Capital punishment is again in the news, with California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s moratorium. Personally, I think that the government does have the legal and moral right to take the life of someone who has committed certain heinous crimes.
However, I am against capital punishment. For a long time, I was not, but going to law school changed my mind. The reason is that it is a well-known fact, at least in legal circles, that not everyone who has been convicted of a crime resulting in such a sentence is actually guilty. Some are exonerated before execution and some posthumously. A quick Google search will show this is very true.
So, I simply ask the question, “How many innocent people put to death is it worth to continue such executions?” Fifty is okay? Ten is okay? One is okay? I say none. While a truly guilty person may deserve being put to death, mistakenly executing one innocent person makes capital punishment unacceptable.
JOHN BRANDTE
Concord