That's the title of an editorial in today's Fort Worth Star-Telegram saying that the U.S. Supreme Court's latest death penalty ruling will fuel our nation's debate over capital punishment. LINK
New appeals are sure to follow. But that is not necessarily a negative development. There is sufficient evidence that the capital punishment system is neither as fair nor as reliable as it must be if society is going to exact such a final penalty, even on the most ruthless killers.
On March 28, 2003, the Editorial Board called for a moratorium on executions in Texas, saying that "there is no room for error in determining guilt in a death penalty case."
"The victims of brutal crimes must not be forgotten in this discussion," the editorial said. "But neither should the accused become victims of a broken system."
Some will argue -- persuasively -- that there's irony and a certain self-comforting denial in trying to administer the death penalty in humane fashion. But if society is going to continue executing killers, it's essential to make sure that they are in fact guilty, that they truly deserve the most serious sanction and that it is administered without deliberate cruelty or barbarity.
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