The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, June 11, 2001, Image 5

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    4nday.
, June 11, 2001
o PINION
Page 5
THE BATTALION
thics versus revenge
erry should sign bill banning the execution of retarded murderers
VANTED
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turn John
P|ul Penry’s
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ng package ■ , . ,
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Mill, Manual'.' heated the debate over capital
rough Friday,!fcrB nishment ■ Arguments now in-
duies Mot diide the etliical implications of
jais that can w»cuting an inmate who is men-
tall\ retarded. Anyone with an IQ
Bow 70 is considered to be men-
handicapped. Penry, who
under this category, was con-
d of rape and murder in 1980
sentenced to die.
here is a bill on Gov. Rick
Bry’s desk that will ban the ex-
■ition of the mentally retard-
■ The bill will allow juries to
Bide in the sentencing phase
pf p trial if the defendant is men-
retarded.
f the jury 7 finds the defendant
ihentally retarded, then the
death penalty cannot be im-
ed. If the jury decides the de
fendant is not mentally retarded,
then two outside experts would
Hke recommendations to the
iu|ge during a hearing. From
^hr^cai k » diihc, the judge would decide
th| sentence.
i FOUND fcov. Perry has not decided
whether he will sign the bill. He
has until June 17 to either sign
or veto it; if he does neidier, die
RCYCLE bill will become law without his
signature. Gov. Perry should
sign this bill, making Texas the
14th state to ban executions of
the mentally retarded. It is
morally and ethically wrong to
execute those who do not have
the mental capability to under-
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the.
__^stand right from wrong.
Opponents of the bill argue it
will take away a jury’s right to
impose a sentence.
“This bill gives [the deci
sion] to the jury and then it
takes it away from the jury,”
said David Weeks, the district
attorney for Walker County in
a New York Times article. Crit
ics state that the present jury
instructions are sufficient to
warrant a decision about defen
dant’s mental abilities.
Currendy, sentencing juries
are instructed to take into ac
count all evidence, including a
defendant’s background, charac
ter and “personal moral culpa
bility.” According to critics,
these instructions clearly indi
cate that juries can consider a
criminal’s mental ability during
their sentencing, without the
need of a new bill.
However, the instructions still
allow juries to sentence a retard
ed person to death. “It reeks of
revenge, not justice, when you
execute someone who is mental
ly retarded and does not know
die difference between right and
wrong,” said Rep. Juan Hino
josa, D-McAllen.
The bill limits the ability of
die jury to sentence a retarded
person to die. It bans capital
punishment as a sentence and
instead offers life in prison widi-
out parole. In the Austin Ameri
can Statesman, Sen. Rodney El
lis, D-Houston, said, “It is time
for Texas to stop defending the
defenseless and make a clear,
moral stand.”
The legally retarded will nev
er mentally mature, and most do
not diink above a sixth-grade
level. It is beyond comprehen
sion how anyone can support
die execution of someone in diis
condition — it is equivalent to
executing children. No one ad
vocates sentencing children to
death, but unfortunately there
are people who advocate the
death of diese child-like adults.
Gov. Perry must sign this bill.
Texas has received much atten
tion for its application of the
death penalty. Now, it is time to
gain notice for something more
admirable — taking a stand for
what is right.
Brieanne Porte?' is a junior
political science majo?:
ADRIAN CALCANEO/The Battalion
programs
istin. Texas. Tripie-1
is largest dog trai^j
jr In the world. Cj
nseling, student
lilable. Visit online
iers.com or call 5 ! 'i
are the most denial
p.m., a routine
i, female, nees; JLday for Austin’s
6 k 95-826i V " 911 emergency dis-
—-—rfiltchers. Minutes
r/ Lab mix, free j
as. 574-5376. later, a call was re-
— -r-irieeived. The emer-
pptes, AKC, 'S' -j/M
masked beauties gency W3S nothing
twins are normal college kids; deserve privacy
• 7f:
me >re titan under-
squirrei) and cage a g c teen-agers attempting to purchase
alcohol with fake identification cards at
ifjjhuy’s, a popular Austin restaurant.
E ST ATE The frenzy was caused by Jenna and
brand NEW s v Barbara Bush > President Bush’s 19-
he premier add^ year-olcl twin daughters, who were cit-
jMs'has'oniyscoi' ed lor a misdemeanor charge of mis-
tow interest rates representing their age. The twins, who
its! Enjoy beach vs are in America s spotlight and dealing
dng student 0 4M' w ‘ tB their father’s decision to lead
ur furnished Mode '*11
hy “Anywhere Elss;
SW Parkway, f 1
79-683-5758 or Td 1 '
America into die 21 st century, are vic
tims of a tragedy — journalists micro
scopically exposing private matters.
The minute die story appeared in
headlines around die globe, die twins
became the subject of intense scrutiny,
leaving journalists looking for juicy de
tails. Unfortunately, diese reports
lacked the courtesy and understanding
die girls deserve. After die twins were
labeled as wild, out-of-control and
troubled, die owners of Chuy’s apolo
gized for dieir handling of the situation
and the media frenzy they caused.
