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Alabama Newspaper Decides to Oppose the Death Penalty

By Jeralyn, Section Death Penalty
Posted on Mon Nov 07, 2005 at 09:48:07 AM EST
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The editorial board of the Birmingham News, the largest newspaper in the largest city in the very conservative state of Alabama, has decided they can no longer support capital punishment.

"After decades of supporting the death penalty, the editorial board no longer can do so. Today and over the next five days, we will explain our change of mind and heart..... Why? Because we have come to believe Alabama's capital punishment system is broken. And because, first and foremost, this newspaper's editorial board is committed to a culture of life.

Put simply, supporting the death penalty is inconsistent with our convictions about the value of life, convictions that are evident in our editorial positions opposing abortion, embryonic stem-cell research and euthanasia. We believe all life is sacred. And in embracing a culture of life, we cannot make distinctions between those we deem "innocents" and those flawed humans who populate Death Row.

Faith tells us we all are imperfect, but we're not beyond redemption. We believe it's up to God to say when a life has no more purpose on this Earth. . . . The Equal Justice Initiative's [Bryan]Stevenson argues the question is not whether these killers merit the state's ultimate punishment.

"The question has to be not whether they deserve to die," he said. "The question is, do we deserve to kill?" The News' editorial board strongly believes the answer to that question is no."

I look forward to reading their next five days of coverage. Here is their latest.

The death penalty isn't applied fairly in Alabama. If it were, the horror of a particular crime and the guilt of a particular defendant would determine whether a case ended with a sentence of death. Instead, the outcomes often hinge on the status of the accused, the quality of the defense, the race of the victim, even the location of the crime.

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    Alabama Newspaper Decides to Oppose the Death Penalty | 16 comments (16 topical)
    Re: Alabama Newspaper Decides to Oppose the Death (none / 0) (#1)
    by Quaker in a Basement on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:48 PM EST
    Wow! Logical consistency. Wot a concept.

    Re: Alabama Newspaper Decides to Oppose the Death (none / 0) (#2)
    by Lww on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:48 PM EST
    Amazingly eloquent! Damn relgious nuts!

    Re: Alabama Newspaper Decides to Oppose the Death (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:48 PM EST
    This is big, but keep in mind that, despite its past image, Birmingham is actually a fairly liberal city. Especailly when compared with other parts of the state. B

    Re: Alabama Newspaper Decides to Oppose the Death (none / 0) (#4)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:48 PM EST
    I, with no joy, support the DP because I believe that more innocent people will die w/o it. Non-executed convicted murderers do and will murder other inmates, guards and/or civilians (should they escape). The research I've seen says that over the decades about 23 executed persons were innocent of murder. I've been able to find no research regarding the number of murders committed by non-executed convicted murderers over the decades, but I can't imagine that number being less than 23. If it can be proved that more innocents will die w/the DP than w/o it, I will happily change my position. As a side note, it will be interesting to find out who murdered Earl Krugel yesterday.

    Re: Alabama Newspaper Decides to Oppose the Death (none / 0) (#5)
    by Quaker in a Basement on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:48 PM EST
    I've been able to find no research regarding the number of murders committed by non-executed convicted murderers over the decades, but I can't imagine that number being less than 23. If it can be proved that more innocents will die w/the DP than w/o it, I will happily change my position.
    One hardly knows where to begin. Are you advocating the death penalty for all convicted murderers? No room for discretion by the judge or jury? Because your completely bogus comparison of 23 innocent people killed by the state vs. unknown number of people killed by "non-executed convicted murderers" relies on just that assumption. Also couldn't help but be intrigued by your statement:
    If it can be proved that more innocents will die w/the DP than w/o it, I will happily change my position.
    Re: Alabama Newspaper Decides to Oppose the Death (none / 0) (#6)
    by Quaker in a Basement on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:48 PM EST
    Last quote box:
    If it can be proved that more innocents will die w/the DP than w/o it, I will happily change my position.
    You're saying that you made up your mind in the absence of any reliable information, but you're willing to have someone talk you out of it? Sounds like a cry for help to me.

    Re: Alabama Newspaper Decides to Oppose the Death (none / 0) (#7)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:48 PM EST
    I guess I'm saying that absent any reliable information, as you say, I believe more innocents are murdered by non-executed murderers than innocents are executed. You, residing in the same "absent any reliable information" world, may certainly choose to believe differently.

    Re: Alabama Newspaper Decides to Oppose the Death (none / 0) (#8)
    by Quaker in a Basement on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:48 PM EST
    Sorry. You're right, I got carried away. It's not like it's a matter of life and death.

    Re: Alabama Newspaper Decides to Oppose the Death (none / 0) (#9)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:48 PM EST
    Indeed, that's why my postion is based on the smallest number of innocents dying. Thanks for the intelligent debate.

    Re: Alabama Newspaper Decides to Oppose the Death (none / 0) (#10)
    by squeaky on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:48 PM EST
    sarc-you may have sarcasm down but your sense of irony is very weak.

    Re: Alabama Newspaper Decides to Oppose the Death (none / 0) (#11)
    by Quaker in a Basement on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:48 PM EST
    Kill to save lives? Orwell didn't do justice to that sort of thinking, did he?

    Re: Alabama Newspaper Decides to Oppose the Death (none / 0) (#12)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:49 PM EST
    Sarcastic, Let me make sure I have this right. Under your paln, its ok to let a few innocent people be killed by the state as long as there is a higher number of guilty people also killed by the state?

    Re: Alabama Newspaper Decides to Oppose the Death (none / 0) (#13)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:49 PM EST
    By utterly neglecting the value of the life of someone rightfully convicted of murder, sarcasm's cost-benefit analysis implicitly assign's a value of zero to each one of their lives. If their lives are truly worthless, let's at least kick up the cost-benefit analysis by getting *some* benefit from them. I'm thinking spare body parts from the healthy, soap and lampshades from the rest....

    Re: Alabama Newspaper Decides to Oppose the Death (none / 0) (#14)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:49 PM EST
    Billy Boy, No, what sarcastic is saying is that it is ok for the state to kill innocent people as long as their number is less than the number of people that the guilty would theoretically kill if they were not killed by the state. Clear? (As mud?)

    Re: Alabama Newspaper Decides to Oppose the Death (none / 0) (#15)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:49 PM EST
    Oh! Well, it seems that perhaps better security measures in the prison system to help aviod the inmates from killing each other and the guards as well as measures to prevent or reduce escapes might be a better answer than say...killing innocent people. Just a thought.

    Re: Alabama Newspaper Decides to Oppose the Death (none / 0) (#16)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:49 PM EST
    Billy Boy, I don't know how I can write any clearer. I want the fewest number of innocent people to be killed. Period.

    Alabama Newspaper Decides to Oppose the Death Penalty | 16 comments (16 topical)