July 19 VIRGINIA: Kilgore exaggerates death-penalty claims Its hard to disprove a hypothetical. John Kennedy, the nation's 1st Catholic president, had to refute claims in the 1960 presidential election that hed allow the pope to run Washington. Now, Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Tim Kaine, another Catholic, is having to proclaim that he won't recklessly commute the death sentences of inmates on Virginias death row. Kennedy couldn't prove that he wouldnt put his religion above his oath of office. Kaine can't either. But Virginia voters, like the nations decades ago, ought to take the candidate at his word. Kaine's opposition to capital punishment, which he says is motivated by his Catholic faith and not his Democratic politics, may not sit well with many Virginians. But GOP opponent Jerry Kilgore's hint that Kaine might order a mass amnesty from death row, as did former Illinois Gov. George Ryan, is hyperbole that doesn't deserve a spot in the campaign. Can Kaine prove the point without being elected? No. But can voters make a reasonable assumption that Kilgore is wrong? Yes. Kilgore's point, raised in last weekends debate before the Virginia Bar Association, ignores the fact that theres virtually no resemblance between the situation Ryan faced in Illinois and the situation on Virginias death row. When Ryan imposed a moratorium on executions in January 2000, more people had been found to be falsely convicted in his state (13) than had been executed (12) in recent times. The system was so blatantly flawed that mere journalism students helped overturn some of the convictions. Ryan found that unacceptable. So would most people. Ryan's controversial decision two years later to commute all the death sentences in his state to life in prison came after a bipartisan commission of prestigious citizens found serious error in the way the death penalty was imposed and carried out. Ryan essentially threw up his hands in disgust. "Because the Illinois death penalty system is arbitrary and capricious and therefore immoral I no longer shall tinker with the machinery of death," he said. Virginias system of justice isn't perfect. But, at least so far as has been demonstrated, Virginia is a far cry from Illinois. Over the past 15 years, Virginia governors granted clemency to six death row inmates. Gov. Douglas Wilder, a Democrat, reduced to life in prison the death sentences of Joe Giarratano, Herbert Bassette and Earl Washington. Gov. George Allen, a Republican, similarly commuted the death sentences of Joe Payne and William Saunders. And Gov. Jim Gilmore, a Republican, moved Calvin Swann off of death row and pardoned Washington, who is the only one of the 6 set free. Clemency in these cases stemmed from an individual's severe mental retardation, from serious procedural error, from tainted testimony, from strong evidence of innocence, and in Washington's case, from proven innocence. Would Kilgore have ignored such evidence? Surely not. "I would use the clemency power of the governor in exactly the same way that earlier governors have, in instances where there is grave doubt about somebody's [guilt or] innocence," Kaine said. Until there's a change of law or heart on the death penalty, that ought to be the standard for both men. It almost certainly will be. (source: The Virginian-Pilot) USA: Murderers must die: Judeo-Christian values: Part XVIII One should not confuse Jews or Christians with Judeo-Christian values. Many Jews and many Christians, including many sincerely religious ones, take certain positions that are contrary to Judeo-Christian values (which I have defined at length: In a nutshell, they are Old Testament values as mediated by Christians, especially American Christians). One clear example is the death penalty for murderers. Many Jews and Christians believe that all murderers should be kept alive, that it is not only wrong to take the life of any murderer; it is actually un-Jewish or un-Christian. Jews opposed to capital punishment cite the Talmud (the second most important religious text to Jews), which is largely opposed to capital punishment; Christians opponents cite Jesus on loving one's enemies, for example; and Catholic abolitionists cite the late Pope John Paul II and the many cardinals and bishops who, though not denying all of the Church's teachings on the permissibility of the state to take the life a murderer, largely oppose capital punishment. Yet, the notion that a murderer must give up his life is one of the central values in the Old Testament. Indeed, taking the life of a murderer is the only law that is found in all Five Books of Moses (the Torah). That is particularly remarkable considering how few laws there are at all in the first Book, Genesis. When God creates the world, He declares a fundamental value and law to maintain civilization: "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God He created him." And the law is repeated in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. When all murderers are allowed to keep their lives, murder is rendered less serious and human life is therefore cheapened. That is not only the Judeo-Christian biblical view. It is common sense. The punishment for a crime is what informs society how bad that crime is. A society that allows all murderers to live deems murder less awful than one that takes away the life of a murderer. There are those who argue that precisely because they so value human life, they oppose the taking of a murderer's life. They argue that you cannot teach that killing is wrong by killing. But that is the same as arguing that you can't teach that stealing is wrong by taking away a thief's money or that you can't teach that kidnapping is wrong by kidnapping (i.e., imprisoning) kidnappers. To the Torah, the first source of Judeo-Christian values, murder is the great sin; the immoral shedding of human blood (as opposed to the moral shedding of human blood in self-defense or in a just war) pollutes the world. That is why the Torah legislated that even an animal that killed a human should be put to death. The purpose was not to punish the animal -- animals do not have free choice, hence cannot be morally