Today's Albany Times Union publishes the editorial,"To Mr. Kaczynski, in awe." He's recently retired as the executive director of New Yorkers for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.
The fight against violence, and the quest for justice, is stronger for his effort. It must go on.
David Kaczynski is far too humble, and much too introspective, to ever be entirely comfortable in the public spotlight. That was true almost 20 years ago, in the brutal scrutiny that came with his courageous decision to turn in his brother, the Unabomber. And it was true, too, in his valedictory Monday night as the most accomplished death penalty opponent in New York.
The occasion was Mr. Kaczynski's retirement as director of the group New Yorkers for Alternatives to the Death Penalty — once known as New Yorkers Against the Death Penalty, before the state's capital punishment law was wiped off the books. But it was no time to declare victory, or to bask in the success of a powerful movement against the politics of vengeance.
And:
The need for restorative justice and more sensitivity toward crime victims is as great as ever.One great triumph of a group that as recently as 2007 was in search of a new mission is its critically important role in the development of the very successful anti-gun program known as SNUG. Another is an effort, known as Limits of Loyalty, in which victims of violent crime and witnesses to violent crime are encouraged to embrace the larger cause of justice.
New York's death penalty statute was struck down by the state's Court of Appeals in 2004. Lawmakers have declined to reauthorize capital punishment.
There is additional coverage of David Kaczynski on this site.
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