death penalty news January 3, 2005
KENTUCKY: Physician governor shouldn't be criticized for execution role Governors in some states have the grim responsibility of signing death warrants for convicted criminals who have been sentenced to execution. What if, however, the governor is also a physician? Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher has found himself in this position. Opponents of the death penalty in that state are criticizing the governor for signing a death warrant for convicted killer Thomas Clyde Bowling Jr. Some say that Fletcher is violating the Hippocratic Oath, which is meant to prevent doctors from inflicting harm. The Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram opposes the death penalty. Set aside for a moment, however, the argument over whether the death penalty is appropriate - or whether physicians who administer lethal injections are violating the Hippocratic Oath. The death penalty is legal in the state of Kentucky, and the Kentucky governor is charged with the responsibility of signing the death warrant. It's appropriate, then, for Fletcher in his capacity as governor to sign a death warrant to execute a criminal. He's not acting in his capacity as a physician when he does so. There are also other situations in which doctors could find themselves responsible for the intentional death of another human being. What if a physician is sent to war, for instance, or what if an intruder breaks into a physician's home? The execution of Bowling is on hold pending two lawsuits, The Associated Press reported. One that claims Bowling, who was convicted of killing a Lexington, Ky., couple in 1991, is mentally retarded and should not be executed. Those fighting the death penalty would be better served by sticking to solid arguments against it - Bowling's mental capacity, for instance, or that too many innocent people end up on death row, or that the system is racially biased, or that civilized societies shouldn't kill people. Using Fletcher's status as a physician drags politics into an argument better served by practicality. (source: Editorial, Portland (Maine) Press Herald) ====================== CONNECTICUT: Death Penalty Is Legal Until We Change It I do not approve of the death penalty, which I regard as primitive and know to be unfairly distributed among our citizens. I do, however, strongly believe in obeying the law. I hope people will become, as time goes on, more and more willing to abandon this kind of punishment. I hope it will not be long before we abandon this punishment. But let's have a little common sense here. Let's not decide to refuse the (legal) death penalty to a confessed murderer who chose to kill young girls in cold blood. Let's work to change the law many regard as harsh and most of us know is unfairly distributed among our citizens. Elizabeth S. Maxwell Essex (source: Letter to the Editor, The Day)
