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February 13,
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The Battalion
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Page 11
Thursday • February 1 3, 1997
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Death penalty fails to
reduce crime rates
oming soon to pay-per-
view: Clinton v. Simpson —
This time they’re playing
1 limit for intoxks: r keeps.
Last Tuesday gave us both the
te of the Union Address and the
[j. Simpson civil verdict, the
[tate of Our Sorry-Ass Culture
dress,’’ if you will.
Some people might have been
rplexed about which to watch,
t that problem was solved by
|e ever-thoughtful networks, who
Sovided a split screen account of
e two proceedings.
Columnist
arter nor
red to elaborated
;aid “all doctors
and follow-up In'
erely flawed.”
aid his officers
nvestigation
no evidence
was murdered
ill provides no
mp was killed!: And in case you weren’t watching televi-
id. an or were tuned instead to Elvis Week on
hologists’ repon 11, here is how the two events compared.
is in police cu:
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missing from hi:
also disputed
port that said“tfe
was not tested
al examination!
conducted.”
Mason Jackson
Senior
marketing major
They both marked a return of sorts. The
esident was returning for his second term;
id hewasunaw; mpson was returning for his second ver-
ct. Yet both were marked by change
Clinton almost has an all-new cabinet
is time around, and Simpson’s nationally
levised car-trip was all new as well. He was
aveling toward the courthouse rather than
vay from the cops, he wasn’t carrying a
at we did a balls issport or disguise and this time he opted
japon and it \\n r a black Suburban rather than a white
a like the testthi Bronco.
•f Public Safetykl The two differed on the top-
it recently, "Wuic of fund raising. Clinton,
say is that we di®
ruination of thepil
> been examisrj
s since then.”
having secured the highest office
in the land for the second time, now
favors pushing ahead with cam
paign finance reform.
But Simpson needs more fund
ing. He has to pay $8.5 million in
compensatory damages and $25
million in punitive damages. Mean
while his lawyers claim he is broke,
which makes it all the more impres
sive he can still afford to pay for his
maid, bodyguard, gardener, pool
man, secretary, accountant, busi
ness lawyer, criminal lawyers, Bent
ley and $24,000 a month mortgage
payment on his estate.
This has caused Mr. Simpson to look for alter
nate forms of income, like applying for a trade
mark on his name. This would allow him to mar
ket something along the lines of “Little Simpson,
the my first murderer doll—complete with full
range stab
bing motion
and gloves
that don’t fit
(Kato Kaelin
action figure
sold sepa
rately).”
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But if Simpson does find himself on welfare it
would be a large setback to the President’s aim of
getting two million people off the program by the
year 2000.
The president’s main focus, both in this speech
and for this term, is on education. He outlined ten
principles in his “Call to Action for American Educa
tion.”
The sixth principle is to teach character edu
cation in our schools.
Simpson, on the other hand, most likely fa
vors the current system of inflating the impor
tance of high school athletes until they feel they
are above the law.
Clinton also stressed the importance of the
Internet; this was the first State of the Union Ad
dress offering a live video feed on the Internet.
Simpson prefers not to trumpet the Internet
and sites such as: Squeeze the Juice; The Search
for the Real Killer; and The Unofficial Simpson
Simpson is Really Guilty Site.
The president also wants to expand the Family
and Medical leave law
to allow parents to
take off work for
things like teacher
conferences and a
child’s medical check
up. But he hasn’t said
if the law will be ex
panded to allow a fa
ther to take off time to
console his children if
he brutally murders
their mother.
And so the battle
continues.
Two completely
different agendas
were represented
on television last
Tuesday.
On one side of
the screen was the
President of the
United States, ad
dressing Congress
and the nation.
On the other side
was one man who
may or may not have
been responsible for
two of the 23,330
murders committed
in 1994.
Yes, that split
screen told us quite a
bit about the state of
our union.
O n Feb. 3,1997, the
American Bar As
sociation made a
landmark decision ap
proving a call for a mora
torium on executions in
the United States.
