Milani1

MonikaMilani
Mrs.Haedtler
English10
28October2014
InterviewwithEllenKreitzbergatSantaClaraUniversity
IngridandIwalkedintoMs.Kreitzbergsofficecautiouslyandquietly.ThefirstthingI
notedwasthatIngridwalkedinwithoutknocking,butIkeptwhatIcallmyactingfaceonand
wentwithit.Iwasdreadingthisdaycompletely.Neitherofusknewwhattoexpectoutofa
wellknownlawprofessorfromawellknownuniversity,andneitherofustalkedaboutthatdue
toournotsofriendlyencountersinthepast.
Somehow,thefatespairedusup:themostdysfunctionalandoppositepairyoucouldget.
Thefeelingswerentallthatwelcomingbetweenus.Allthataside,wewerejustwideeyedhigh
schoolers.Therealityofitallslappedmeinthefaceandmademefeellikefreshmenallover
again.Howdemeaning.IwassurethatIngridfeltittoo.
Despiteourstiffmotionsandfakesmiles,ProfessorKreitzbergwasawarm,sweetlady.I
couldtellbythewallsofherofficethatshewasnostereotypicalTVportrayedlecturer.Onone
walltherewasherstudiouschairandagiantbookshelffilledwithhugeboundbooksonlawand
3to4inchbinderslabeledwiththenamesofcasessheseemedtostudy.Ontheother,acomfy3
seatercouch,aknittedwallscrollofafarm,hercluttereddesk,andhersittingonalarge,
paddedlightbluepolkadottedswivelchairwithherfaceextremelyclosetoherchair.She
dressednothinglikeherpictureonlinehadshown.Thoughsheworesockswithsandals,apuffy
orangevest,sweatpants,andagiantscap,Icompletelyunderstood.IfIhadherschedule,Idbe

Milani2

surprisedifIeversportedanythingbutstainedTshirtsandglamorousundereyebags,muchless
beasniceasshewas.
Infrontofme,IngridwalkedclosertoKreitzbergandmadeasmallwave.She
immediatelyturnedtous,sportingahugesmile.
Welcome,girls!Shestooduptogreetus,holdingoutherhand,ImEllenKreitzberg,
Hello,ImIngridYeh,Ingrid,lookingdownslightly,gingerlyclaspedherhandin
returnandshookit.Ellenthenturnedtome,hermouthslightlyajar,anticipatingmyresponse.I
tookherhandandshookit,allthewhilegivingherthebestsmileIcouldwithoutbreakingintoa
sweat.
Nicetomeetyou,ImMonika,Webothletgo,afterabriefmomentofhandshaking.A
pettyvoiceinthebackofmymindregrettedthatIdidntsaymylastname.Iinstantlyshutdown
thatremarktokeepincharacter.YoureadifferentMonika,youreacharacter,notMonika
yougetwhatImean,Monika,wasallIcouldreallythink.Youcouldsayitwasmymantra.
Afteranegotiationofhowwewouldgoaboutthisinterviewwithtwopeople,itbegan.I
askedherforpermissiontorecord,towhichshesaidyes.Kreitzbergcrossedherlegsand
clampedherfingersoverherknees,lookingtometobegin.Our30minutesessionstartedits
course.
Okay,somyfirstquestioniswhatisyourviewonthedeathpenalty,shoulditexist,and
why?
EvenwhenaskingthatquestionIfounditdifficulttokeepeyecontactwithoutfeeling
unsureofmyself.IknewthatIdidntpreparemyselfenough,butitwastoolatetoturnback
anyways.Simplyput,IcouldbeltoutacomedicsongIlearnedadaybefore,doanextremely

