Death, Be Not Proud

Monday, Feb. 21, 2000 By MARGARET CARLSON
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People too have seen the guilty go free and innocent men get sent to death row. The country watched as O.J. Simpson, who many thought was the "real killer," got off with the help of expensive lawyers. Eighty-five once-doomed men who were fortunate enough to have their cases taken up have been saved from the death chamber, according to Yale's Steven Bright, who directs the Southern Center for Human Rights. That number, he says, should shake the criminal-justice system to its core.

All this may not have slowed Bush, but others are taking a second look. The Roman Catholic Church, recognizing its prior inconsistency, now defends the life of the felon along with the life of the fetus. As crime rates have fallen, legislation has been introduced in six states that would put a moratorium on further executions. Last week Senator Patrick Leahy proposed a bill that would force states to provide competent counsel along with DNA testing in capital cases.

It is curious that Bush, who seems ambivalent about so many things, would be so unflinchingly sure of himself when it comes to carrying out the death penalty. He has chosen a parole board that has been known to spend as little as 15 minutes reviewing some cases. In Texas, where speed and efficiency are highly valued, allowing a moral struggle to slow down the process might be viewed as weak. But as Bush goes about the country campaigning for the presidency, showing a little doubt in the face of life-and- death decisions would lend weight to his claim to be a compassionate conservative.

--With reporting by Hilary Hylton/Austin

With reporting by Hilary Hylton/Austin