Posted 2/14/01 Sen. Dan Stevens should withdraw his death penalty bill To the editor: I am deeply disturbed by State Senator Dan Stevenís action to author SFÝ0202, a bill providing for the death penalty for capital crimes. Minnesota does not have the death penalty. There is no compelling data that suggests that the death penalty is a deterrent to crime, and there is some evidence that suggests that it might promote it when a criminal realizes that he has nothing to lose by taking another life. The Catholic Church stands in opposition to the death penalty. According to the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (Bishop Joseph Fiorenza, President), the death penalty (should be opposed) not just for what it does to those guilty of heinous crimes, but for what it does to all of us; it offer the tragic illusion that we can defend life by taking life. If we look at the states that have the death penalty, we see that they are among the most violent states in the nation. Texas both leads the nation in death penalties and violent crime. We do not want to sink to the level of Texas. Interestingly, some states that have the death penalty have placed a moratorium on it because of the number of innocent people on death row and because of the racial bias evident in the high percentage of people of color so sentenced. Senator Stevens could be accused of playing politics with this issue, similar to what Senator John Ashcroft did in Missouri. Clearly the death penalty is not justified by the data. The Catholic Church, I and others, including many prison guards and law enforcement personnel, urge Senator Dan Stevens to withdraw this bill and work for real crime and prison reform. Senator Stevens time would be better spent dealing with critical issues that effect his constituents such as the lack of affordable housing, the cost of prescription drugs for seniors, and the crisis in the farm economy. With respect to crime prevention, rather than encouraging more violence in society, maybe he should work on programs that reduce crime like restorative justice programs, reducing poverty, providing more support for education, targeted tax cuts to the working poor and middle class and things that will reduce crime. Bob Walz North Branch ©Post Review