Milani3

challenginganddramaticscenewithsomeone,beahostforashowcase,improvwhatever,butI
couldntkeepeyecontactwithaprofessorandlistenatthesametime.Well,theshowmustgo
on.
So,Iamagainstthedeathpenalty.UmIdontthinkitworksforavarietyofreasons,
Man,howdoesshekeepeyecontactsowell?ImprobablysounprofessionaltoherImsure
sheunderstands,right?Right...nowpayattention,Idontthinkitshouldexist.Themain
reasonIwouldtalkaboutistheprocess.Itsthewhole,Canwefeelconfidentthatwiththis
punishmentitisnotbasedonrace,poverty,orarbitrary?Canwefeelsureaboutkillingthem
insteadofsendingthemtojail?ordeal.Secondarily,whatarewetryingtoaccomplishwiththe
deathpenalty?Wecanaccomplishpunishmentontheoneconvictedbyseparatingthemfrom
society.So,IdontthinkthedeathpenaltyisnecessaryandIthinkwecanaccomplishthesame
thingsbyputtingtheoffenderinjail.Shefinishedupheranswerwithameaningfulnod.
Okay,Ibreathedoutslightlywithasmallsmile.Asilencefollowed.IturnedtoIngrid
abit.Wouldyouliketogonext,or?WithoutlookingatmeorEllen,sheshruggedabit,
adjustedherpapers,andreadherquestionaloud.AftershedidsoandEllenspokehermind,I
followedupwithmynextquestion.
Okay,um,soIdliketoknowwhatisthemajorityopiniononcapitalpunishment
amongthoseworkingunderlaw?Like,whatisthegeneralidea?
Asshetalked,Ithrewinafewmhmmsandyeahsinresponse.
Hmmso,IthinkunderthelawIwouldntknowbecauseImalawprofessor,butif
youlookatlawschool,whichisreallyverydifferentfromotherprofessionsrelatingtolaw,they
areoverwhelminglyagainstthedeathpenalty.Isaythatbecause...ifyoulookatlawjournals,a

Milani4

veryhighpercentageofitisabouttheproblemswiththedeathpenalty,andaverysmall
percentagestatesotherwise.Intermsofoutinpractice,Iwouldhavenorealwayofknowing
myself.
Okay,thankyou,Ingridfollowedwithherownquestion,thenIdid.Atthispointin
timeIbegangettingalittlemorecomfortable.
Whathappens,orwhatwouldhappen,ifsomeonewerewrongfullyexecuted?Would
thesubjectbedroppedordoessomethinghappen?
Well,nothinghappens,quitefrankly.Theresalotofcontroversywiththesecases.She
wentontotellmemultipleaccountsonwhichcaseswouldbeputoffandreevaluatedforyears
becauseofsomanydifferentargumentsbeingputoutthere.
Sotheresdefinitelyalotofcontroversygoingon,Iaddedwithalaugh.
Yeah,Shelaughedalittleaswell,soonaddingmoreofherknowledgetotheanswer.
AfterIngridwentagain,Iwentontomynextquestion.
Haveyoufoundthedeathpenaltytolowercrimeratesinanyway?
So,thatssortof,again,averycontroversialtopic.Theresreallynoofficialstudyon
theoverallimpact.Manyarguethatitcouldbescaringpeopleintocommittinglesscrime,butI
thinkitsmorebecauseoftheamountofpoliceofficersyouseepatrollingaroundhere.Thatsa
bigreasonwhyOaklandscrimeratesskyrocketed.ItsbecauseOaklandhadasetbackontheir
lawenforcementandcutoutalotofitsfunds.Ifyoucomparecitieswithmoreorlesslaw
enforcement,itsclearthatthosewithasuddendecreaseofmenhavewaymorecrime.There
reallyisjustnoknownlinkbetweenthedeathpenaltyandtheamountofcrimedone.
Ingridaskedagain,andEllenanswered.Isooncutin.

Milani5

So,becausethedeathpenaltyislikelynotgoingtoendanytimesoon
Well,whatmakesyousaythat?Ellencutinwithasmile.Istumbledabitonmywords
whenIstarted.
Realisticallyspeaking,therewillalwaysbepeoplefightingforthedeathpenaltyand
thosewhodont,butthatsnotmesayingthatitwont.So,doyouthinkthereisanyhumaneway
toputsomeonetodeath?
Firstly,Ellenwentontoshowmestatisticsonthegrowthofstatesoutlawingthedeath
penalty.Californiaalmostconvertedaswell,butthevotingslimlyleanedtowardsyesonthe
prop.Shethenansweredmyquestion,tellingmeofhowtheresalsomuchcontroversyonthat
topicaswell.Sheexplainedthemanywaysthatpeoplehavebeenputtodeathseenasinhumane,
thenwentontoexplaininghowlethalinjectiononceseemedthemosthumanebutmanyare
rethinkingthat.
Um,somynextquestionwasmeantforaprodeathpenaltyinterview,butImgoingto
askyouaswell.Isithypocriticaltokillsomeoneforthecrimeofkilling?
So,Ithinktheanswertothatfromsomeonewhosupportsthedeathpenaltywouldsay
thatthatsdifferent.Basedonhisorherdecisiontokillfortheirownreasons,comparedtothe
lawputtingthemtodeathfortheiractionssowecoulddistinguishtheformofkilling.Oneis
processandproceduresanddecision,theotherisoftenconsideredcoldbloodedmurder.
And,onelasttimeIngridaskedherownquestionandgotheranswer.Ellenlookedatme
tocontinue,andIjumpedtofindaquestion.
Heh,okay,ifIhaveanyleftIscannedthesheetquicklyandfoundone.Okay,how
badofacrimemustoneusuallydotogetthedeathpenalty?

