Friday, May 2, 2014


News Clips For The Day


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-emily-c-heath/defending-true-united-church-of-christ_b_5226298.html
The Blog:
Rev. Emily C. Heath
Clergy, United Church of Christ
Defending True Religious Liberty: Church Files Lawsuit in Support of Marriage Equality
Posted: 04/28/2014 

This morning in Charlotte, North Carolina, the United Church of Christ filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court. This suit argues that the current law in North Carolina, as it pertains to marriage, violates religious freedom by prohibiting UCC ministers, and other clergy, from officiating at same-sex marriages.

After the passage of Amendment One in 2012, it became illegal for a member of the clergy to officiate at a wedding where a marriage license is not present. And, of course, in North Carolina, it is impossible for a same-sex couple to obtain a marriage license. That means that any member of the clergy who officiates at a same-sex marriage in the state may be sentenced to "120 days in jail and/or probation and community service."

In other words, the state of North Carolina is telling clergy that it is illegal to pray in the manner in which they see fit.

For those of us who are people of faith, marriage is more than just a civil ceremony. It is also a religious one. And under the current law, even if a member of the clergy is only intending to perform a religious ritual, and not to legally marry a same-sex couple, they could be arrested.

The United Church of Christ, along with several other Christian denominations as well as other religious traditions, has long advocated for equal marriage. In 2005, the denomination passed a resolution which affirmed, "equal marriage rights for couples regardless of gender and declares that government should not interfere with couples regardless of gender who choose to marry and share fully and equally in the rights, responsibilities and commitment of legally recognized marriage."

That means that for the 1 million plus members of the UCC, and especially the members of over 150 UCC churches in North Carolina, state law is requiring them to choose between what is religiously permissible in their denomination and what is legally permissible in their state. In other words, North Carolina state law is making it a crime for some Christians to freely exercise their religion.

We often hear that religious liberty is under attack in our country. Often the fact that same-sex couples are allowed to marry is cited as evidence of this attack. But, as this law makes clear, the religious liberty of same-sex couples and their officiating clergy is what is truly being blatantly attacked. This should outrage anyone who claims to believe in religious freedom.

There are couples in North Carolina who are waiting to be able to legally and religiously marry. There are many clergy who are standing by ready to officiate at their weddings. And there is a law that is stopping them.

Today, the United Church of Christ, along with plaintiffs which include three UCC ministers, two Unitarian Universalist clergy, one Lutheran pastor, one Baptist minister, and one rabbi, as well as the eight extraordinarily courageous and faithful couples they seek to marry, are taking a stand for religious freedom in North Carolina. They are standing up for true religious liberty. And they are saying it is no longer acceptable to oppress the religious rights of all in the name of the religious preferences of the few.
May God bless them, and may God bless North Carolina with true religious freedom.




I see society is opening up in spite of the Tea Party and the Baptist Church, and even in the south. I don't know what the actual population numbers are for gays and lesbians, but I think it must be more than we used to think. Apparently almost all of them were in the closet when I went through high school, and even college. I have had two women, one in high school and one in 1995 to give me an offer, but I simply told them – gently – that I was straight. It ended the matter completely. I didn't avoid them after that, and didn't need to. I've had numerous gay and lesbian friends down through the years.

There are several gay and lesbian couples in my church. I go to a UU church, which is also liberal, of course, including about politics. They help the poor and march for important causes, discuss social issues in church as a part of religious observance, etc. I am so glad to find an environment in which I can relax knowing for sure that no one will ever ask me if I am “saved” before talking to me, or tell me I shouldn't associate with black people. It's like being back in Chapel Hill again!




Job Market Heats Up in April; Unemployment Rate Drops to 6.3% – NBC
BY PATRICK J. RIZZO
First published May 2nd 2014

The labor market warmed up along with the weather in April when employers added a much higher-than-expected 288,000 workers to their payrolls, government data showed Friday.

The Labor Department also reported that the unemployment rate dropped to 6.3 percent, a 5-1/2 year low, from 6.7 percent in March.

"It's a flatout good report. All of the metrics that you want to see improve, did," Tom Porcelli, RBC Capital Market's chief U.S. Economist.

A consensus of economists had been expecting an increase of 201,000 non-farm payrolls, with the jobless rate inching lower to 6.6 percent. The job gains in April were the highest since January 2012.

