Dahlia Lithwick writes a great article in today's WaPo about the death penalty,(via Majikthise) questioning the idea of victims getting "closure" with the execution of the perpetrator. This is a marvelous discussion of some conventional wisdom that producing some intersting facts:

In a seminal 1985 law review article, law professor Lynne Henderson examined the relationship between victims' rights and criminal justice policy. Looking carefully at the psychological data on the needs of victims, Henderson discovered a wide array of responses to tragedy -- responses that differ widely from victim to victim, and that change significantly over a victim's lifetime. More crucially, Henderson's research reveals that "common assumptions about crime victims -- that they are all 'outraged' and want revenge and tougher law enforcement -- underlie much of the current victim's rights rhetoric. But in light of the existing psychological evidence, these assumptions fail to address the experience and real needs of past victims."

Go read the entire article. It's short but quite revealing.

It only makes sense that the reaction of victims wouldn't be monolithic. People have a variety of beliefs, and beliefs that shift over the course of their lives. Unfortunately in a time when people expect a "solution" or "compensation" in some way for every loss, it's an unavoidable assumption that with justice comes closure.

My experience with the issue of vengeance as closure is that it often does quite the opposite. In fact, the entire process of seeking vengeance actually delays the start of the process of closure. If a victim's family becomes absorbed in pursuing "justice" that takes ten years, the real grief may not begin until ten years plus the execution. Put another way, vengeance can serve as a defense mechanism to deny the profound feelings of loss, and to avoid the real work "closure". When the grief ultimately hits in this delayed fashion, it can be a confusing and confounding experience due to the time shift.

This is yet another example of conservative politics producing a theme that galvanizes policy consistent with their beliefs. It's important for those who oppose the death penalty to insist that data be produced to prove the assertion that executions create "closure".