Milani6

Itsprobablyafactnowthattheonlythingpunishablebydeathisfirstdegreemurder.I
saythatbecausepriorto1976,youknow,rapewaspunishablebydeath,sothefirstpartofthe
20thcentury,numerousmenwereexecutedforrape.Almostallofthemwereblackmen
executedfortherapeofawhitewoman.Theracialdistinctionanddiscriminationwas
extraordinarilydrastic.In1976,thesupremecourtlookedatthesefactorsandasked,Isthis
constitutional?andmanytimes,theysaidnoforboththerapeofwomenandchildren.Most
peoplewouldsaythattherapeofasmallchildistheworstcrimeyoucouldcommit,butthe
supremecourtsaiditsnotconstitutionaltoinflictthedeathpenaltyforit.Theonlythingthats
possibleandhasntgonetothecourtyetarethingsliketreason.Ahumanlifemaynot
necessarilybetakentogetthedeathpenalty,butoverall,itisfirstdegreemurder.
IllaskjustonemorequestionifIhaveoneleft,Ilookedonceagain.AsIlooked,
sherecommendedagreatsitewithaccurateinformationonthedeathpenaltyforoutreports.
Withthat,Ifoundone.
Howcanthedeathpenaltyaffectthepersonconvicted,thecityandstate,andthose
involvedgenerally?ThisisareallybigquestionssoIunderstandifitshardtoanswer.
Okayletmeansweritthiswaymostpeoplearesurprisedtolearnthatthedeath
penaltycostsmorethanhavinglifewithoutparole.Mostpeoplethinkthatitdbecheapertojust
killtheminsteadofpayingtaxesfortheirlivingexpenses,butitdoesntactuallyworkthatway.
EspeciallyinCaliforniawhenyouhaventbeenabletocarryoutanything.So,onewayitaffects
thecommunityiscostingthetaxpayersalotofmoneytohavethedeathpenalty.Really,were
notgettingwhatwerepayingforbecauseeveryonethinksitgoestolifewithoutparole,butit
usuallygoestothecostsofthedeathpenalty.Ifyoulookatdeathpenalty.orgthereshouldbe

Milani7

muchmoreinformationonthat.Really,thequestionis,whatwillmakeussafer?Wecouldeither
putourmoneyintothedeathpenaltyorintogettingmorepoliceofficersaroundthetownsto
avoidtheinfluxofcrimeImentionedearlier,aboutOakland.Itsterriblethisyear,andalotof
thatisbecauseofthecutback,theamountofpoliceofficersoutthereonthestreets.Whatwe
coulddois,insteadofusemoneyonthedeathpenalty,weuseitonlawenforcement,thenthe
wholesituationcouldbeavoided.
Alright,thankyouforyourtime!Igotup,walkingtowardsherwithmyhand
outstretched,Ingridfollowingbehind.Shestoodupandshookmyhand.
Noproblem!Youguysdidagreatjob,youreallygotattheheartofwhatquestions
shouldbeasked,IgotbehindIngridandEllenshookIngridshandoncemore.
Webeganchattingwhilesheledusoutofheroffice,askinguswhereourparentswould
betogetus,andhelpingmefindmywaybacktotheparkinglot,wheremyDadwouldbe.
Anotherprofessorcameuptousandexclaimed,
WheresyourGiantsgear,girls?IngridandIgotabitflusteredatourlackof
experiencewithbaseball,butthesubjectwaseasilydroppedwithafewlaughs.Withthatcame
ourfinalgoodbyesandtheendofourgreatinteraction.
Ellenmademefeelverywelcomeattheintimidatingcampus,andIreallyappreciatedher
openmind,informedmind,andwarmheart.Ifoundthatlawprofessorsareprobablynotasscary
astheyreportrayedtobeandIreallywouldntmindchoosingthatmajoratthatschool
eventually.Overall,itwasagreatexperienceandIdbehonoredtospeaktoheragain.