Stock futures surged on the news, signaling a higher opening. Many market watchers had been anticipating a hot jobs number on belief that inclement winter weather had suppressed economic activity and cooled the jobs market, though the numbers didn't completely back that argument.

The initially reported March figure of 192,000 actually was ahead of the 12-month average of 183,000, while revisions bumped up February to 197,000 and even January's anemic reported moved to 144,000.




288,000 new workers and a 6.3% unemployment rate, the lowest in five and a half years – "It's a flatout good report. All of the metrics that you want to see improve, did," said Tom Porcelli of the U.S. Economist. Some voiced the opinion that the stock market surge which accompanied the good employment news may also be a result of the coming of warmer weather with spring.

This last winter's many snow storms and low temperatures probably did increase businesses' overhead costs and may have caused some to close down for several days because employees couldn't make it to work. It was also simply discouraging as the cloudy, sloppy weather hung on without remission. Or maybe the news is a result of President Obama's wonderful economic expertise or something the Republicans did. I have always considered the economic news to be one of the great mysteries of life, actually, with everybody stepping in to claim the credit for it when it's good and dodge the blame when it's bad.

Whatever caused these good results, I'm relieved to see them, and I hope it really means that people who make less than $200,000 a year will reap real profit from the situation. I also hope these new jobs aren't all at McDonald's and chicken processing plants. Though I'm no longer in the jobs market, I still empathize with those hanging on by their fingernails on unemployment benefits. Thank goodness for this monthly report, and I hope it becomes a trend.




Putin Warns Deadly Ukraine Offensive Ends 'Final Hope' of Peace – NBC
Maria Stromova and Alexander Smith
First published May 2nd 2014

MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin said Ukraine had extinguished the "final hope" of a U.S.-backed peace deal after its forces launched an offensive on pro-Russia separatists Friday.

The Ukrainian military began its raid on the occupied city of Slovyansk at dawn in what was its most committed attempt to dislodge separatists occupying government buildings across its Russian-speaking, industrial east.

Two Ukrainian helicopters were shot down killing at least two people, both sides said. The separatists claimed their forces shot down a third helicopter and said one of their own fighters had also been killed, according to Russia’s Interfax news agency.

Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the offensive “punitive” and said it effectively destroyed the “final hope” of a peace accord reached in Geneva last month between the U.S., Russia, Europe and Ukraine, Interfax said.

The clashes came as the German leader, Chancellor Angela Merkel, was in Washington for talks with President Barack Obama on the possibility of slapping further sanctions on Moscow for its actions on its former Soviet neighbor.

Two MI-24 helicopters were shot down and one more MI-8 helicopter was damaged by gunfire, according to a Ukrainian Defense Ministry statement.

Four people were arrested on suspicion of shooting down the helicopters near the city, Ukraine's defense ministry said. Interfax Ukraine also reported that a helicopter pilot had been captured from one of the down aircraft and "as far as we are informed, he is undergoing surgery in a medical institution," the news agency said, quoting Ukraine Defense Minister Yuriy Povkh.

An earlier statement by the Ukrainian Security Service said separatists were also shooting at an emergency helicopter that arrived to provide medical aid. One of the paramedics was injured, it said.

James Mates, correspondent with NBC News' U.K. partner ITV News, said separatists were controlling roads in and out of the city.

The shooting began around 4 a.m. Friday (9 p.m. ET Thursday), according to Reuters journalists in the city. The militants were holding a number of local people and seven foreign military observers, four of them German, from the European security agency the OSCE, the news agency said.

NBC News was not able to independently verify these reports.

The security service, known as the SBU, said one of the helicopters was shot down by anti-aircraft missiles. That showed the separatist fighters were "well-prepared, high qualified foreign military specialists and not local peaceful citizens who have guns acquired in hunting shops, as Russian leadership says," the SBU said.

The U.S. has also said it believes the separatists are being supported by Moscow's forces.
Ukraine has launched several "anti-terrorism" offensives across the east in an attempt to dislodge separatists who oppose the Western-backed Kiev government and have taken control of government buildings.

An analysis published by the London-based Royal United Services Institute said Ukraine’s fresh drive could push Russia "to the very brink of overt intervention."
“For the past two weeks Slovyansk has been the focus of a game of deterrence and brinkmanship that both leaderships feel compelled to play," said the RUSI report. "Despite evident Russian military planning, neither is likely to be in full control.
"This Ukrainian operation to recover control of Slovyansk may propel Moscow to the very brink of overt intervention."