The association, while
not explicitly condemning
the death penalty, will en
sure mentally retarded in
dividuals and juveniles
under 18 years of age are
exempt from the death
penalty. It also establishes
jurisdictions across the United States
to assure due process of law to people
charged with capital crimes.
This decision should spur a move
ment toward the abolition of the un
just and useless punishment known
as the death penalty.
Opponents of the death penalty
are—on a good day—labeled "cra
zies,” “loonies” and an assortment of
other colorful names.
The argument against the death
penalty, however, has a sound and
moral principle.
Criminals who murder deserve
a punishment befitting the crime,
but ultimately the death penalty
solves nothing.
Take the popular “eye for an eye”
theory many use to justify the death
penalty: Murder another person, and
your right to live ceases to exist.
Although this may sound good at
first, nothing in our justice system
supports the theory.
Victims do not get to rape the
rapist, nor do they set the arsonist’s
house on fire. Instead, our justice sys
tem takes away the right to freedom
when one is convicted of a crime.
The death penalty serves as retri
bution for a crime. It is a way of ex
acting revenge in a legal, but im
moral way.
Another popular misconception
concerning the death penalty is that it
deters crime.
During the summer of 1987, eight
executions took place in Louisiana.
However, the murder rate in New Or
leans actually went up 16.9 percent
that year. Murderers are not fright
ened by the death penalty.
Those who claim the death penalty
deters crime also must think that can
cer causes smoking.
Moreover, race plays a factor in
determining who receives the
death penalty.
Columnist
Jon Apgar
junior
journalism major
Of the 232 executions
carried out in the United
States since 1977, only one
white individual has been
put to death for killing an
African-American.
Studies have shown
African-Americans to be
three to four times as likely
to receive the death penal
ty as white individuals con
victed of the same crime.
Perhaps the most
frightening aspect of the
death penalty is the possi
bility of innocent people being con
victed of and sentenced to die for
crimes they did not commit.
In 1976, Randall Adams was con
victed of killing a Dallas police officer
and was sentenced to death.
During the trial, however, prosecu
tors suppressed evidence and used
pequred testimony. In fact, the key
witness against Adams turned out to
be the real killer. Adams came within
72 hours of being executed for a crime
he did not commit.
An article in the Stanford Law Re
view stated there have been 350 capital
convictions this century in which the
conviction was later overturned. In to
tal, 25 innocent individuals have been
wrongly executed. Twenty-five people
in the last 97 years may not seem like a
significant number, but one innocent
life taken is one too many.
When murder rates are on the
rise and innocent people are put on
death row, citizens of sound mind
should question the effectiveness of
the system.
Life in prison without the possibili
ty of parole seems an appropriate
punishment for those who commit
acts of murder.
As taxpayers, people may save a
few dollars if we execute criminals in
stead of placing them in jail for three
consecutive life sentences.
However, economic factors
should play no part in the argument
over the death penalty. Those indi
viduals who argue the economic
benefits of legalized murder are
putting a price on human life.
It is extremely ironic that our
government condemns those who
murder and then proceeds to kill
human beings under the guise of
justice. The death penalty needs to
be abolished and replaced with a
system of justice that will balance
punishment with morality.
enate considers parental notification for abortions
ast Wednesday, the Senate Health
and Human Services Committee
voted to send a bill to the
11 Senate which could affect
any Texans. It would require
actors to notify parents by
rtified mail or telephone
ithin 48 hours of receiving a
inor’s request for an abor-
an. The girl would only be
le to avoid her parents by
eking a judge’s approval.
It is insane that there is
en a debate over this issue,
e bill does not require par-
f the Texas aci ents to give permission for the
and Combesi p rocec j ure) j ust to notified.
Columnist
particularly bf
2w criteria:
jhs the amoU''
the air—akeyi*
nhandle.
irthe state ofl fS;
diile a minor cannot be given
Robby Ray
Junior
speech communication
major
pirin in school without parental per-
lission as the law stands now, the same
lild can have an invasive surgical pro-
edure performed without the parents
m and airqu* nowing, much less giving permission,
ing in therej® his is ludicrous.
