12/24/07:Abolishing Executions - Senate President Fred Risser
Abolishing Executions
The Capital Times :: EDITORIAL :: A6
Monday, December 24, 2007
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 Jesus 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 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.
The Capital Times :: EDITORIAL :: A6
Monday, December 24, 2007
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 Jesus 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 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.
Submitted by wnpj on Wed, 01/16/2008 - 2:14pm.