The Geneva peace accord was widely believed to be in tatters long before Putin signaled its demise Friday.




“Putin said Ukraine had extinguished the 'final hope' of a U.S.-backed peace deal after its forces launched an offensive on pro-Russia separatists Friday.” Putin, of course, has not stopped making war on Eastern Ukraine since that agreement was made, so his hypocritical comments are more than annoying. “The security service, known as the SBU, said one of the helicopters was shot down by anti-aircraft missiles. That showed the separatist fighters were 'well-prepared, high qualified foreign military specialists and not local peaceful citizens who have guns acquired in hunting shops, as Russian leadership says,' the SBU said.”

The higher score is still going to the Russians, since the US and NATO have offered no soldiers and heavy weapons to Ukraine and Russia has contributed both to his supporters, however four pro-Russians were arrested for shooting down the helicopters and Ukraine has “launched several 'anti-terrorism' offensives across the east.” According to the British organization Royal United Services Institute, “'For the past two weeks Slovyansk has been the focus of a game of deterrence and brinkmanship that both leaderships feel compelled to play....'Despite evident Russian military planning, neither is likely to be in full control.'”

So it goes on from day to day. I'm glad to see the Ukrainians putting up a fight. They didn't lose any soldiers according to this report – that's good. Meanwhile Obama and Merkel are planning more sanctions. If all the European countries would band together on strong economic sanctions it would be likely to cause the Russians to withdraw, I think. They aren't lacking in intelligence. I hope we hear something on new sanctions soon.




Lawyers: 25-Year-Old Stole From Country Clubs to Feed "Affluenza" Addiction – NBC
By Mima Mimika and Erika Gonzalez
Friday, May 2, 2014

Prosecutors say a 25-year-old man who repeatedly burglarized some of the D.C. area's most affluent country clubs was feeding his "affluenza."

Samuel Joseph Goldenberg, of Chevy Chase, Md., was sentenced to 10 years in prison Thursday and ordered to pay $23,000 in restitution. Prosecutors say that's only a portion of the value of the goods Goldenberg stole and resold to feed his lavish lifestyle.

"This slew of crimes was committed against people and property in very affluent neighborhoods and he himself came from such a background," Ramon Korionoff with the Montgomery County State's Attorney's Office told News4.

Goldenberg roamed the country clubs and escaped detection there, but surveillance video and pawn shop records told a different story.

Officials said Goldenberg was captured on surveillance video at the Congressional and Potomac country clubs, sneaking in empty-handed and leaving with car keys, purses, watches, jewelry and other high-end goods.

Over the course of a year, nearly two dozen people fell victim to Goldenberg's burglaries, they said.

"He was able to navigate the hallways and locker rooms of these facilities as if he knew exactly where to look," Korionoff said.

Goldenberg's crimes were also recorded in the form of pawn shop records, where he would re-sell the stolen items.

In one of the heftier heists, Goldenberg walked away with more than $50,000 worth of briefcases and high-end jewelry. Much of it was pawned.

He pleaded guilty to three counts of felony theft. During the time he was stealing from the country clubs, he was already on probation for theft.

In court, prosecutors said he tried to blame the crimes on his drug addiction.

However, they said this wasn't about feeding a drug problem -- it was more about affluenza, wanting more money to support his lavish lifestyle.

The term "affluenza" gained national attention earlier this year when a North Texas teenager was sentenced to probation following a drunken-driving crash that left four people dead. The teen's attorneys claimed the boy's affluence fostered a sense of irresponsibility.

But Goldenberg faces a much stiffer punishment in Montgomery County.

"No matter what part of the county you come from, it you're going to commit crimes, you're going to do the time," Korionoff said.




Samuel Joseph Goldenberg, of Chevy Chase, Md., 25 years old, was “financing his life style” by repeatedly robbing country clubs, and has been said by Prosecutors to have “affluenza.” The last time I heard that term it was being called a mental affliction and was used as a defense in a crime, with the boy in question being let off on probation. What ever happened to old-fashioned “greed?”

Goldenberg was not doing this at night when no one was there. He was filmed “sneaking in empty-handed and leaving with car keys, purses, watches, jewelry and other high-end goods,” robbing some two dozen people over the span of a year, apparently while they were at their tables in the country club “living the high life.” “In one of the heftier heists, Goldenberg walked away with more than $50,000 worth of briefcases and high-end jewelry. Much of it was pawned.” He plead guilty to three counts of felony theft, committed while he was still on probation for theft.

"No matter what part of the county you come from, it you're going to commit crimes, you're going to do the time," Ramon Korionoff of the State's Attorney's Office said. There are some people who just don't want to work for a living, clearly. In a poverty-stricken neighborhood they take a gun or knife and rob people on the street. Perhaps there they do have the excuse that they can't get a job and may even be starving. In Chevy Chase they do what lawyers are said to do, they go for the “deep pockets.” I'm really glad Korionoff isn't letting Goldenberg off easily. He's 25 years old and well able to work.




Drop the Pop? Library Gets Request to Ban Dr. Seuss Book – NBC
By Adam Warner
Thursday, May 1, 2014

Dr. Seuss' famous rhyming book "Hop on Pop"was one of seven publications that residents asked the Toronto Public Library to remove this year.

A patron requested that the children's classic be banned, saying it "encourages children to use violence against their fathers."

The complainant asked that the library remove the book and issue an apology to fathers in the greater Toronto area — presumably because they were put at a greater risk of being hopped on. It also said the library should pay for damages resulting from the book.

In "Hop on Pop," two children hop on their father, much to his dismay. "HOP POP We like to hop. We like to hop on top of Pop. STOP You must not hop on Pop," Seuss wrote. The lesson at the end is that children shouldn't hop on their parents, a detail cited by the library's Materials Review Committee as a reason for keeping the book. "The children are actually told not to hop on pop," the committee said.

The library also wrote that the book is "well-loved" and that it "appeared on many 'Best of' children's book lists" since its publication in 1963.

Several Dr. Seuss books have faced bans over the years, normally because of the political messages Seuss would weave into his stories. "Green Eggs and Ham" was banned in Maoist China from 1965 until Seuss' death in 1991 for its "portrayal of early Marxism."

Seuss' book "The Lorax" came under fire in 1988 for its depiction of the logging industry as destroying the environment. A member of the National Wood Flooring Association wrote a counter book called "Truax," which showed support for loggers.
The Toronto Public Library's review committee denied all of this year's requests for removal. Among other publications on the list was the 1984 children's book "Lizzy's Lion," in which a lion eats a robber who is terrorizing a girl. Bill O'Reilly's 2012 book "Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot," which is about the assassination of John F. Kennedy, was also on the list.

The Toronto Public Library has some 32 million books in circulation and is the world's busiest urban library system, according to its website.




I am reminded by this article of the time a few years ago when televangelist Jerry Falwell wanted to have a boring and stupid TV show for young children called Teletubbies banned as portraying gay men. The teletubbies were softly rounded images and very innocuous, but that is the only resemblance they bore to an effeminate -- and therefore gay -- man. I always felt the same way about Mr. Rogers, but he did have an avid audience of three and four-year-olds, probably because he was the epitome of gentleness.

Well, Dr. Seuss is the epitome of silliness, but his books are genuinely funny to the adult who has the job of reading those stories to their rapt young kids, and he did have some morals to teach. This particular complaint about Hop On Pop seems to me to be a tongue in cheek effort at humor. Saying that the library should pay damages is really over the top. “The lesson at the end is that children shouldn't hop on their parents, a detail cited by the library's Materials Review Committee as a reason for keeping the book.” Thank goodness, the library turned down all removal requests.

Books should not be censored. Indeed, there is a novel written in the 1800's called “The Story Of O,” which is so grotesquely repulsive that when I tried to read it on someone's recommendation for its titillation value, I never made it through the first chapter. I just turned it back in to the library. I think people should have many books available and read widely among them, culling out those that are full of lies, very badly written or pandering to some political organization which the reader rejects. We have that ability to chose.

The Toronto library's 32 million books undoubtedly represent a large number of radical political viewpoints or those lengthy sexual descriptions that many modern “romances” contain. I don't have to read them, and if I do, I don't have to believe what they have to say. I strongly believe in exposing people at least by the time they are in high school and college to some controversial materials in the knowledge that they can get some educational value from them and have sufficient mental capability to reject what they don't want and believe to be true. Our freedom of thought and publication is responsible for much of our innovation in science and industry, and a basic part of a free society.




