Because Some Clearly Deserve to Die
I have long been ambivolent about the death penalty. While in theory I have no difficulty with giving the state the power to end a person's life when the enormity of a crime merits doing so, in practice I have had concerns about the number of cases in which those on death row have been found to be innocent of the particular crime for which they were sentenced to death. I have also had concerns about compelling evidence of racial bias with regard to death sentences.
Having said that, I think that John Hutcheson, in posting and then commenting on the heinous story of a vile man who left a child in alligator infested waters, takes a reasonable position:
On the other hand, some crimes, if the deed can be clearly pinned to the accused, are worthy of death because of the heinous nature of the crime..e.g. Timothy McVeigh. The amount of money in his bank account and the color of his skin is irrelevant in such times.
And, such times, imo, are few and far between.
Of course, Mr. Hutcheson couldn't resist using his post as an opportunity for taking a poke at President Bush -- in this instance for presiding over so many executions while governor of Texas. Whatever Mr. Bush's faults, blame for that doesn't belong to him. Down here, executions have continued at a steady pace since his moved to the White House.
Having said that, I think that John Hutcheson, in posting and then commenting on the heinous story of a vile man who left a child in alligator infested waters, takes a reasonable position:
On the other hand, some crimes, if the deed can be clearly pinned to the accused, are worthy of death because of the heinous nature of the crime..e.g. Timothy McVeigh. The amount of money in his bank account and the color of his skin is irrelevant in such times.
And, such times, imo, are few and far between.
Of course, Mr. Hutcheson couldn't resist using his post as an opportunity for taking a poke at President Bush -- in this instance for presiding over so many executions while governor of Texas. Whatever Mr. Bush's faults, blame for that doesn't belong to him. Down here, executions have continued at a steady pace since his moved to the White House.
posted by MCO at 7:13 PM
2 Comments:
thanks for the linkage. I seriously believe that the governor of the great state of Texas, whomever he or she may be, has the power and the responsibility to commute or lessen penalties in cases where representation was weak or where it is obvious that poverty or skin color have a clear connection with whom gets the death penalty.
How's life in Texas for you??
your pal - hutch
John, thanks for the comment. I can't say that I disagree. For a while now, I have tended to favor the death penalty in theory, but not often in fact, for the reasons that you describe.
Texas is good now that the weather is cooling! You should make it down sometime.
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