BCT Editorial – 5/3/06

This page was last updated on May 4, 2006.

Innocent blood; Editorial; Beaver County Times; May 3, 2006.

“Innocent blood” appears to be a preferred title for Times editorials opposing the death penalty.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject editorial.

“In a sense, Drew Whitley was lucky. The 50-year-old Pittsburgh man was wrongly convicted of second-degree murder in 1989, which meant he was never going to be executed.

“Whitley, who was serving a life sentence for a 1988 murder in West Mifflin, was freed on Monday after charges were withdrawn because his DNA didn’t match evidence from clothing worn by the killer. It’s another example of DNA evidence proving eyewitness testimony to be wrong.

“Whitley’s case is also another reason to suspend the death penalty nationwide until there has been a thorough investigation of every convict who is now on death row.

“Each exoneration - and there have been far too many of them to ignore - makes it clear that innocent people have been jailed for murders and rapes they didn’t commit.”

[RWC] Note the editorial conveniently failed to cite the number of DNA exonerations or the percentage, asserting only “too many.”

“Is our societal need for revenge so strong that we aren’t bothered by the possibility that innocent blood has been and will be shed?”

[RWC] Ah, so support for the death penalty is all about revenge.