from the diaries of the tennessee dude...
sister helen is likely to compare a moratorium on executions to a cease fire - a period of time where overt conflict is set aside so that thoughtful negotiations can take place...
the current nebraska legislative session seems to support this analysis...its unicameral legislative body failed by a single vote to end capital punishment...
regarding the continuing consideration of death penalty legislation senator greg adams, one of 24 senators to vote for repeal said,
"I pushed the green light, for what I believe were the right reasons...I believe there is a place for capital punishment. I think it's a huge issue. We had a great, structured debate. Lobbyists tell us that there's rarely been a time where all the senators were in their chairs, at once, listening. They also say it was one of the most intellectual debates to be held in a long time, maybe since 1988."
now an intellectual debate on capital punishment on any state capitol hill is - pardon the pun - to die for...and regarding the ongoing policy discussion, well, the issue of emotion, according to adams, threatens to cloud the situation...
"What exacerbates this more is that we have an execution set for May 8," Senator Adams said. "We need to deal with the policy, not the emotion.
and so we return to sister helen prejean's position...senator adams acknowledges that the rhetoric becomes hot when an execution date approaches and by hot we mean that emotion and not policy outcome calculus rule the day - organizers around the country on this issue will generally acknowledge this reality...and so it becomes a cornerstone of the rationale for supporting a moratorium on executions that rational and thoughtful policy discussion is what will move us closer to the day when we say good-bye to the wasteful and off-target policy response to murder that is the death penalty...
peace out <3
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