Death penalty: Rearing its ugly head again

Re: “Federal executions could resume after Supreme Court turns down case,” (TNT, 6/30).

Yes, we can become a decent society that does not deliberately kill human beings. No matter how horrendous the crime, capital punishment is unconscionable.

The death penalty is also deeply flawed in other ways. The odds of receiving a capital sentence rise dramatically if you are poor and are also affected mightily by geography. And then (of course) there is the racism.

People of color make up 43% of those executed in the US since 1976 and 55% of people currently on death row. The death penalty clearly violates our constitutional guarantee of equal protection.

In July 2019, Attorney General William Barr began a campaign to resume the inhumane, expensive, impractical, spectacle of state-sanctioned killing at the federal level. Just 12 months later, his dream may be realized.

The first federal executions in 17 years are scheduled for July and August this year. In terms of progress toward equity, healing and shared humanity, Barr’s dream is our nightmare.

This story was originally published July 3, 2020 at 6:26 PM with the headline "Death penalty: Rearing its ugly head again."