Legal Commentary

Two Viewpoints Merge in Opposition to Death Penalty

By TChris

Mike Farrell, the actor who achieved a measure of fame in M*A*S*H, and Don McCartin, formerly known as "the hanging judge of Orange County," team up in this call for an end to California's death penalty. Hollywood actors are often liberal, but why is McCartin taking an anti-death stance?

Don McCartin, having sentenced nine men to death and then watched as the system examined, re-examined and finally overturned all of his convictions while executing none of them, now believes the death penalty is a hideously expensive fraud. It tortures the loved ones of murder victims by dragging them through the years of complex appeals required by the U.S. Supreme Court in an attempt to protect the innocent.

Farrell's point: [more ...]

"When stripping away the remaining shreds of one's humanity and killing him while helpless and defenseless is called `justice' by the leaders of our state and nation, a lesson is taught," says Farrell. "Unfortunately, that lesson is being played out today, not only in our cities, but by young Americans in Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, Bagram and 'black sites' run by the CIA across the world, again with the full authority and approval of those who pretend to leadership."

Full post as published by TalkLeft on July 24, 2008 (boomark / email).