Death Penalty Fades As Hot-Button Issue – NPR
by ALAN GREENBLATT
May 02, 2014

It's almost hard to remember how dominant an issue the death penalty was a generation ago.

Crime and drugs were the top issues for voters in 1994. Not coincidentally, support for the death penalty peaked that year, at 80 percent, according to Gallup polling.

Opposition to the death penalty once cost prominent politicians their jobs, from New York Democratic Gov. Mario Cuomo to California Supreme Court Chief Justice Rose Bird.

The safest stance was clear: support for capital punishment.

But all that has changed. Contemporary politicians appear to have paid very little price, if any, for supporting recent moratoriums on capital punishment, or for voting to abolish it altogether.

"It just hasn't been a salient issue here, despite the governor declaring a moratorium on the death penalty," says Travis Ridout, a professor of government and public policy at Washington State University, referring to Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee's announcementearlier this year.

Once A Major Issue
The death penalty was a centerpiece of the 1988 presidential campaign. Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis was widely criticized that fall for not reacting emotionally when a debate moderator asked him if he would favor execution if his wife were raped and murdered.

Four years later, Democratic front-runner and eventual winner Bill Clinton burnished his credibility on the crime issue by returning from the campaign trail to Arkansas and presiding as governor over the execution of Ricky Ray Rector, a cop killer who was brain damaged.

But crime has declined steadily and dramatically since the 1990s, when the death penalty peaked both in popularity and in practice. A majority of Americans still favor the death penalty, but its support reached a 40-year low in a Gallup poll conducted last fall.

As violent crime and murder rates have dropped over the past couple of decades, so has political support for capital punishment.

California voters in 2012 rejected a ballot measure that would have ended the death penalty in that state. It lost by only a 4-percentage-point margin, however — a big change from the 71 percent to 29 percent result when a similar vote took place back in 1978.
"We are at a point today where the number of people in strong support of the death penalty has declined," says Elizabeth Theiss Smith, a death penalty expert at the University of South Dakota.

Problems With The Death Penalty
Meanwhile, the death penalty itself has come to seem more problematic. DNA evidence and other methods have helped exonerate 144 individuals who had been sentenced to death row, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

A study released Monday by a team of legal scholars and statisticians found that more than 4 percent of all those condemned to death over the past 40 years had likely been wrongfully convicted.

The Supreme Court, with a series of recent decisions, has pretty much limited the death penalty to cases involving murders committed by mentally sound adults. Although many people would like to see the most heinous criminals "get what they deserve," says Smith, statistics show that death sentences have more to do with race, class and the quality of the defense attorneys involved than with the crime itself.

Where a life sentence might once have meant a criminal would spend only 15 years behind bars, jurors now know that's almost hard to remember how dominant an issue the death penalty was a generation ago.

Crime and drugs were the top issues for voters in 1994. Not coincidentally, support for the death penalty peaked that year, at 80 percent, according to Gallup polling.

Opposition to the death penalty once cost prominent politicians their jobs, from New York Democratic Gov. Mario Cuomo to California Supreme Court Chief Justice Rose Bird.

The safest stance was clear: support for capital punishment.

But all that has changed. Contemporary politicians appear to have paid very little price, if any, for supporting recent moratoriums on capital punishment, or for voting to abolish it altogether.

"It just hasn't been a salient issue here, despite the governor declaring a moratorium on the death penalty," says Travis Ridout, a professor of government and public policy at Washington State University, referring to Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee's announcementearlier this year.

Once A Major Issue
The death penalty was a centerpiece of the 1988 presidential campaign. Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis was widely criticized that fall for not reacting emotionally when a debate moderator asked him if he would favor execution if his wife were raped and murdered.

Four years later, Democratic front-runner and eventual winner Bill Clinton burnished his credibility on the crime issue by returning from the campaign trail to Arkansas and presiding as governor over the execution of Ricky Ray Rector, a cop killer who was brain damaged.

But crime has declined steadily and dramatically since the 1990s, when the death penalty peaked both in popularity and in practice. A majority of Americans still favor the death penalty, but its support reached a 40-year low in a Gallup poll conducted last fall.
As violent crime and murder rates have dropped over the past couple of decades, so has political support for capital punishment.

