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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Guide Weather Subscribe Contact Us April 18, 2005 To err on the side of life During the struggle over whether Terri Schiavo should have her feeding tube removed, President Bush made the statement that our courts and our nation should always “err on the side of life.” He went on to explain that he supports a “culture of life.” It is a position that has been echoed repeatedly by Christian and Evangelical conservatives as well as members of Congress; it does, however present the current administration and the religious right with at least one moral conundrum. One seemingly self-evident dilemma for those who tout the “culture of life” position is the existence in the U.S. of the death penalty. When George Bush was governor of Texas, it has been reported that he presided over 152 executions. Based on multiple studies by universities and the Justice Department, odds were very great that there was reasonable doubt in at least one of those 152 cases. In fact, over the last 30 years, according to data supplied by the American Civil Liberties Union, 119 death row inmates have been found innocent and released. Studies have also shown that race and socioeconomic factors play a dominant role in who is charged with a capital crime in America. Consider that of all those on death row in Colorado, 80 percent are persons of color; in Louisiana, 70 percent; in federal prisons it is 77 percent; 55 percent of all people awaiting execution are people of color. It was only in March of this year that the Supreme Court ruled that juveniles could not be executed. We still execute those who are demonstrably mentally retarded and schizophrenic. When viewed in their aggregate, studies conducted over the past several decades point to a systemic racial and economic bias when it comes to the application of the death penalty. In other words, our justice system does not represent the ideal of erring on the side of life. And, as it turns out, China, Vietnam, Iran and the U.S. account for 97 percent of all worldwide executions, according to Amnesty International. America is clearly not in good company. What the Republicans are finding, by hooking their wagons to the conservative Christian agenda is that it’s a slippery slope arguing pro life and pro death at the same time. But that is the position many in the pro life movement have taken. Eric Rudolph is one example. He killed two people and maimed and wounded countless more while protesting the existence of abortion clinics. Abortion doctors have been killed in the name of pro-life. Strangely, those in the pro-life movement feel that the sanctity of life ends with birth and many are willing to do great harm in the name of the unborn. If we truly want to develop in our nation a culture of life, then we would attack the roots of poverty with at least the same tenacity this administration has focused on the Schiavo case and reforming Social Security. We should create a Marshall plan to fix our inner city schools so that a generation of children is not lost. We should insure our elderly that quality care and treatment will be available and find the will to fix our health care system, which is in crisis. And we should make sure that all who stand before the bar of justice will receive fair and equal treatment. That would be a culture of life made manifest. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Free Musick Downloads Slippers Women's & Men's Slippers Ceramic Piggy Banks heloc Calenders 2005 Calender 2005 Accelerate Weightloss Products Memory Foam Mattress tcg student loan consolidation home equity loans teleconferencing W2 Forms Tatoos student loans African Safari Conference Calls - $50/Month Security Systems diamonds Currancy Exchange Online Casinos Community Student Loans Tatoo Poker Games Homeschooling Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams