Monday, October 10,1983/The Battalion/Page 9
Governors debate decision
in capital punishment
case
I’ll get it...
photo by J«nc Beach
Kathy Poole, a Texas A&M junior
and member of the women’s field
hockey team, runs to stop an
opponent from St. John’s School
during a recent game here. The
Aggies lost the match 2-0.
United Press International
WASHINGTON — Gov.
Mark White, whose state came
within 31 minutes of executing
convicted killer James Autry be
fore Supreme Court Justice
Byron White granted a stay, said
Sunday that God would not ob
ject to capital punishment.
New Mexico Gov. Toney
Anaya said he has moral and re
ligious objections to the death
penalty, but that his opposition
is more pragmatic — killing cri
minals does not deter crime.
The two governers appeared
on ABC’s “This Week with
David Brinkley.” Sen. Dennis
DeConcini, D-Ariz., and Henry
Schwarzschild, a lawyer for the
American Civil Liberties Union,
also appeared on the show to de
bate capital punishment.
The death penalty also was
debated on CBS’s “Face the Na
tion,” by Alabama Attorney
General Charles Graddick, for
mer Supreme Court Justice
Arthur Goldberg and ACLU
lawyer Alvin Bronstein. Anaya
decried the death penalty as un
civilized.
“I think it’s inhumane; it’s
barbaric; it does absolutely no
thing to deter the incidence of
murder and I think we’re just
sinking, ourselves, as a state, as a
government, to the same levels
as those who commit murder,”
he said.
Anaya, a Roman Catholic,
said his religious and moral con
victions make capital punish
ment abhorrent to him.
But White argued that death
is “an appropriate punishment
for the most serious and most
heinous crimes.”
He said killers were responsi
ble for “nine summary execu
tions” of innocent citizens in
Texas in the past two weeks.
Anaya said there would be a
conflict between his religious
and moral beliefs and his duty as
governor if there was any proof
capital punishment deterred
crime. Thus far, however, there
has been no conflict, he said, be
cause there is no proof.
Since New Mexico passed a
death penalty law, he said, mur
der has increased. And, he
added, since the state made
death the penalty for killing a
police officer, the incidence of
police officers being killed has
gone up.
White said community stan
dards are sufficient to deter
mine in which cases the death
penalty should be imposed and
rejected the contention that
such cases should be reviewed to
determine if the penalty is in
proportion to the crime and to
punishments normally imposed.
It was that concept — called
proportionality — that brought
a stay of execution last week for
Autry, sentenced to die for kill
ing a convenience store clerk
during a robbery in which he
stole a six-pack of beer.
“There is something wrong if,
in 10 similar cases, nine do not
get the death penalty and one
does. It was a brand new issue,
and that is why the court granted
the stay,” Bronstein said.
iAutry’s lawyer
reuses ACLU
Mi J bed
United Press International
nttj GROVES — Charles D. Car-
snii ver, an attorney for death row
inmate James “Cowboy” Autry,
era said attorneys with the Amer-
teif ican Civil Liberties Union stab-
1 him in the back by labeling
him [“incompetent” in an
>i|i( attempt to get a execution stay
JS(( j for Autry earlier this week,
isbeil “They stabbed me in the
anti back,S’ Carver said Thursday ab
ly,"i out ACLU lawyers,
frit Carver said he was used as a
: scapegoat in a desperate, last-
itas|M minute attempt to save Autry’s
tioni life although he was working
riti. with the attorneys to win the
stay.
ing,!l| The ACLU branded Carver,
Dr. H who represented Autry during
icL his trial, as incompetent. U.S.
me it! District Judge Robert Parker re-
Ithal jected the argument,
bykl ACLU lawyer John Duncan
r:said Thursday that Carver is a
ad wood lawyer.
Hiil “He is an extremely compe-
aid'dent attorney,” Duncan said,
that “any good defense
dd
attorney would really not be
offended” by the ACLU’s
charge.
The ACLU contended the in
competency related to Carver’s
refusal to put Autry on the wit
ness stand during the punish
ment phase of the trial. Carver
said he feared what would hap
pen if Autry testified.
Carver said he worked on the
case with ACLU attorney Stefan
Presser, but was unaware that
Presser had visited Autry in pris
on more than two weeks ago.
Carver also said he never agreed
to being called “incompetent.”
“They stick a knife in your
back. And you wonder if it is
worth it — all the time involved
(in Autry’s defense),” Carver
said.
Carver said the only issue
agreed upon for the appeal
would be on the “proportional
ity” issue, which means defen
dants must receive sentences in
proportion to sentences other
defendants receive for similar
Wed., Oct. 12
MSC Lounge
10:00-1:00
Preview 9:00
Cosh Only !
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AUCTION
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•ang in there. If you can get through afl the hard work while putting up with all the distractions,
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