Editorial
Better wording for
death penalty law
It has been more than five years since Oregon vot
ers approved a death penalty initiative, but it was only
this year that the state supreme court cleaned up the
language in the bill
In 1984. Oregonians approved a death by lethal in
jection capital punishment bill. Since then, 22 people
have been put on death row. but none have been exe
cuted.
The previous bill had three requirements for which
jurors could sentence a convicted killer to death the
defendant had to have killed deliberately (murder in
the first degree), be a continuing danger to society and
have acted unreasonably to provo< ation
The Oregon law is as modeled after one in Texas
lour years ago. Jeffrey Scott Wagner became the tirsl
convicted killei in Oregon to be sentenced to death,
and bis appeal reached the l S. Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court ruled in an earlier Texas case
that jurors weren't given the opportunity to weigh
■'mitigating circumstances" in their decisions Since
Texas' law had to be changed, so did Oregon's Wag
ner's case was sent back to the Oregon court system
and last year became the basis for the new law
Depending on who you talk to. the new Oregon
death penalty statute will make it either more difficult
to execute a killer, or make it mm h easier
The new law allow s mitigating ei idem e. such as a
defendant's background, to Ire considered But the law
also instructs jurors to not award the death penalty it
"any aspect of defendant's < harar ter or background
would juxtilv a sentence less than death
The new wording has totally confused the status of
the 2'1 coinacted inmates Because they were convicted
undei the old law. .ill have the option of new appeals
Wagner's and three other cases have already brum
awarded new i ases. but the 1ft othei cases c urrently on
appeal could go I Kick to the circuit courts lor new tri
als.
While the new law w ill cause inevitable delays in
court trials, most lawmakers have welcomed the new
wording People on death row have I he* appeal option
open to them, but the cost of new trials in all 2 t c ases
has been ai oidetl
No two people can completely agree on how , or
even if, the death penalty should be invoked I he
whole basic, moral question of whether there should
be a death penalty is up to the individual to decide.
But in 1UH4, Oregonians decided they did want a
death penally for capital cases. Anything that simpli
fies the law. and makes the* process more organized
and loss open to mistakes, is welcomed.
There are crimes that ilo deserve the death penalty.
But a juror's decision to sentence' someone to death is
not something to take- lightly The new wording will
only help jurors, not hinder them. In matters of life
and death, it is best to have language in a law that
leaves little chain e lor error.
Oregon l)nil\ _ _
Emerald
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WE'S REAEAR5IN6AIS
MEki R35ITIOM OM
A0ORTIOM.
tel
Letters
Vandalized
Sometime lietweeli 11 p ill
and 1 a m Fridas Jan 12,
someone ur a group id |x»ople
vandalized ills i at in llii' park
illg lul al 1 41 It and K I in aid
iK.russ from I’l 1.
Two liras on ilia passenger
sidi* wan* slashed, ilia power
mirrm was broken on ilia right
sida ilia right-hand wiper
lilada arm was broken oil and
food was thrown all osar Ilia
i ar The damage to ill) i al was
tioarlv $400
There ssas also a lispodaimu
naadla las Illg among soma gal
haga on lha ground ilaxl to Ilia
i ,n Mol mils is this n I ohsi ana
and infantile il is illegal I
called lha poll! a hut (has
would (lot sand mil an (dinar
hot ansa thara ssas no suspet I
11 is ,i shame that 1 no longai
teal sale ((lining dossil to ram
pus ill tha evening to eiljos a
night old 1 don I laid safe on
Iasi l:ith Avenue hot a use pen
pla has a heed assaulted in limit
ol open establishments 1 now
leal ms ( ar is not parked sale in
a wall lit parking lot
It someone witnessed tins
.1(1 would tlie\ please tall me
.it b»h li.tOa ' I duulit it I i mild
11rust■( ule someone bei ause ot
l.K k ol evident e tint I would
like to know wlien it happened
and how mans people were in
solved
(laths M. I’rii e
Hugene
Patriarchal
Reading William Moore's pa
Irian hal judgments on abortion
(()l)K. |an lr>) left me mils too
able to imagine myself living in
the last i enturs one in whit li
women had no voter or proper
Is rights, and when all tint a
stigmatized minority were re
strir ted to the domestu sphere
and the du tales ol men and
their oss n hiologii al turn lion
lalui ation rights and jobs
svere largels tell svasted on
them I prefer to live in the late
Jtllli i enturs and see tile i on
side ruble, set incomplete legal
and intellei tual freedoms en
joyed bs more svonien
I'lii' narrow altitude th.it al
Unveil nn\ him k to he i.onsid
ereil a non-person and a woni
an to lie a tail target tor domes
tii violent e is the same one
that persists In i nndcmning
those who < onsidei themselves
unprepared or unlit lor the re
sponsihilities ol motherhood.
being an indiv uhial reiptires
i lion e foi women autnnnim
with regard to biologit.al turn,
lion is the essential i lion e It is
not lor men to i house; isn't that
plaving the slave owner or the
i i tiel hushanil'
\o woman sees abortion as a
first i lion e tor Initli i ontrol It
is a ditlii lilt ,iml personal del I
sum and while I am not sure
how I w on Id real t I know I
would detenil to tile last alloth
el woman's right to self-deter
ruination
In out wasteful soiuetv. many
i hildren grow tip w it hunt
knowing integritv or r.onipas
sion, vit tints of ei ouomie or so
i ml i in iimstdui e It is ironii
that we are ready to vehement
lv priitei t them as fetuses, and
then ignore them as tllev grow
hnough is enough
( aniline |ewers
(ill
Compassion
In regards to William
Moon; s leltei [OI)i.. |an 1'ij I
agree with him that yes abor
tion is wrong, and 1 don't think
anyone is happ\ that these un
horn i hildren are being killed
lie snvs however, that we
must respond to the issue with
integrity and lompassion. yet
he shows ,i gre.it lai k of com
passion toward a woman with
an unwanted pregnant \ Does
he reallv think that making
abortion illegal is going to stop
it? Well, it's not It will only
lead to what 1 believe is a great
er horror illegal abortion
I i .in understand his point ot
\ iew lint what I i an never tin
derstand is tlm lai k ol iuni cm
tor thn vit 11ms ol illegal alior
lion Do they tool these women
deserve to die because they
( house to have an abortion'
What about the friends and
lamilv who v\ill be profoundly
affet ted by their injurv or
death
I'm sorry , but I must place
the lives ot women hit above
the 11\ es of then unborn i hi!
dren.
> es we could make abortion
illegal, and we could also make
starvation illegal Hut people
would still starve unless we
give them something to eat
and there will alwavs be alior
lion until we get i omprehen
she intelligent see education
and easier availability of sate
effect ive contrai opt i\ es
k.ithv Yonker
Pnlilii .iI si it'll! e
Effort
I know Ili.it .1 lit! til people
.1 re mi k In death ol hearing
.ilxiut rt'i vi linn tind how every
little Ini helps I ini'
Nevertheless. recycling is
still .1 mutter nf personal
i linn i- (iranted. recycling is a
hassle; that's win mam people
avoid it but sometimes it's
pretty easv to do
Recently I not it ed main
i opies ol the / nieia/i/ and other
newspapers in some ol the vari
mis garbage t ans located in the
i:\U' Then I noticed garbage
cans right next to those spirt ili
i tillv labeled tor newspapers
What I would like to suggest
is that it \oii .ire going to make
the effort to throw a newspaper
auai then please make the el
tori to take one more step and
throw it in the new spaper can.
Amelia St haul
Leisure studies
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