Abolish the Death Penalty

Exciting news to report!

My old friend Steve Hall, who runs a pro-moratorium organization called Stand Down Texas, has launched a blog. Check it out here.

As soon as I can get to it, I am going to link to Steve in my links list.

I should point out that although Steve's group is not an abolitionist organization -- his mission statement is very clear about this -- it does call for an immediate moratorium on executions in Texas. Many states will pass legislation abolishing the death penalty. Other states will pass legislation establishing a moratorium. I was once in an audience listening to Sister Helen Prejean speak. She endorsed the moratorium approach, explaining that it is a "politician's easy way out."

With moratorium, a politician can tell his or her constituents, "I support the death penalty in principle. But I have deep-rooted concerns about the manner in which the death penalty is applied. For this reason, and because I believe the death penalty discriminates on the basis of race and class, I believe we need to step back and study the issue."

As I have previously noted, New Jersey may soon be on the verge of passing an abolition bill. That is wonderful news. But in other states, particularly in the South, moratorium is going to be the way we want to go. This is why Steve's organization is so very important, so critically needed.

And I would like to welcome Steve to blogsville!




pemanent link posted by David Elliot @ 4:09 PM