EDITORIAL
Court’s decision sets
dangerous precedent
Innocent or guilty. That question, the cornerstone of
our judicial system, has been ruled irrelevant by the
U.S. Supreme Court when deciding whether a person
can be executed by a state.
On Monday, the Court ruled that "a claim of 'actual
innocence' is not itself a constitutional claim.” This in
response to an argument put forth by a Texas death-row
inmate, Leonel Herrera, who claims to have now evi
dence that proves his innocence, ten years after being
convicted for the murders of two police officers.
The basis for the Court's decision is that once a per
son has been fairly tried and convicted and can raise no
constitutional claim concerning the conviction, justice
has been served and the sentence imposed is fair.
Therefore, a person convicted of a crime cannot be
innocent, so no innocent person can ever be executed.
"The trial is the paramount event for determining the
guilt or innocence of the defendant," said Justice San
dra Day O'Connor.
The flaw with this reasoning is in putting absolute
faith in the ability of the Constitution to ensure the
innocent are acquitted. Yet even this standard does not
apply, according to the Court. Chief Justice William
Rehnquist. in writing the majority opinion, said the due
process clause of the Fifth Amendment "does not
require that every conceivable stop be taken, at what
ever cost, to eliminate the possibility of convicting an
innocent person.”
Apparently, there is an acceptable level for convic
tions of innocent people. But surely a death penalty
case deserves extra consideration? Not according to the
Court, which said it refuses "to hold that the fact a
death sentence has been imposed requires a different
standard of review,...”
The Court overstepped its bounds when it. in the
words of Justice Harry Blackmun. "stopped into the
shoos of a district court" and passed judgment on Hor
rera's new* evidence. The Court decided that the new
evidence was not sufficient to warrant further action
by any court.
It was also critical of the length of time it took for this
new evidence to surface. But if the facts of a case are
solid, shouldn’t they remain as true today as they were
10 years ago? 100 years ago?.
Neither of these decisions are ones that fall under the
jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, which only deals
with Constitutional questions, not questions of fact.
Yet, the six majority justices decided to assume this
new responsibility anyway.
In his dissent. Blackmun criticized the Court's "obvi
ous eagerness to do away with any restriction on the
States' power to execute whomever and however they
please." We couldn't agree more. The possibility of an
innocent person going to jail is morally distasteful. The
possibility of an innocent person being put to death
goes beyond our usually ready supply of descriptive
words.
Blackmun summarized it best when he said "The
execution of a person who can show that he is inno
cent comes perilously close to simple murder."
Oregon Daily
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LETTERS
The Fisher king
I wan! to thank Martin Fisher
so much for opening rny eyes to
what this campus really is about
(ODE . |an. 26). It's true, a hand
full of "radical leftists” have
turned it into a "trainingground
for domestic terrorists." They
were "rallying ... mindless cat
tle" like me to protest against
every body and everything.
They also have accomplices
in the faculty. How else could
there be "a whole set of classes
designed to eradicate your per
sonality"? Yes. it is all one big.
big conspiracy.
But there is hope. If we take
Fisher, as he suggests, as "the
example." we may regain the
respect of the government and
potential employers. So please.
Fisher, share more ingenious
insights with us. We need them.
Chrtstof Romehn
Physics
Communication
In response to Shannon Greer
and Peter Shair’s letter (ODE .
|an. 25):
First, I should thank the edi
tor for the absurd title, which
bares no relevance to their let
ter since they made no effort to
refute my argument.
Second, the responses I re
ferred to were verbal. I assumed
they "had the same things in
their minds" because they did
not thank me for impelling any
new information to them. They
just said "good letter," which
makes me believe they were in
agreement with its contents.
1 therefore am quite justified
in saying what 1 did and would
certainly prefer talking one or
two on one over refuting Greer
and Shair’s insults in a public
forum.
(For those who may not
know, several phrases in their
letter were things I have written
over the past several years,
thrown back at me in a sarcastic
manner. "Do lunch" was an
excerpt from a letter I wrote a
couple of years ago in response
to a letter by Heather Pi pen.
who never took my offer.)
I would love to do lunch,
where effective communication
might take place on things re
quiring more than 250 words —
most of which might not be
worth printing for the public to
waste time reading anyway. 1
am in the phone book — neither
Greer nor Shair is — so give me
a call.
I place great value on dis
cussing things that are killing
people. I've never tried drugs,
booze or sex. and I'm a happy
man. Maybe others would like
to discover the source of joy
Bob Weigel
Eugene
The whole story
I read the article in the Emer
ald on Friday, fan. 22 about stu
dent life as an architecture
major at the University, and I
found the article to be generally
accurate except for one section.
Stating that "... instructor and
classmate approval ... is the
only feedback students get on
their designs ..." may not quite
tell the whole story.
Students in design studio
classes work closely in a "tuto
rial" mode (one on one) direct
ly with their instructor so that
personal evaluative feedback is
provided to students constantly
throughout the term.
In addition, every studio class
has a term-end "review," where
students present their work to
groups of faculty and profes
sionals (some from other uni
versities). who spend a con
siderable amount of time dis
cussing the project with the stu
dent designer.
Finally, every student in a
studio class has a term-end in
terview with their instructor
where students are evaluated on
departmental forms that cover a
wide range of evaluative factors,
from skill development to con
cept creativity. These inter
views can last up to one hour.
One last point just to set the
record straight. In the School of
Architecture and Allied Arts,
we have many areas that utilize
tstudio-basod education mode.
In addition to architecture, this
also includes landscape archi
tecture, interior architecture
and fine and applied arts.
Thanks for the very nice arti
cle. It is true that to survive as a
serious student (in any of the
above fields) requires an extra
ordinary love and respect for
the physical environment.
Jerry V. Flnrow
Dean
School of Architecture
and Allied Arts
Just imagine
One of the guilty pleasures
I've allowed myself is reading
the letters column of the ODE.
I often smirk at the arguments
therein, and occasionally I feel I
should respond.
This feeling usually passes.
But on )an. 18,1 read a letter by
Sonja Adams concerning en
rollment of foreign nationals in
the Community Education Pro
gram. While 1 cared not about
the contents of the letter, the ti
tle moved me finally to write
my first letter to the editor.
The editor affixed the title
"Foreign gyp” to the letter. The
word "gyp." according to the
largest dictionaries I could find
in our library, denotes a swindle
or a cheat.
The word derives from the
word “gypsy." presumably be
cause this is what gypsies do.
And while I'm sure the gypsy
population on this campus, and
even in this community, is quite
low, it seems callous to use
such a derogatory term.
Imagine if a letter complaining
about landlords and application
fees were entitled, "Students
Jewed.”
Rich
LETTERS POLICY
The Oregon Daily Emerald will attempt to print all letter*
containing comments on topics of interest to the University
community.
Letters to the editor must be limited to no more than 250
words, legible, signed and the identification of the writer must
be verified when the letter is submitted.
The Emerald reserves the right to edit any letter for length or
style