Wow.
Just, wow. Gov. Ryan Clears Illinois’ Death Row.
Quasi-ranting follows – press “more” if you’re interested, skip if you’re not.
To speak honestly, I am pretty queasy about capital punishment. There are just too many cases of people on death row being exhonerated by DNA evidence. Hell, even one case is too many. I’m also not sure that it’s our perogative to execute people (just as I don’t feel that we can legislate moral choices, i.e. abortion).
Wherever there is an honest exception made to accomodate one person, other, less-scrupulous people will take advantage of it. Like saying someone’s not eligible for the death penalty because they’re mentally retarded (good) and people all of a sudden geting a psychiatrist to call them mentally retarded so they don’t pay for their actions (bad).
I had a really hard time hearing about the Andrea Yates case last year. Having suffered from post-partum depression, I know from first hand experience that it is a very dark place to be. I think that a lot of mothers know well about those really bad days of early motherhood. Even moms without PPD can start to question their sanity. I was more inclined to be angry at the mother-in-law and the husband, who both knew that Mrs. Yates was deeply troubled and yet left her alone with her children, than I was about her motivations.
Others call her evil. I don’t know if I can agree with that. You see, it’s not up to me to pass summary judgement on someone, to call them evil and condemn them to hell. That’s not my job, and for that I’m entirely grateful. It is also not my job to foist my beliefs on others, or to force people to believe in God. My beliefs are just that – mine – and they may not be right but they are what get me through life.
January 12th, 2003 at 9:58 am
I said this to another friend: I guess it’s easy to do the right thing, or what you feel is the right thing, when you know you’re about to leave in two days and you don’t have to answer to the people any more.
Besides, George Ryan is total corrupt scum, and I’m guessing that he’ll be in prison in a year or two anyway, so maybe he was just looking to make some friends before he got in.
As to the death penalty, I was shocked and appalled when I heard about what was going on here in Illinois — I’m sure it hasn’t gotten much press coverage outside of Illinois, but there were defense attorneys assigned who *FELL ASLEEP DURING THE TRIAL*. Who came completely unprepared. Insane.
Even if the death penalty is a good idea (and except in cases such as the Washington Sniper and likesuch, I don’t think it is, because if the government isn’t to be trusted to use my tax dollars wisely, how on *earth* can I entrust it with the lives of fellow men?), here in Illinois, there was just no way to determine who got proper counsel after the fact, and who didn’t.
At least it wasn’t a blanket *pardon*, but rather a blanket *clemency*. These people will be behind bars for life.