalty is not going to go away and the decision about it being right or wrong is an individual one

Works Cited

Capote , Truman In Cold Blood : Vintage International ,1993

Conniff , Brian Psychological Accident In Cold Blood and Ritual Sacrifice : The Midwest Quarterly v35 , n1 (Autumn 1993 )

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