EDITORIAL : `GOV. GUMPTION' ON CAPITAL PUNISHMENT, DAVIS HAS TAKEN A WELCOME HARD LINE.GOV. Gray Davis so far has stuck to his word on capital punishment capital punishment, imposition of a penalty of death by the state. History Capital punishment was widely applied in ancient times; it can be found (c.1750 B.C.) in the Code of Hammurabi. , and that's the right way to go. Under his watch, two men have been put to death in a state that has seen only five other executions since 1978, when California reinstated capital punishment. Obviously, signing death warrants is not what any governor wants to do. But as the governor's spokesman, Michael Bustamante, noted: ``This is not something he looks forward to, but it's something that comes with the job.'' The job may soon get a lot tougher. There are 523 people on Death Row, with nearly a dozen condemned prisoners nearing the end of their appellate process. And two initiatives that would expand death penalty provisions will be put before voters on the March 2000 ballot. Politically, Davis has no choice but to be a hard-line governor on the death penalty. Californians overwhelmingly support it - by as much as 80 percent, some polls show. But then, a lot of politicians ignore the public will and go their own way. In this case, Davis is showing uncommon courage in resisting the pressure to grant clemency Leniency or mercy. A power given to a public official, such as a governor or the president, to in some way lower or moderate the harshness of punishment imposed upon a prisoner. Clemency is considered to be an act of grace. and commute sentences. We urge him to stay the course. More than two decades of coddling In cooking, to coddle food is to heat it in water kept just below the boiling point. The eggs added to a Caesar salad should ideally be coddled. However, coddled eggs are not fully cooked and still present a salmonella risk. criminals under old guard, bleeding-heart liberal policies resulted in more fear, more violent crime and more victims. Liberals don't like to admit it, but since the public began demanding tough crime laws, like ``three strikes, you're out three strikes, you're out n. recent (beginning 1994) legislation enacted in several states (and proposed in many others, as well as possible Federal law) which makes life-terms (or extremely long terms without parole) mandatory for criminals who have been convicted ,'' and since capital punishment was reinstated, crime has dropped. It's about time It's About Time may refer to:
adj. Grossly wicked or reprehensible; abominable: a heinous crime. [Middle English, from Old French haineus, from haine, hatred, from crimes, they deserve execution. Nothing else has worked. |
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