"Death penalty is the enemy of speedy justice," is the Sunday Denver Post editorial.
With the death penalty having become an issue in the governor's race, it's worth contrasting these cases and asking ourselves, as Coloradans, which choice makes the most sense.
Is it worth pursuing the death penalty in a few select cases knowing it will postpone justice literally for years, cost many times the alternative of life without parole, and, given the appeals, won't actually resolve the murderer's fate for decades even if a jury agrees to the ultimate penalty?
Or should we embrace the opportunity for relatively quick pleas that ensure the killer will never walk again as a free man?
"Death penalty highlights governor's race debate," is by Ivan Moreno of AP, via the Denver Post.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez challenged Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper to answer whether he intends to grant clemency to a death-row inmate before Hickenlooper leaves office, prompting one of the liveliest exchanges during their first debate Saturday.
"I have no plan to revisit my decision, so my decision stands," Hickenlooper said. He added: "The government shouldn't be in the business of taking people's lives."
Republicans have blasted Hickenlooper in ads for his decision to grant an indefinite reprieve to Nathan Dunlap, who was convicted of killing four people at an Aurora Chuck E. Cheese's restaurant.
"CNN show on Nathan Dunlap case stirs Colorado's death penalty debate," is also in the Denver Post.
A CNN documentary on Nathan Dunlap's 1993 murder rampage and death sentence aired Sunday night amid growing debate about capital punishment in Colorado — and about two weeks after the governor said in an interview for that show that he could grant Dunlap clemency.
The documentary did not include Gov. John Hickenlooper's clemency comments — which were obtained by a political blogger through an open-records request for the interview recording — though it did outline how the case has become a political talking point in this year's gubernatorial election. Hickenlooper told CNN he could grant Dunlap clemency if he is not re-elected in November.
Earlier coverage from Colorado begins at the link.
Comments