Joe Munroe – 9/12/04

This page was last updated on September 12, 2004.

Be consistent on issue; Joe Munroe; Beaver County Times; September 12, 2004.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“I feel I must respond to the letter written by E. C. Mooney (‘Pro-life candidates blessed,’ Tuesday).

“If, as she stated in her letter, ‘God says in the Bible that he hears the voice of innocent blood spilled calling for justice,’ then when do we make the distinction between innocent lives in abortion and innocent civilians killed in war or, say, executing mentally retarded people, both of which have been done by President Bush.

“On Judgment Day, is God going to overlook those killings? I have no problem picking an issue to decide on whom to vote for as president, but let’s be consistent.”

[RWC] Why do people who apparently support the deliberate killing of an unborn child try to equate abortion with capital punishment or the accidental killing of innocents during war?

Mr. Munroe, if you can’t tell the difference between the deliberate killing of an unborn child and the execution of a murderer or the accidental killing of innocents during war, I feel sorry for you.

I assume the “executing mentally retarded people” referred to President Bush’s time as Texas governor. Governor Bush never executed anyone, retarded or otherwise.

Remember, you get the death sentence only after you take at least one life. How is executing a convicted murderer inconsistent with defending a defenseless and innocent life? Also remember, juries assign the death penalty, not the governor. Further, Mr. Munroe is unfamiliar with Texas law. The governor has limited ability to commute death sentences. In summary, the governor can commute a death sentence only when recommended by the majority of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. As I wrote above, I don’t see a conflict between being anti-abortion and in favor of the death penalty.