The thoughdessness of the media
resulted in a Boston Herald columnist
criticizing the girls for dieir clothing
during their courtroom appearance.
Dumbfounded, the reporter could not
believe that Jenna arrived wearing a
toe ring.
However, what these narrow
minded reporters do not realize is that
these girls are normal college stu
dents, no different from the thou
sands of others ticketed for alcohol re
lated offenses eveiy day. Their
violation does not make them crimi
nals or social deviants, it simply adds
their name to a long list of other teen
agers. A petty misdemeanor should
never be important enough to make
front page news, nor does it require
911 emergency assistance.
Throughout this dilemma, Presi
dent Bush has handled die situation in
a manner that proves why Americans
elected him as our nation’s leader.
From the beginning, he has attributed
his daughters’ mistakes to die gap diat
lies between a parent’s best intentions
for dieir children and the reality of to
day’s society. Bush’s words accurately
depict the rationale of a parent who
understands their child’s mistakes will
later be valuable lessons.
More importandy, the consequences
of die twins’ mishap needs to come
solely from dieir parents. It is not die
business of journalists to engage in
public forums contemplating reasons
why die girls attempted to purchase al
cohol despite being underage.
Repeatedly, White House Press
Secretary Ari Fleischer has asked jour
nalists to consider the nature of this
matter before diey pursue reporting
on the topic. Fleischer routinely re
butts questions from journalists by
asking “Do you want the American
people to know that you are asking
about private conversations that took
place between the president of the
United States and his child?” The ac
tions of Bush’s daughters should not
be the subject of questions at govern
ment press conferences.
T his lack of respect by journalists to
intrude into private matters is why oth
ers are wrongfully passing judgement
on Bush’s daughters. In the future, they
should re-evaluate the effects of their
“journalistic” reporting.
J.J. Trevino is a senior
journalism major.
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Spend new tax cut elsewhere
TWf WcftRtezNWf-©
(U-Wire) — President George W.
Bush’s tax cut plan that was recently
passed in the Senate is a wonderful ex
ample of the all-too-frequent political
bag of potato chips designed to make
you think that you are getting what
you paid for.
Just like the chips, when we open up
the political bag, we will see that it is
mostly air and a few crumbs.
Put every American in one room, and
the average person will receive between
$4,000 and $5,000 from this tax cut—.
about half a used car, a few months’ rent
or a year of groceries.
OK. Now let’s remember that we pay
taxes on a sliding scale, so the more you
earn, the more you pay, and vice versa.
By its very nature, this tax cut gives more
money to people who already have more
money.
“You pay more, you get more,” you
say. Fine, that makes sense, but it is ex
actly the reason why this tax cut is very
wasteful, essentially useless and com
pletely sensationalized. It is a lot of
money, and in the end, the people who
need it aren’t getting it.
Do we really have $1.3 trillion to
spend? If so, maybe we should look at
some other options.
Tim Russert noted on “Meet the
Press” last Sunday that it has been esti
mated that the AIDS epidemic in Africa,
which long ago became disastrous, could
be solved or at least curbed with $5 bil
lion a year for the next five years.
Sounds like a lot of money until you
realize that we have $1.3 trillion at our
disposal. If we gave the $25 billion that
has been estimated, the average Ameri
can would be sacrificing $85.
That’s a shirt, a pair of pants and a
pair of underwear at the Gap. We
would be left with $1.2975 trillion —
not too shabby.
If Dwight Eisenhower taught the
country anything by building the high
way system in the 1950s instead of later,
it was tli at a dollar now might be worth
$5 or $10 down the road.
Not only would our $85 per person
save millions of lives, it might also save
us from paying $250 billion in a decade
or two, if or when we decide to take ac
tion against AIDS. But this assumes
there will be someone left by then.
So we’ve spent $2 5 billion — now
what? Why don’t we pay school teach
ers more? Or how about we build
homes for the homeless? Or help
i^nericans afford medications?
We could do all of those things and
still have some spending cash left over.
Isn’t America supposed to be the free
and visionary country? How can it justify
a tax plan that is so confining and short
sighted?
If we chose to spend this surplus wise
ly, while it might not be as popular as
saying “free checks for all,” it would not
only be the smarter thing to do, it would
be more beneficial.
If we could stop or curb the major
problems in America and around the
world today, we could do more than
simply cover the problem with money.
Bush would be using money as a tool to
fix the problems now, saving us money
later. Spending this money would help
us more in day-to-day life than the aver
age $4,000-$5,000 in tax cuts each per
son would receive.
A child can take money out of the pig
gy bank to pay for a broken window, but
a carpenter rolls up his sleeves, gets out
the tool box, buys the equipment and
builds a window that won’t break again.
In the long run, who do we want to be?
Eric Lidji
The Pitt News
University of Pittsburgh