culpable. And it was hardly to teach other animals not to kill. It was because a human life is so valuable, it cannot be taken without the taker losing its life. But, some will object, the Torah decrees the death penalty for many infractions, yet we don't put to death people who practice witchcraft, commit adultery or other capital infractions -- why those who murder? There are 2 answers. First, the only capital crime mentioned before there were any Jews or Israel (in Genesis when God creates the world) is murder. Other death penalties applied specifically to the people of Israel when they entered the Land of Israel -- a special code of behavior for a special time in a special place. And virtually none of those were carried out. The primary purpose of declaring a sin worthy of capital punishment was not actually to execute the sinner, but to declare how serious the infraction was when a society was establishing itself as the first based on ethical monotheism. Capital punishment for murder, on the other hand, was obviously intended for all time and for all people -- it is independent of the existence of Jews and declared to be fundamental to the existence of a humane order. Second, all the other death penalties are laws. The death penalty for murder is not only a law; it is a value. Laws may be time bound. Values are eternal. Thus, the Christians who believe in the divinity of the Torah are not bound to the Torah's dietary laws (such as not eating pork and shellfish); but they are bound to the value of taking the life of murderers. Finally, the Old Testament is preoccupied with justice. And allowing one who has unjustly deprived another person of life to keep his own is the ultimate injustice. There are many good reasons to be wary of taking the lives of murderers -- such as insufficient evidence, corrupted witnesses, distinguishing between premeditated murder and a crime of passion -- but love of life or a commitment to biblically based values are not among them. (source: Column, Dennis Prager, The Town Hall) PENNSYLVANIA: Vacated death sentence appealed State prosecutors have appealed a lower court ruling that vacated the death sentence of a Fayette County man convicted in the 1983 murder and robbery of a hitchhiker. Meanwhile, attorneys for Scott Wayne Blystone are also appealing the ruling because it did not grant him a new trial. Both challenges were filed last month with the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals. In April, U.S. District Court Judge Gary L. Lancaster ruled that Blystone's court-appointed lawyer was ineffective during the 1983 trial when he failed to mitigate the crimes and argue for a lesser sentence. Blystone, 46, has been on death row for two decades for his conviction in the death of Dalton Smithburger Jr. Prosecutors contended Blystone robbed Smithburger of $13 before shooting him six times in the back of the head. Nils Frederiksen, spokesman for Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett, said state prosecutors contend Blystone's lawyer acted properly during the original trial in not contesting the death penalty. "Blystone specifically instructed his attorney not to present that information to the jury. The attorney was actually properly following Blystone's instructions," Frederiksen said. Blystone's lawyers, in late June, filed notice of appeal in which they said they intend to argue that Lancaster erred by not dismissing the guilty convictions. (source: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) OHIO: Man denies killing three young people execution-style A man accused of killing three young people execution-style near the Ohio State University campus while robbing them of 5 pounds of marijuana and $70 in cash has told a jury he didn't do it. Vernon Spence, 31, testified Monday he was home alone the night in July 2003 that 2 co-defendants said he killed the 3 to keep them from identifying him. The Franklin County Common Pleas Court jury also heard 2 hours of closing arguments on Monday and was expected to begin deliberations on Tuesday. If convicted of multiple charges of aggravated murder, aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary and kidnapping, Spence could get the death sentence. The victims, Kayla Hurst, 21, of Granville; her boyfriend, Aaron Grexa, 23, of Greensburg, Pa., and his roommate, Eric Hlass, 22, of Russellville, Ark., were bound before being shot in the back of the head. Spence denied the killings in his testimony Monday but admitted to being inside the house where the 3 were found dead 2 days before the slayings. He said he had gone there with 2 friends to look at some marijuana that Grexa had offered for sale. Spence said the sale never happened and everybody was alive when he left. Co-defendants Todd Bensonhaver and Rodell Rahmaan testified last week that Spence recruited them to help him rob Grexa. Bensonhaver said Spence decided to kill the 3 after the robbery because they could identify him from the earlier marijuana deal. Bensonhaver and Rahmaan pleaded guilty to reduced charges, including involuntary manslaughter, and were sentenced to 21 years in prison. (source: Associated Press) NORTH CAROLINA: N.C. execution study vote delayed for now The sponsor of a bill that would study executions says a floor vote will be delayed today. House leaders had scheduled floor debate on the legislation, a toned-down version of a study bill that would have banned executions from taking place for 2 years. Orange County Democratic Representative Joe Hackney says the vote would be delayed because supporters were still talking to other House colleagues about the bill. The timetable for a floor vote remains unclear. Hackney has said more House members like the bill compared to the earlier version, which would have called for a hard 2-year ban on executions. The earlier version was pulled from the floor last month because supporters couldn't get the votes to pass it. Supporters still must persuade a handful of conservative Democrats to back the measure. The latest measure would set out seven situations in which a Superior Court judge could delay an execution date if it falls during the study period. (source: Associated Press)
