[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----WIS., ORE.

[Rick Halperin]

Dec. 24



WISCONSIN:

Abolishing executions


In this season when we recall the story of the Nazarene, it is important
to remember that Jesus of Nazareth remains history's most prominent victim
of the death penalty.

Tried and convicted for political reasons by a judge who respected neither
law nor morality, Christ was nailed to a cross by the soldiers of a state
that practiced capital punishment.

Two thousand years later, some who would have us believe them to be
followers of the Nazarene actually support the death penalty. Their
inability to reconcile their faith with their actions is one of the more
deeply troubling aspects of our politics. As any serious observer of the
recent Republican presidential debate could see, evangelical candidate
Mike Huckabee tried without success to explain how his support for
execution fits into a "pro-life" agenda.

Huckabee comes from Arkansas, a state that like most in this country still
permits the barbaric practice of state-sanctioned killing.

Governments that permit the death penalty lower themselves to the level of
murderers. They make prison authorities into state-sanctioned hit men,
using taxpayer dollars to pay for the taking of lives. That some of the
executions take the lives of innocents makes the practice all the more
horrifying. But it is unjustified under any circumstance.

For this reason, Wisconsinites are proud of our state's long tradition of
barring capital punishment. Indeed, few jurisdictions on the planet have
for so long recognized the fundamental flaw that is inherent in allowing
the federal government to take a life in order to punish an individual for
taking a life.

Wisconsin has been something of a lonely holdout against calls for the
expansion of the death penalty. While a few legislators have tried to play
on fears of crime by proposing that Wisconsin allow capital punishment,
they have rarely gotten much traction. Unfortunately, the number of states
that ban the death penalty stands at just 12.

In recent years, however, the tide seems to have turned. Illinois declared
a sweeping moratorium on executions, and former Gov. George Ryan cleared
that state's death row. And there have been moves across the country to
officially roll back the death penalty.

And this month, one of them finally succeeded. New Jersey has become the
first state in more than 40 years to ban capital punishment.

It is a move worthy of celebration. As U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, the
Middleton Democrat who is the Senate's chief foe of capital punishment,
says, "The implementation of the death penalty in this country is deeply
flawed, as well as inconsistent with basic American principles of justice,
liberty, and equality. While it will take patience and persistence, it is
evident from the Supreme Court's de facto moratorium on executions by
lethal injection, the American Bar Association's call for a nationwide
moratorium on capital punishment, and votes like the ones this week in New
Jersey that support is building across the country to end this practice."

Just as New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine and legislators in that state are to
be commended for their visionary actions, so Feingold merits recognition
for his authorship of the Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act. Hopefully,
the move by New Jersey will strengthen the push for abolition nationally.

It has certainly strengthened the hand of Wisconsin legislators who
recognize, as Senate President Fred Risser, D-Madison, says, "When one
really studies the death penalty issue, it becomes apparent that the death
penalty is neither a deterrent to crime nor cost-effective. In addition,
it is also clear that it is unevenly applied against the poor, minority,
and uneducated population. Mistakes cannot be corrected, and the moral
issues are hard to justify."

Risser adds, "The death penalty has no place in a 'civilized society.'
Wisconsin will not be changing its law on capital punishment this
session."

That is something to celebrate in a season that takes its name from a
victim of the death penalty.

(source:  Editorial, Capital Times)




OREGON:

Follow New Jerseys lead


In the fight against global warming, Oregon has followed the lead of
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. In the case of the death penalty,
Oregon should follow the lead of New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine.

New Jersey recently became the 1st state in four decades to repeal its
death penalty, reflecting a growing national uneasiness with capital
punishment.

Executions are at a 13-year low in this country, with 42 so far in 2007
half of them in Texas. That's more than 50 % fewer than in 1999.

Oregon, one of 36 states where state-sanctioned executions remain the law,
has had no executions since 1997. Only 2 people have been executed in
this state since voters reinstated the death penalty in 1984.

Elsewhere, California, Tennessee and North Carolina are conducting
legislative reviews of the death penalty - the same process that led New
Jersey to put capital punishment out of its misery.

A New Jersey commission concluded that capital punishment simply costs too
much to keep on the books. By one estimate, New Jersey has spent a quarter
of a billion dollars meeting the exacting standards for death penalty
cases established by the U.S. Supreme Court. With the cost of each death
penalty case conservatively estimated at $1 million, it wasn't hard to
conclude that a life sentence without parole is a more affordable
alternative.

The commission also concluded that there is no compelling evidence that
the New Jersey death penalty rationally serves a legitimate penological
intent.

Translation: It's an ineffective deterrent.

There are many other reasons to eliminate the death penalty: DNA evidence
has exonerated a disturbing number of death row inmates. Capital
defendants often have inexperienced legal representation. Studies show
that the most important factor in imposing the death penalty is the race
of victims; defendants who kill whites are 3 times more likely to get
the death penalty that those who kill blacks or Latinos.

Then there's the unmovable boulder of morality. As this newspaper has
stated often, it's simply wrong for the state to take a human life.

Oregon should follow New Jersey's lead.

(source:  Opinion, Register-Guard)