Tuesday
Editor in chief: Jack Clifford
Managing Editor: Jessica Blanchard
Newsroom: (541) 346-5511
Room 300, Erb Memorial Union
P.O. box 3159, Eugene, OR 97403
E-marl: ode@oregon.uoregon.edu
EDITORIAL EDITOR: MICHAEL J. KLECKNER opededitor@journalist.com
®CAPTAIN
_SENSIBLE
PAT PAYNE
It was supposed to happen Wednesday.
The federal government was to have
carried out the execution of its first
prisoner since 1963. At midnight on
May 16, Timothy McVeigh, the perpetrator
of the bomb attack against the Alfred P.
Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City,
was to expire on a surgical gurney, a lethal
mixture shutting down his bodily func
tions. In a way, it would be an anti-climac
tic end, a whimper rather than a bang.
But history gave us one last surprise. It
was revealed last week that a wealth of
evidence — including tapes, photos and
reams of documents — was withheld from
McVeigh’s defense attorneys during his
1997 trial in Colorado. The new attorney
general, John Ashcroft, having been left
with this problem, had the duty of pulling
the brakes on the impending execution,
postponing it until June 11.
This error with the files complicates mat
ters quite a bit. The FBI, for whatever reason,
decided or was unable to release all the evi
dence in its case against McVeigh. “Why” is a
question that the previous attorney general,
Janet Reno, was adept at evading, and she has
a lot to answer for in this and other blunders
under her watch. Among-those blunders is
her apparent unwillingness to investigate fur
ther in the case following some circumstantial
evidence that may have indicated a larger
conspiracy, including the militia movement
and, as mentioned on “The O’Reilly Factor,”
Osama bin Laden’s organization.
Had the gov
ernment brougf
about such an
investigation,
we would have
at least known
the extent of
the conspira
cy and could
finally say
whether it
was just a
small group of
“patriots” or an
other link in a series of terrorist
acts across the world. A second er
ror in those days was not chasing
down the “John Doe No. 2,” a man seen
with both McVeigh and convicted co-con
spirator Terry Nichols before the bombing.
This is a much more urgent problem, as we
have a person who may still be at large, per
haps even plotting another bombing.
To say that the story will be over once
McVeigh dies and Nichols is serving life im
prisonment is ludicrous. There are still too
many loose ends that must be tied up before
Ashcroft or even his successor, four or eight
years down the line, can finally declare the
case of the bombing closed. These blunders
come hot on the heels of a revelation that a
spy had been working within the FBI for 15
years. The mess was made by others, and
now, as with the McVeigh evidence,
Ashcroft has to clean it up. But will he?
Furthermore, the mistake may bring up a
tricky legal question: Should the federal gov
ernment put McVeigh on trial again? The
courts could throw out the first result if it’s
shown that the evidence not supplied would
have affected the case. I could not say with
certainty, even if I saw the evidence,
whether or not it would have any bearing. If
the courts mandate a retrial, I would support
that, even though it could rip open the old
wounds for the families of the 168 dead.
Even after what he did, I wouldn’t feel com
fortable letting Timothy McVeigh go to his
death knowing he was unfairly convicted.
There is a larger question, though, sur
rounding McVeigh’s scheduled execution,
and that is whether we should have a
death penalty at all. I don’t believe that
the death penalty is a deterrent. But it is
not always necessarily cruel and unusual.
I believe there are a very few people who
should be put to death for their crimes.
Those I would willingly condemn to
death are not the everyday murderer, who
in a fit of rage or cowardice shoots another
human being, or who kills for any of the
myriad venal reasons that motivate some
criminals. For them, a lifetime of being
confronted with what they have done' and
confinement or rehabilitation to ensure
that they never kill again are sufficient.
But there are those rare monsters who
kill for a sexual rush, or whose acts are so
brutal, horrific or gigantic that nothing in
life could possibly expiate their crimes.
One of those men is Timothy McVeigh. He
parked a delivery truck filled with nitrate
explosives next to the Murrah Building and
then fled. The explosion sheared off the en
tire front of the building, taking along with
it a day care center inside the building
where toddlers were at play. The victims
were killed either by the blast or by falling
debris. This monstrous act was supposed to
spark an anti-government revolution that
thankfully never came. If we have or can
convict him fairly, his death would be well
justified.
