STATEMENT- 9/6/2024
Product of a system: the death penalty in South Carolina targets multi-marginalized, disabled individuals
Trigger Warning: Discussion of state-sanctioned killing, death penalty, and discrimination against disability.
For the first time in 13 years, South Carolina has scheduled an execution. Khalil Allah (known formerly as Freddie Owens) is set to be executed on September 20, 2024. Our state offers three methods of execution: firing squad, electrocution, and lethal injection. Mr. Allah’s attorney has been forced to choose lethal injection on his behalf.
The death penalty is disproportionately applied to multi-marginalized communities. If a person is disabled, Black, poor, or lacks access to quality education, their likelihood of facing execution increases. In Mr. Allah’s case, all of these factors are present.
Living a life of trauma produced by broken South Carolina systems, Mr. Allah endured severe abuse as a child, difficulties in foster care, and faced further mistreatment while in the state’s Juvenile Justice System. The horrendous abuse he received during his childhood led to a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Mr. Allah lives with a TBI, a condition that results in “diffuse cerebral dysfunction associated with disturbances in consciousness, cognition, mood, affect, and behavior.” According to the Brain Injury Association of America, TBI can lead to aggression, attention and memory problems, impulsivity, poor judgment and decision-making, difficulty processing, problems with word finding, and speech issues.
The death penalty is a profoundly ableist practice that disproportionately impacts people with disabilities, reflecting systemic bias and a lack of understanding within the criminal justice system. Individuals with intellectual, developmental, or psychiatric disabilities are often condemned without proper consideration of how their disabilities affect their behavior, understanding, and ability to participate meaningfully in their defense. This includes individuals who experience TBI. This failure to acknowledge and accommodate disabilities not only dehumanizes us but also denies the value of our lives and bodies.
This ableism begins long before a crime is committed. Disabled people are more likely to face poverty, limited access to quality education, inadequate healthcare, insufficient support services and mental health resources. These factors significantly increase the likelihood of involvement with the criminal justice system. Additionally, we are often criminalized for behaviors related to our disabilities, misunderstood by law enforcement, and subjected to harsher treatment during arrest and interrogation. The justice system frequently fails to provide necessary accommodations, whether during initial interactions with police or throughout legal proceedings.
The case of Mr. Allah is a stark reminder of how marginalized individuals, particularly those with disabilities, are devalued within the justice system. His situation illustrates the intersection of ableism and injustice, where people are not given fair treatment during defense or sentencing due to preconceived notions about their worth and capacity.
This reality is all too common in South Carolina’s justice system, with people like Mr. Allah bearing the brunt of a system failing to recognize their humanity and circumstances. These practices reflect broader societal attitudes toward disability that lead to criminalization, unfair trials, and disproportionate punishments.
Able SC strongly condemns the upcoming execution of Mr. Allah and calls on the S.C. Supreme Court and Governor Henry McMaster to defer his execution. In light of his many marginalizations, including his organic brain injury—a disability that has led to a lifetime of mistreatment, misunderstood behavior, and now, the ultimate condemnation by the state—Mr. Allah’s life must be spared.
Sources:
Brain Injury Association of America, Brain Injury Diagnosis
History Repeats Itself: The Post Furman Return to Arbitrariness in Capital Punishment
Prison Legal News, People with Traumatic Brain Injuries More Likely to Commit Crimes
Science Direct, Organic Brain Syndrome
Compassion Prison Project: Traumatic Brain Injury in Prisons and Jails