Semon Frank Thompson, Jr. - Death Penalty - ProCon.org

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Semon Frank Thompson, Jr. Biography
Title:	Former Superintendent of the Oregon State Penitentiary
Position:	Con to the question "Should the Death Penalty Be Allowed?"
Reasoning:	"As superintendent of the Oregon State Penitentiary, I planned and carried out that state's only two executions in the last 54 years I used to support the death penalty. I don't anymore... I was charged with executing two inmates on the penitentiary's death row, Douglas Franklin Wright and Harry Charles Moore... Regardless of their crimes, the fact that I was now to be personally involved in their executions forced me into a deeper reckoning with my feelings about capital punishment. After much contemplation, I became convinced that, on a moral level, life was either hallowed or it wasn't. And I wanted it to be... Since I retired from corrections in 2010, my mission has been to persuade people that capital punishment is a failed policy. America should no longer accept the myth that capital punishment plays any constructive role in our criminal justice system. It will be hard to bring an end to the death penalty, but we will be a healthier society as a result." "What I Learned from Executing Two Men," nytimes.com, Sep. 15, 2016
Theoretical Expertise Ranking:	Organizations/VIPs/Others Individuals and organizations that do not fit into the other star categories.
Involvement and Affiliations:	Superintendent, Santiam Correctional Institution Mill Creek Correctional Facility, Oregon Department of Corrections, 2003-2010 Superintendent, Columbia River Correctional Institution South Forest Camp, Oregon Department of Corrections, 2001-2003 Assistant Director, Community Services, Oregon Department of Corrections, 2000-2001 Assistant Director, Institutions Division, Oregon Department of Corrections, 1997-2000 Recipient, Warden of the Year, North American Association of Wardens and Superintendents, 1997 Superintendent, Oregon State Penitentiary, 1994-1997 Superintendent, Arkansas Department of Corrections, 1989-1993 Associate Dean of Students, University of Arkansas, 1976-1978 Criminal Investigator, University of Arkansas Department of Public Safety, 1975-1976 Recipient, Living Legend Award, Willamette University College of Law
Education:	BA, Social Welfare, University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, 1969 Completed Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy Attended University of Arkansas School of Law
Contact Info:	Phone: None Found Fax: None Found Email: None Found Website: Oregon State Penitentiary
Select Publications:	"What I Learned from Executing Two Men," New York Times, Sep. 15, 2016
Other:	None Found
Quoted in:	1. Is the Death Penalty Immoral?