I commend the Oregon Daily Emerald for covering the “Law and Politics of the Death Penalty: Abolition, Moratorium or Reform” conference (“Nun’s talk concludes conference,” ODE 3/4). Contrary to the claims of critics Steve Doell and Josh Marquis, the conference presented a vast and diverse array of ideas, speakers, and scholarship. The work of the Wayne Morse Center and more than 50 student volunteers made its success possible. The late Senator Wayne Morse — an outspoken opponent of capital punishment — would have been proud.
Aside from Sister Helen Prejean, the top public figures giving keynote speeches were Republican George Ryan, governor of Illinois, Mark Hatfield, our former senator and governor, and University President Dave Frohnmayer, our former attorney general. A “political pep rally,” as Doell contended? Hardly, as none of them are running for elective office again. Biased? Perhaps, in favor of moderate Republicans!
I personally attended a panel featuring Greg Horner, a deputy DA who prosecutes capital murder cases, and Assistant Attorney General Tim Sylwester, who handles death penalty appeals for Oregon. They engaged in lively, yet civil discussion with the ACLU’s Dave Fidanque. I am astonished to hear Marquis’s claim of “lack of debate,” especially since I saw him in the audience.
The Emerald should have covered the first day of the conference. The Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune did. Readers should know why the death penalty is still a vital issue. Harvard professor Charles Ogletree discussed our shameful history of racial discrimination in administering capital punishment. Governor Ryan explained what changed this death-penalty supporter’s mind: While Illinois has executed 12 people since 1977, it has freed 13 people from death row. Marquis alludes to Governor Ryan’s political problems at home. The fact that Ryan is not running for re-election only strengthens the idea that he is acting on his conscience.
In 1984, Oregon reinstated the death penalty. Death penalty proponents have had eighteen years to organize a conference and examine the fruits of their labor. They have never done so for fear of discovering systematic racism, or finding an innocent man. Instead, people like Josh Marquis prefer to speak on “Good Morning America” and browbeat opponents of the death penalty in the press. Steve Doell and Josh Marquis proved at the conference they did not wish to engage in constructive discussion.
Whether we should reconsider the death penalty is a complex question. I urge students to investigate the facts and statistics for themselves, and to keep an open mind and an open heart. The rest of the civilized world, where executions no longer occur, awaits our answer.