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Schwarzenegger
and capital punishment
The
execution of Donald Beardslee once again
highlights the systemic flaws in the system
of capital punishment. The refusal of the
original court to allow the jury to consider
all the relevant evidence is more than enough
reason to consider reopening this case,
or at the very least allowing for a new
penalty phase.
The
time has come for a republican to stand
up and point out these flaws.
Other
republicans might be justified in hesitating
to take a stance against the death penalty
because they are afraid of being made out
to be wimps in the eyes of the public, but
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will never have
to worry about that. He's the Terminator,
for heaven's sake! If he were to take
a position against capital punishment, he
would force the Republican Party to listen,
because the Republican Party rank and file,
for the most part, like him (It's sort
of like the "Only Nixon could go to
China" idea, i.e. only a life-long
anti-Communist could have had the credibility
to deal effectively with Red China).
Let's
be honest; the rest of the civilized world
is moving beyond capital punishment, and
although Schwarzenegger might not be able
to become president because of an archaic
200-year-old clause in the Constitution,
he can be the man who led America to join
with the rest of the civilized world. I
think that would be a helluva lot nicer
legacy than being the first Austrian-born
head of state since Adolf Hitler to put
a man to death.
—
Ronald O. Richards, community member
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