Date: Mon, 13 May 2002 13:22:19 -0400
From: Ted White <tedwhite at compusnet.com>
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Good news in Maryland?
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>

"Strong, Lee" wrote:

>         I am much more cautious about Governor Glendening's action and its
> motives.  Recent actions by the state of Illinois tend to support your
> analysis, but I am not aware of evidence or creditable studies in Maryland
> that would support the Glendening action.
>         In Illinois, there was creditable evidence that the death penalty
> was not fairly administered and the Governor there rightfully suspended its
> administration pending a full review of the criminal justice system.
> However, that is somewhat exceptional.  Most of the studies alleging
> problems with the administration of justice are political statements based
> on faulty assumptions about "proper" rates of executions.  I am therefore
> skeptical that Gov. Glendening is acting in the interests of justice versus
> the interests of his political party.

"In the interests of justice," no human being should be killed by the state --
and especially no human being who is actually innocent of the crime charged.
With the advent of things like DNA testing, we can second-guess faulty
convictions (which, if only one occurs, is one too many -- and in fact the
percentage of faulty convictions is far higher than that) and what pisses *me*
off is that many state authorities (prosecuters, judges and up) are *opposed*
to establishing the truth in a case, preferring the status quo of a faulty
conviction.

In most cases new and exculpating evidence is not admissable for consideration
after a faulty conviction -- only procedural failures.  And the Bush
administration has been *tightening* such restrictions.   Any trend in the
opposite direction should be celebrated.

--Ted White