California voters in 2012 rejected a ballot measure that would have ended the death penalty in that state. It lost by only a 4-percentage-point margin, however — a big change from the 71 percent to 29 percent result when a similar vote took place back in 1978.
"We are at a point today where the number of people in strong support of the death penalty has declined," says Elizabeth Theiss Smith, a death penalty expert at the University of South Dakota.

Problems With The Death Penalty
Meanwhile, the death penalty itself has come to seem more problematic. DNA evidence and other methods have helped exonerate 144 individuals who had been sentenced to death row, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

A study released Monday by a team of legal scholars and statisticians found that more than 4 percent of all those condemned to death over the past 40 years had likely been wrongfully convicted.

The Supreme Court, with a series of recent decisions, has pretty much limited the death penalty to cases involving murders committed by mentally sound adults. Although many people would like to see the most heinous criminals "get what they deserve," says Smith, statistics show that death sentences have more to do with race, class and the quality of the defense attorneys involved than with the crime itself.

Where a life sentence might once have meant a criminal would spend only 15 years behind bars, jurors now know that life without the possibility of parole is a sentence that will stick. They've increasingly embraced it as an option.

Issues Of Cost
As the death penalty has declined in use, some politicians are less convinced of its value as a deterrent. Instead, as states seek to trim their corrections costs, the sheer amount of money spent on death penalty cases has become a concern.

"We have a responsibility to stop doing the things that are wasteful and ineffective," Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley said last year as he signed a bill abolishing the practice in Maryland.

Concerns about this week's botched execution in Oklahoma will fit with the pragmatic line of argument politicians are now using to oppose the death penalty, says Frank Baumgartner, co-author of The Decline of the Death Penalty and the Discovery of Innocence.

"There is a new way a politician can move away from it," he says. "No matter how angry you might be about the horrific crime that occurred, we can't trust the government to handle it appropriately."

An Emerging Democratic Issue
Maryland was the sixth state to abolish the death penalty in as many years. Inslee's moratorium in February followed a similar move taken in 2011 by Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber and a de facto moratorium imposed last year by Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper.

All these politicians are Democrats. The states that are getting rid of the death penalty are blue, while the practice continues most regularly in Republican-dominated states such as Texas, Florida, Ohio and Missouri.

It's no wonder. Opinions about the death penalty, as with so many issues, are split along partisan lines. According to Gallup, 80 percent of Republicans support capital punishment, compared with 47 percent of Democrats.

Some Republican politicians have sought to make the death penalty an issue when running against abolitionist Democrats. It's not a strategy that meets with great success anymore.

"The people who primarily support the death penalty are Republicans — men, whites and the wealthy," says Matt Manweller, a political scientist and GOP state legislator in Washington. "Those are not groups that vote for Jay Inslee anyway."

Those political dynamics could change, if the murder rate spikes upward and crime becomes more of a concern. Political support for the death penalty has undergone a long decline, but such trends can often reverse themselves.

"There is still substantial support for the death penalty," says Smith, the South Dakota professor. "Nobody loses an election by being tough on crime."

t life without the possibility of parole is a sentence that will stick. They've increasingly embraced it as an option.

Issues Of Cost
As the death penalty has declined in use, some politicians are less convinced of its value as a deterrent. Instead, as states seek to trim their corrections costs, the sheer amount of money spent on death penalty cases has become a concern.

"We have a responsibility to stop doing the things that are wasteful and ineffective," Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley said last year as he signed a bill abolishing the practice in Maryland.

Concerns about this week's botched execution in Oklahoma will fit with the pragmatic line of argument politicians are now using to oppose the death penalty, says Frank Baumgartner, co-author of The Decline of the Death Penalty and the Discovery of Innocence.

"There is a new way a politician can move away from it," he says. "No matter how angry you might be about the horrific crime that occurred, we can't trust the government to handle it appropriately."

An Emerging Democratic Issue
Maryland was the sixth state to abolish the death penalty in as many years. Inslee's moratorium in February followed a similar move taken in 2011 by Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber and a de facto moratorium imposed last year by Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper.

All these politicians are Democrats. The states that are getting rid of the death penalty are blue, while the practice continues most regularly in Republican-dominated states such as Texas, Florida, Ohio and Missouri.

It's no wonder. Opinions about the death penalty, as with so many issues, are split along partisan lines. According to Gallup, 80 percent of Republicans support capital punishment, compared with 47 percent of Democrats.

