EDITORIALS: ​“Mistakes are made”

A recent edi­to­r­i­al in Nebraska​’s Journal Star urged sup­port for a bill to replace the death penal­ty with a sen­tence of life in prison. Among the rea­sons cit­ed for its posi­tion was the risk of exe­cut­ing an inno­cent per­son. The edi­to­r­i­al not­ed that advance­ments in DNA test­ing have shown the fal­li­bil­i­ty of the cur­rent sys­tem: ​“Seventeen peo­ple who were on death row have been set free after DNA test­ing proved they were wrong­ly con­vict­ed.” The edi­to­r­i­al also point­ed to more than 250 con­vic­tions that have been over­turned nation­wide because of DNA test­ing, includ­ing the Nebraska defen­dants known as the ​“Beatrice Six,” who were wrong­ful­ly con­vict­ed of rape and mur­der but lat­er exon­er­at­ed through DNA test­ing. The paper cau­tioned against sup­port­ing the death penal­ty on the basis of one hor­rif­ic case: “[E]ven if the sys­tem worked with­out flaw in that par­tic­u­lar case, there can be no guar­an­tee that it will work that way every time. And if the sys­tem can­not work with­out error — as the facts show — then the death penal­ty can­not be jus­ti­fied. Sooner or lat­er, an inno­cent per­son will die at the hands of the state of Nebraska.” Read full editorial below.

Mistakes flaw death penalty

Debate on the death penal­ty began in the Legislature last week with Sen. Brenda Council of Omaha hom­ing in on the glar­ing prob­lem with appli­ca­tion of soci­ety’s ultimate sanction.

People are fal­li­ble. As Council put it, ​“Mistakes are made.” Humans can­not devise a sys­tem that will oper­ate with­out error. They never have.

That truth has become dev­as­tat­ing­ly clear with the advent of DNA test­ing. Seventeen peo­ple who were on death row have been set free after DNA test­ing proved they were wrongly convicted.

They might have been exe­cut­ed if it were not for the grace of God and scientific advancement.

More than 250 con­vic­tions have been over­turned nation­wide because of DNA test­ing. In Nebraska, the so-called Beatrice Six who were wrong­ly con­vict­ed in the rape and mur­der of a Beatrice woman were set free when DNA test­ing indi­cat­ed some­one else com­mit­ted the crimes. The DNA evi­dence on the error rate in the crim­i­nal jus­tice sys­tem is new infor­ma­tion that has come to light with­in the life­time of every­one now serv­ing in the State Legislature.

The state sen­a­tors who have declared them­selves in favor of the death penal­ty should con­sid­er the new evi­dence. The facts show that with the death penal­ty, inno­cent peo­ple can and will be executed.

Yes, some crimes, such as the slay­ing of five peo­ple in the botched Norfolk bank rob­bery in 2002, seem so cold-blood­ed and hor­rif­ic, and the con­vic­tions in the case so cer­tain, that many peo­ple believe the per­pe­tra­tors deserve to die.

But even if the sys­tem worked with­out flaw in that par­tic­u­lar case, there can be no guar­an­tee that it will work that way every time. And if the sys­tem can­not work with­out error — as the facts show — then the death penal­ty can­not be jus­ti­fied. Sooner or lat­er, an inno­cent per­son will die at the hands of the state of Nebraska.

In soci­ety at large and in the Legislature there are peo­ple who oppose the death penal­ty on moral grounds. ​“To be pro-life is to respect the dig­ni­ty of every sin­gle human life. Even the damned. Even those who do the inde­fen­si­ble,” said Sen. Steve Lathrop.

Those oppo­nents should be joined by those who take into account the new evi­dence on how often the crim­i­nal jus­tice sys­tem deliv­ers an incorrect verdict.

Council last week asked for a delay in the debate on the death penal­ty so that more infor­ma­tion can be gath­ered on the legal­i­ty of how the state acquired one of its lethal-injection drugs.

We hope sen­a­tors take the time to re-exam­ine their beliefs and assumptions.

Council’s LB276, which would replace the death penal­ty with life in prison, rec­og­nizes the real­i­ty of human lim­i­ta­tions. It deserves to pass.

(“Mistakes Flaw Death Penalty,” Nebraska Journal Star, January 29, 2012). See Innocence and Recent Legislative Activity. Read more Editorials on the death penalty.