Letters to the Editors

Death penalty process is full of fatal flaws

As a judge of the Supreme Court of Missouri, now retired, I participated in many death sentence appeals. You are to be commended on your two articles on the devoted efforts of Attorney Linda McDermott on behalf of a man who spent many years on death row, resulting in his release (The Innocence Defense, Feb. 9 and 10).

I can't say that I heard any death sentence appeals in which I had substantial doubt about the defendant's guilt of some form of homicide, but in several of our cases new trials were ordered because the defendant was inadequately represented by counsel, and nationwide experience demonstrates several recent cases in which a person sentenced to death was found to have been improperly convicted.

The thought of executing an innocent person is repulsive. This is so even though the accused person may be a habitual criminal guilty of numerous crimes against persons and property. Yet few have the benefit of diligent services such as those Ms. McDermott provided.

The process is so fatally flawed that the only solution lies in abolishing capital punishment. Most nations with which we share a common heritage have already taken this step.

The relatives of the victim have the right to demand swift and sure punishment, but they do not have the right to demand death when the process is so severely flawed.
-- Charles B. Blackmar, Belleair

Let commission be comprehensive

Re: Holton case shows it's time to bring the death penalty to justice, by Howard Troxler, Feb. 12.

Mr. Troxler's article renders a real service to the public on this ongoing debate. This includes his recommendation that the governor appoint a commission to review the death penalty statutes.

But the commission should include more than just the staunchest advocates of death and the strongest opponents. It should include respected and influential members of the Legislature. Otherwise, the work of such a commission is likely to be ignored, as happened in Illinois.
-- John Edward Armstrong, St. Petersburg

How many innocents have we executed?

Re: The Innocence Defense, Feb. 9 and 10.

Thank you for the special report about Rudolph Holton, the most recent person to be exonerated and released from Florida's death row. David Karp did an outstanding job cramming what could be a thick book into the space available for a two-part special report. Thank you also for your Feb. 10 editorial, Death penalty problems, in which you point out that Florida leads the nation in death row exonerations. One question we all should be asking is: How many innocents were actually executed?

I would like to ask readers what 16 years on death row is worth? The state makes no apologies, and it has no mechanism for compensating the wrongly convicted other than an act of the Legislature. As noted in the article, when Rudolph Holton was released last month, he was given $100. How can anyone be expected to begin life anew with $100?

When Juan Melendez was freed last year after almost 18 years on death row, Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (FADP) established its Exonerated Prisoner Relief Fund. Through this fund, individuals and groups may contribute to help Rudolph Holton and people like him. It is only a matter of time before the next death row exoneration in Florida.

Anyone who would like to make a contribution may do so by visiting FADP's Web page at www.FADP.org, by calling 1-800-973-6548, or by mailing a check to FADP Relief Fund/Holton, PMB 297, 177 U.S. Highway 1, Tequesta, FL 33469.
-- Abraham J. Bonowitz, director, Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, Tequesta

A plea for life imprisonment

Amos Lee King again faces an execution date: Feb. 26. I believe that he should not be executed on a charge of murdering Natalie Brady. The state never produced convincing evidence of his guilt in this murder. King's defense attorneys have consistently been inadequate in his trials. Evidence in this case that could have been subjected to DNA testing was destroyed by the state.

I urge Gov. Bush to commute King's sentence to life imprisonment.
-- Thomas C. Washburn, Bradenton

America's killer mentality

The death penalty needs to be put to rest once and for all. It is truly frightening to know that the United States supports killing people when so many other nations have abolished the practice. We are a "killer-mentality" society. If the time ever comes when we cherish life -- all life -- and refrain from killing any people, we will have evolved to a higher form of human being. How does someone feel avenged, or "closure," upon the death of a person?
-- Tom S. Brown, Largo

Byrd is 'drunk with power'

Re: Speaker spends $600,000 on PR, Feb. 8.

It is beyond my comprehension to understand the flawed logic and flagrant abuse of power in House Speaker Johnnie Byrd's spending of $600,000 of our money to pay the salaries of public relations cronies to promote the House in a positive light to the voters of Florida. Is he for real?

From photographers to video production companies, Byrd is acting like a kid in a candy store. Only the candy is the public's money. It is despicable and arrogant to take badly needed funds and waste them on such a worthless venture.