Some Republican politicians have sought to make the death penalty an issue when running against abolitionist Democrats. It's not a strategy that meets with great success anymore.

"The people who primarily support the death penalty are Republicans — men, whites and the wealthy," says Matt Manweller, a political scientist and GOP state legislator in Washington. "Those are not groups that vote for Jay Inslee anyway."

Those political dynamics could change, if the murder rate spikes upward and crime becomes more of a concern. Political support for the death penalty has undergone a long decline, but such trends can often reverse themselves.

"There is still substantial support for the death penalty," says Smith, the South Dakota professor. "Nobody loses an election by being tough on crime."




“Crime and drugs were the top issues for voters in 1994. Not coincidentally, support for the death penalty peaked that year, at 80 percent, according to Gallup polling.... A majority of Americans still favor the death penalty, but its support reached a 40-year low in a Gallup poll conducted last fall.” The problems with the death penalty that have come into the news concern such things as the number of criminals convicted and given the death penalty who have finally been exonerated since their trial by DNA or other evidence. “A number of legal scholars and statisticians” have determined that an estimated 4% of prisoners given the death penalty over the last 40 years and actually executed were convicted in error. This is, to me, the most important argument against the death penalty, as most of our methods now are not too very cruel. The electric chair was the most cruel after hanging, I would say. “Those political dynamics could change, if the murder rate spikes upward and crime becomes more of a concern.”

Recent Supreme Court decisions have “pretty much limited the death penalty to cases involving murders committed by mentally sound adults. Although many people would like to see the most heinous criminals "get what they deserve," says Smith, statistics show that death sentences have more to do with race, class and the quality of the defense attorneys involved than with the crime itself.”

This statement points up two kinds of problems. First, people who are insane, intellectually challenged, heavily under the influence of drugs or even brain damaged – football players and boxers who have had too many hits to the head – are not “mentally sound”.

Second, the ability of a suspect to pay a high priced and hopefully much more effective attorney should not be what causes him to be given the death penalty or, on the other hand, possibly go free to commit more crimes.

Third, prejudice due to religion, sexual orientation or the color of a prisoner's skin should not cause the judge and jury to administer the highest penalty in the land on him. The reason why such people are more often convicted in the first place is often not obvious. Maybe the lawyers ruled out all black people from the jury pool, or the trial is being held in a right-wing city in the deep south.

Because of these problems, life without possibility of parole is safer and often more fair, and has become more popular among jurors according to this article. I think the growing prominence of women, minorities and younger people in general in US society is having an effect on social viewpoints, and thus on whether or not such a juror will give the death penalty.

The recent failure of a lethal drug cocktail has also been in the news prominently. Such cases are being seen as “cruel and unusual punishment.” I think it could be argued that a firing squad, if the prisoner were blindfolded, is less cruel. Death by gunshot is usually more quick and certain, at least if the shooters are highly skilled. A few states, according to Wikipedia, have started to use firing squads and so far that has not been declared unconstitutional.

The high cost of keeping prisoners on death row for years and then of executing them is also being argued by politicians. Six states have banned the death penalty. “All these politicians are Democrats. The states that are getting rid of the death penalty are blue, while the practice continues most regularly in Republican-dominated states such as Texas, Florida, Ohio and Missouri.... According to Gallup, 80 percent of Republicans support capital punishment, compared with 47 percent of Democrats.”

This writer uses the term “abolitionist Democrats,” saying that the choice of Republicans to make the death penalty an issue in elections against such Democrats is not “meeting with great success” anymore. The right-wing social issues in general are less popularly held than in my youth, at least in a conservative area like the South where I grew up. "The people who primarily support the death penalty are Republicans — men, whites and the wealthy," says Matt Manweller, a political scientist and GOP state legislator in Washington. "Those are not groups that vote for Jay Inslee anyway," he continued. Some Republicans will tell the unvarnished truth, I see, as Manweller does here. That's one thing I like about Senator McCain. He isn't prone to sticking to the party line at all costs. That's why he has been able to work with Democrats in the past, I feel sure.

A book with a provocative sounding title is mentioned in this article – Frank Baumgartner, co-author of The Decline of the Death Penalty and the Discovery of Innocence. The discovery of innocence, indeed. If I remember, I'll try to get a copy of that out of the library and read it.