Post by Anja on Jun 12, 2006 10:24:13 GMT -5
Mr. Kaine and the Death Penalty----At the 11th hour, a killer gets a
reprieve.
VIRGINIA GOV. Timothy M. Kaine (D), a devout Catholic and principled
opponent of the death penalty, threaded the needle on that issue in his
race for office last year. In a broadly pro-capital-punishment state, he
said forthrightly that he had long-standing moral and religious objections
to state executions. Yet he also pledged to carry out the death sentence
as a function of his office and in pursuance of state law. To do
otherwise, he said, would be to disregard his official oath -- except in
instances when a convict's guilt was in question.
Now, with a condemned man's life on the line, Mr. Kaine has stepped in;
with scarcely an hour to spare last week, he postponed for 6 months an
execution pending an inquiry into the inmate's mental state. Predictably,
Mr. Kaine's pro-death-penalty opponents howled that he had broken a
campaign promise. It's a good bet they haven't read the case record in
question; Mr. Kaine clearly has.
The record on convicted killer Percy Levar Walton leaves no doubt about
his guilt; in 1996, a month past his 18th birthday, he murdered three
people, including an elderly couple, in the Southside city of Danville.
The record of his competency to face the death sentence is another matter.
Mr. Walton's case is complex. An array of psychiatrists have reached
differing conclusions about his mental capacity and ability to grasp that
he may be put to death. That's important, as the U.S. Supreme Court has
determined that a condemned man is fit for execution only if he
understands that he's been sentenced to death and the reason.
There is evidence that Mr. Walton's mental ability and health are
declining. A decade ago he scored 90 on an IQ test -- below average but
not severely so. But in recent years he has twice scored under 70, the
level below which people are considered mentally retarded. More to the
point, he has sometimes seemed cloudy on what the death penalty means,
telling one psychiatrist that after his execution he expected to have
access to a telephone, a motorcycle and a job at Burger King. Ruling on
Mr. Walton's case in March, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit,
perhaps the nation's most conservative federal court, split 7 to 6 in
deciding that he is mentally fit to be executed.
Mr. Kaine has already shown that he takes his campaign promises seriously;
in April he denied clemency and allowed a condemned man to be executed.
But he is empowered by Virginia's constitution to review scheduled
executions one by one, and he is duty-bound to take that responsibility
seriously. Virginia governors have granted clemency in seven cases since
the Supreme Court reinstituted the death penalty in 1976. Mr. Kaine is
right, and courageous, to order a full review before passing a final
judgment on Mr. Walton.
(source: Editorial, Washington Post)
reprieve.
VIRGINIA GOV. Timothy M. Kaine (D), a devout Catholic and principled
opponent of the death penalty, threaded the needle on that issue in his
race for office last year. In a broadly pro-capital-punishment state, he
said forthrightly that he had long-standing moral and religious objections
to state executions. Yet he also pledged to carry out the death sentence
as a function of his office and in pursuance of state law. To do
otherwise, he said, would be to disregard his official oath -- except in
instances when a convict's guilt was in question.
Now, with a condemned man's life on the line, Mr. Kaine has stepped in;
with scarcely an hour to spare last week, he postponed for 6 months an
execution pending an inquiry into the inmate's mental state. Predictably,
Mr. Kaine's pro-death-penalty opponents howled that he had broken a
campaign promise. It's a good bet they haven't read the case record in
question; Mr. Kaine clearly has.
The record on convicted killer Percy Levar Walton leaves no doubt about
his guilt; in 1996, a month past his 18th birthday, he murdered three
people, including an elderly couple, in the Southside city of Danville.
The record of his competency to face the death sentence is another matter.
Mr. Walton's case is complex. An array of psychiatrists have reached
differing conclusions about his mental capacity and ability to grasp that
he may be put to death. That's important, as the U.S. Supreme Court has
determined that a condemned man is fit for execution only if he
understands that he's been sentenced to death and the reason.
There is evidence that Mr. Walton's mental ability and health are
declining. A decade ago he scored 90 on an IQ test -- below average but
not severely so. But in recent years he has twice scored under 70, the
level below which people are considered mentally retarded. More to the
point, he has sometimes seemed cloudy on what the death penalty means,
telling one psychiatrist that after his execution he expected to have
access to a telephone, a motorcycle and a job at Burger King. Ruling on
Mr. Walton's case in March, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit,
perhaps the nation's most conservative federal court, split 7 to 6 in
deciding that he is mentally fit to be executed.
Mr. Kaine has already shown that he takes his campaign promises seriously;
in April he denied clemency and allowed a condemned man to be executed.
But he is empowered by Virginia's constitution to review scheduled
executions one by one, and he is duty-bound to take that responsibility
seriously. Virginia governors have granted clemency in seven cases since
the Supreme Court reinstituted the death penalty in 1976. Mr. Kaine is
right, and courageous, to order a full review before passing a final
judgment on Mr. Walton.
(source: Editorial, Washington Post)