George,

I almost wish you hadn't sent me that quote of Meredith [Richards]!

Just this past Monday, a man was released after 17 years for a crime of rape and murder he did not commit.....of course, he was guilty, "beyond a reasonable doubt" of a most heinous crime.. He was fortunate to be in Michigan, more than likely, he would be dead in Virginia. The count of exoneration's for crimes not committed because of DNA testing is now 110 ..think of the hundreds convicted, who don't enjoy the benefit of DNA to test.

Have we gotten to the point in our civilization that we accept the executions of a few innocents to satisfy the politics of the death penalty? I would rather those politically ambitious individuals stop talking about "process" - be it "throw weights", "body counts" or capital punishment - and start addressing the sad state of our Commonwealth and nation.

One in thirty-two of our citizenry are either imprisoned or paroled.... are we safer for it? Bush talks about a war like a sports event... no thought that many innocents will die in Iraq; he sees it as a political plum! Cheney is the ultimate "process" flak.

Innocent people are dying and will die if the present system of our seriously flawed judicial system continues to be a contest of who wants harsher punishment, more incarceration, and a "look the other way" attitude about the death penalty.

More and more it looks like a tolerance for legal murder!

It harkens back to the time when Southern pols "out segged" each other!

Harry Tenney (electronic mail, August 28, 2002)