One study suggests nearly 4000
enagers in Texas seek abortions every year
without their parents’ knowledge. The bill
seeks to address this problem.
Opponents of the bill say it
will lead to more “back alley”
abortions. They fear teens who
are afraid their parents will
find out are going to perform
the abortion themselves, re
sulting in an increase in “coat
hanger” abortions. They also
worry these girls will refuse to
seek proper prenatal care, with
unhealthy consequences for
mother and child.
There have been cases in
which girls have been abused
after revealing their pregnancy
to parents. To protect them,
the bill should be defeated.
These cases are indeed heartbreaking. I
have no doubt some girls could be, and
are, abused by their parents, but most
aren’t. What about the girls who, in a time
of great emotional distress, misjudge their
parents’ reactions? They are frightened over
a situation which may never materialize.
If a pregnant girl is being abused, by
a parent or anybody else, this bill would
force her to talk to someone about it. A
1992 Washington state study found 62
percent of 535 teenage mothers had
been raped or molested before their
But even the opponents are not unit
ed. Sara Suniga, secretary for the Texas
A&M chapter of NOW, said she was not
personally against the bill, as long as
girls still had the choice to abort.
“I don’t see anything wrong with it,”
don't see anything wrong with [the bill].
Girls that young shouldn't be making that
kind of decision (whether to have an abortion)
by themselves"
Sara Suniga,
secretary, Texas A&M chapter of NOW
pregnancy. Those are the statistics of
the girls who kept their babies. Imagine
what the numbers would be for those
who had abortions. If this bill becomes
law, more of these unreported crimes
will come to light and be prosecuted.
she said. “Girls that young shouldn’t be
making that kind of decision by them
selves.” Suniga was unaware if NOW had
an official position, but was fairly certain it
would be against the bill. No surprise there.
Some things opponents don’t deal
Mail
m.
•ds
977?
linorities should
ik to democrats
r n response to Donny Ferguson’s Feb.
ly column, ‘‘Grand Old Party em-
races causes of minorities, women.
It is particularly amusing when
conservative columnist can not
nly misinterpret statistics but
lislead the public. The party of
incoln isn’t the same party the
rOP is today. Ideologies and be-
iefs have changed and the Repub
lican Party of the Civil War that
fought to protect the rights of
slaves isn’t the same party that to
day cuts services to legal immi
grants and boasts of not being
“racially exclusive.” Of the voting
population, minorities vote for
the party that represents their
values, and protects their rights,
and that party isn’t the Republi
can Party.
Democrats work to add diversi
ty to our communities, campuses,
and lives. Multiculturalism is an
important advantage we, as
Americans. To claim this isn’t
needed or isn’t important not
only describes the typical Repub
lican stereotype, but makes a sad
case for America.
This nation is rich because of
diversity and the Democratic Par
ty is the party and always will be
the party of diversity and toler
ance. The Democratic Party does
not condemn someone for believ
ing differently. The Democratic
party wishes to extend equal op
portunity to everyone regardless
of color, gender, orientation or re
ligion. The Democratic Party has
worked hard for all individuals re
gardless of the political ideology
as well. The Democratic Party’s
doors have always been welcome
to all walks of life, and will never
be shut the doors of opportunity
to anyone.
Misty A. Hataway
Class of ’98
with are the harmful side-effects of an
abortion, which can include intense
pain, bleeding and infection. If parents
are expected to be understanding and
supportive when these things happen to
their daughters, they must be allowed
into the decision process from the very
beginning. There can be emotional prob
lems as well, such as guilt, depression, eat
ing disorders and nightmares. Parents
want to protect their children from pain.
But if they don’t know what is going on,
they cannot help.
Some opponents feel requiring notifi
cation is the same as requiring consent.
They see this bill as an attack on abor
tion rights. But it is a bill designed to
protect young girls and get help for them
before it is too late. We all know a prob
lem is much worse when it is hidden.
Only when we recognize the problem
and seek the aid of others can we proper
ly deal with it. We need this bill to show
girls there are people who can and want
to provide relief and support, but they
have to ask.