We need money for education, for mental health, for security, for roads, and this "Lone Ranger" takes his power, his authority and his total disregard for his constituents and does as he pleases, with his own agenda and his own self-absorbed mentality.

As a Floridian and a taxpayer, I demand that Byrd stop this madness and put those funds where they are needed, like in protecting our citizens, caring for our elderly and providing for our young.

This is a prime example of being "drunk with power."
-- Rich Unger, Sarasota

Wasteful spending

Re: Byrd's preening, editorial, Feb. 12.

Glad to hear that House Speaker Johnnie Byrd's mission is to "seek and destroy government waste." Perhaps he can start with the $600,000 of taxpayer dollars he's lavishing on his self-congratulatory, image-building communications operation. With major cuts being threatened in schools and child welfare programs, isn't there a better way for tax dollars of this magnitude to be spent?
-- Hal Alterman, Clearwater

Misuse of taxpayer money

Re: Byrd's preening, Feb. 12.

This is the second editorial I have seen regarding House Speaker Johnnie Byrd's misuse of taxpayer dollars. One does not have to look far past his so-called reasoning to see that he is using public monies to fund a campaign for higher office. It would be very scary if this man ever made it past his current office.

Where is the outrage? Where is the governor, the attorney general and the so-called fiscal conservatives who preach against government waste and fraud? Oh, I forgot, they are Republicans too and you can't bash a fellow Republican.
-- Jim Steinle, Clearwater

Keeping voters informed

The numerous editorials you carry that vilify Johnnie Byrd, including Byrd's Preening that appeared Feb. 7, validate his concern about the "filter" of the media. He has been an honorable representative. He has been re-elected three times. His peers in the Florida House elected him speaker. From your editorials one would certainly not gain that perspective.

The Feb. 12 letter, Dear Johnnie Byrd: Don't call me, emphasizes the need for greater variety and quantity of communication about what occurs in Tallahassee. You complain about a $600,000 budget in your editorial, but Florida is in a budget crisis specifically because voters like the letter writer choose to bury their collective heads in the sand. The $600,000 to keep Floridians informed is a mere drop in the bucket when compared to the billions of dollars uninformed voters have squandered in recent ballot initiatives.

The high-speed rail system and class size reduction are the two most significant examples. In both cases a slim majority of voters, lacking or ignoring the facts, chose to vote anyway and passed fuzzy-sounding, feel-good, multibillion-dollar initiatives without having the faintest idea how much they would cost, how they would be paid for or whether they would work.

If a system such as Speaker Byrd is proposing had been in place for the past few years, informed voters would have rejected these boondoggles and Florida wouldn't be in the financial pinch we're currently experiencing. The more he and other legislators can do to keep voters informed the better our state government will function.
-- Terry Kemple, Brandon

Treatment of judge disgraceful

Senate Democrats are very busy these days, but they are not working on better ways to secure our nation from terrorism. They are not working with the Bush administration to protect our troops and make our just war in Iraq faster with less bloodshed, nor are they are working on reasonable solutions to help our economy.

No, Senate Democrats are busy working on destroying the career of judicial nominee Miguel Estrada.

For the first time in American history, Senate Democrats are threatening to use a Senate filibuster to kill an appeals court nominee. This nominee is well-qualified and has done work for both Republican and Democratic administrations. Born in Honduras, he would be the first Hispanic ever on that court and has the support of many legal and Hispanic organizations, but Senate Democrats are very busy at refusing to even allow him a fair vote in the Senate.

It is disgraceful but not unexpected.
-- Ronnie Dubs, St. Petersburg

President Bush deserves respect

The Times' editors, staff writers and cartoonists treat President Bush and his Cabinet with disrespect, hostility, ridicule and sarcasm. Don Addis' Feb. 12 cartoon depicting a cross on the White House is the latest example. But Democrats like Sens. Graham and Kerry are treated with great deference.

There is no empathy for the president, who must bear enormous responsibility and horrendous pressure for protecting the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. There is only criticism. Yet neither the liberal press nor his Democratic foes have ever hinted that Al Gore would have done a better job as president.

The president's critics are more concerned with defeating him in 2004 than they are with the safety and security of the United States of America.
-- Jack Vanderbleek, St. Petersburg

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