Pat Payne is a columnist for the Oregon Daily
Emerald. His views do not necessarily
represent those of the
Emerald. He can be
reached at Macross_SD@
hotmail.com.
Death penalty doesn't stop violence
Guest
Commentary
We, the undersigned people of faith and
conscience, take this opportunity as
the execution of Timothy McVeigh
nears to reflect once more on our de
sire to end capital punishment in the United States.
Capital punishment is an ultimately dehumanizing
act that robs us of the image of the Divine that
dwells within the human soul.
We believe that we must hold this view even in
the face of a crime such as this and a criminal such
as Timothy McVeigh. At the same time, we recog
nize and honor the pain and anger of families and
friends of those who died in the 1995 bombing of
the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City. We recog
nize the threat to society of Timothy McVeigh and
others like him, and we believe that, indeed, our
society must be protected from such a man, as he
must be protected from performing such an act at
another time.
Like many fellow citizens, we are troubled as
we see our country's policies increasingly em
brace violence for violence, an eye for an eye, a
tooth for a tooth. In Oregon, Measure 11 has
robbed of discretionary power the very judiciary
that could be helping to reform young people for
a productive life in society. The prison industry
towers over our attempts to educate children and
young people for a productive life.
Should we not try to follow the teachings of the
world's greatest religious leaders, including Hillel,
Jesus, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr. and others,
who would encourage a response of compassion?
We state this while recognizing full well that most
of us cannot possibly know how difficult that
would be for families and friends of victims of
bombings, murder and massacre.
We believe that killing by the death penalty only
continues the cycle of violence; what appears to be
a public savoring of this particular event only en
courages behavior patterns of vengeance and hate,
to say nothing of creating a new, exalted martyr for
the extremist fringe. The United States is the only
country in the Western industrialized world to con
tinue to use the death penalty. It is time that we
move forward to policies that combine firmness
and careful regard for the public with compassion.
We are committed to working for the abolition of
the death penalty.
We invite all those who will to join us as we hold
vigil today, less than one month before the execu
tion of Timothy McVeigh. We will hold Timothy
McVeigh in our hearts and prayers, as well as the
survivors of his violence, his family and our coun
try. The vigil will take place at 8:30 p.m. in the
EMU Amphitheater.
Please note that signers of this letter have signed
as individuals and not as representatives of their
organizations or faith communities:
Rev. Stephen Mathison-Bowie; Father Michael Fores, OP; Rev.
Tiare Mathison-Bowie and 17 co-signers.
Letters to the editor
ASUO Constitution Court senior justice resigns
Members of the University, the ASUO and the constitution court:
Due to my graduation from the School of Law on Sunday, May 13,1 here
by submit my resignation from the ASUO Constitution Court. It has been
both an honor and a pleasure to serve as a justice under both the Gibons and
Raschio courts. The University community has given so much to me over
the years, and I am thankful for the opportunity originally provided by for
mer ASUO Vice President and Constitution Court Justice Glen Banfield,
and former ASUO President Wylie Chen.
I can only hope that the tradition of minority representation continues in
the future. I also hope that the future makeup of the court will lead to greater
gender balance. Under the new leadership of Chief Justice SaraPirk, and in
conjunction with the newly elected ASUO Executive, I firmly believe both
the constitution court and the ASUO will be more efficient and well direct
ed in the academic terms to come.
Accordingly, the future of ASUO leadership appears to be in good hands,
and I wish both the court and the ASUO well. I officially resign.
Ahsan A. Awan
senior justice
ASUO Constitution Court
Stop whining about Bush
Oh my God! Are we still hearing about the November election? First from
Emerald mouthpiece Aaron McKenzie (“Look OUTSIDE the bubble,” ODE,
May 10) who exemplifies University liberal thinking (i.e., your opinion is valid
as long as it agrees with theirs), and then from a clearly bitter and petty guest
commentator (“Reinstate Gore by impeachment,” ODE, May 10).
Republicans didn’t whine for months after Clinton wasn’t convicted by the
Senate. It’s over, people, so move on to your next fight. Incidentally, we haven’t
had one scandal since Bush became president.
Nickftountree
? senior
Spanish/
computer information technology