Commentary
Oregon Daily Emerald
Friday, March 4, 2005
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The U.S. Supreme Court ruled
Tuesday that executing criminals who
were under 18 when they committed
their crimes is unconstitutionally cru
el, effectively commuting 72 death
sentences in 19 states, according to
The Associated Press.
Justice Scalia wrote a passionate dis
sent to the 5-4 decision, saying, “I do
not believe that the meaning of our
Eighth Amendment, any more than the
meaning of other provisions of our
Constitution, should be determined by
the subjective views of five Members of
this Court and like-minded foreigners.”
To Scalia, the Constitution (and the
Bible for that matter) is a dead docu
ment to be interpreted for all time ex
actly the same as it was when it was
first adopted. For that reason, he has
stated that the death penalty should
be exercised for all felonies, including
“horse thieving,” so that it jives with
what was considered cruel and un
usual at the time when the Eighth
Amendment was first adopted.
This “textualist” — or should I say
“fundamentalist” — approach might
seem more objective to Scalia, but as
far as I am concerned, it is every bit as
subjective as the “contextualist” ap
proach adopted by the majority in this
case. Society’s definition of cruel pun
ishment has shifted over the years,
and the laws governing punishment
need to keep up. I would much rather
see America progress with the rest of
the world than take one giant step
back into the 18th Century.
Justice Scalia’s not-so-hidden agen
da is to more perfectly align U.S. law
with his interpretation of divine law.
He has said, “The more Christian a
country is, the less likely it is to regard
the death penalty as immoral. I attrib
ute that to the fact that for the believ
ing Christian, death is no big deal.”
He should ask Justice Rehnquist and
the families of victims of the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks whether they agree that
DAVID JAGERNAUTH
CRITICAL MASS
“death is no big deal. ” The fact is death
is a big deal, especially when the state
is the one responsible for the killing.
Since the death penalty was reinstated
in 1976, the United States has executed
22 juvenile offenders, with Texas ac
counting for more than half. Support
for killing juvenile offenders has placed
the United States at odds with interna
tional norms (seven international
treaties prohibit it) and has earned the
United States odd company, especially
for a Christian practice; the countries
known for executing juvenile offenders
since 1990 are the Democratic Republic
of Congo, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Chi
na, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Isn’t it
funny that fundamentalist Christians
and fundamentalist Muslims have
more in common with each other than
with secularists?
While the ruling means little for us in
the Pacific Northwest (Oregon and
Washington have already outlawed the
practice of executing juvenile offend
ers) , it does mean we are one step clos
er to an all-out abolition of capital pun
ishment in this country. Unlike most of
my fellow liberals, I do not believe that
capital punishment is inherently cruel
and, therefore, needs to be totally abol
ished. Do Saddam Hussein, Osama bin
Laden and other homicidal maniacs de
serve to get lethally injected? Absolute
ly. However, I do strongly believe we
need an immediate and temporary
moratorium on the use of the death
penalty while we sort out a few signifi
cant wrinkles in our judicial system.
The most common arguments for a
moratorium are that the death penalty
is expensive, there is no evidence that
it acts as a deterrent and, in recent
years, DNA testing has proved what
many activists have been saying for
decades: Our courts routinely sen
tence innocent people to death row.
But the most compelling argument
for renewing a moratorium on capi
tal punishment is the overwhelming
evidence of racism that permeates
the institution. Since reinstated, 80
percent of those receiving a death
penalty sentence have been executed
for murders involving white victims,
even though blacks and whites are
murdered in nearly equal numbers
(blacks are approximately 12 percent
of the population but are six times
more likely to be murdered than
whites), according to an Amnesty
International report.
At least 20 percent of blacks receiv
ing a death penalty sentence are con
victed by all-white juries. Study after
study show that white jurors place
more value on the lives of white vic
tims and white defendants than on
the lives of black victims and black
defendants, consciously or uncon
sciously, when it comes to decisions
about capital punishment.
A temporary moratorium on the use
of capital punishment is necessary until
our justice system can find a method by
which it can be administered without
violating Article 7 of the Universal Dec
laration of Human Rights: “All are
equal before the law and are entitled
without any discrimination to equal
protection of the law. ” The continued
use of capital punishment, despite clear
evidence of discrimination, is a crime
against humanity. Whether philosophi
cally for or against the death penalty,
everyone should be able to get behind
this pragmatic compromise.
davidjagema uih@ daily emerald, com
INBOX
Emerald prints nice story,
inappropriate photograph
I’d like to give my thanks for your
nicely written article on our sidewalk
companion, Hatoon, who passed
away Tliesday. I know I am not alone
when I say I will truly miss her
unique and often astute perspective
on the complicated environment
around her. I'm glad that the Emer
ald commemorated this loss for our
University community.
That said, I am a bit dismayed at
the image choice for this front page
article. The scene showing Hatoon's
clothing strewn about the cement
with the vehicle in the background
was insensitive and ignorant of the
dignity present in Hatoon's life.
The photo itself certainly has jour
nalistic impact and would-be
poignancy. But in remembrance of
Hatoon — my enigmatic friend who
left bright pink lipstick kisses on
each dollar bill she used, who loved
children and sparkly hair ribbons,
and who once helped me save a
baby squirrel that had fallen from
her tree — I would like the image we
use to remember her to be positive
and affirmative.
I'm proud of the tolerance, appre
ciation and love our community (and
the Emerald) is showing for a person
like Hatoon.
Emily Rogers
University Bookstore employee
Fine Arts Major
Hatoon's name to be
remembered with respect
Hatoon. I never knew her. She
was always just the homeless lady
by the bookstore who was really
nice to people. But I never stopped
to talk to her. Then one day I learned
her name. I heard a rumor that she
was told by the clouds that her new
name would be two sounds: “Ha”
and “Toon.”
This struck a personal cord with
me because Hatoon isn’t gibberish:
it's a Turkish word. I thought
“Hatun” meant “crazy old lady”
because that's what my dad calls my
great-aunt, who is a little senile. I al
ways thought of Hatoon as the Amer
ican version of my great-aunt.
But on Wednesday I started to
wonder if I had the meaning wrong,
so I called my grandmother to ask.
“Hatun” originally was a title re
served for women in prominent so
cial positions in the Ottoman Em
pire. Now it is used as a term of
endearment for older women who
are well respected and loved by
the community.
I never spoke to Hatoon, but she
always was smiling and I always
liked her. In the last 24 hours I've
learned just how many people did
like her and love her. She touched a
lot of people’s lives. Her name may
have sounded like gibberish to
some, but coincidentally she chose a
name that fit her perfectly: an older
woman who is well respected and
loved by many.
Sermin Yesilada
Undergraduate
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■ Out loud
“Long.” — Kyle Davis of California-based a
cappella group Everyday People on Saturday
describing the trip from Stanford University to
Eugene. Everyday People competed in the In
ternational Championship of Collegiate A
Cappella at South Eugene High School.
“Teaching singers to dance is different from
teaching dancers to dance.” — Erica Barkett of
University a cappella group Divisi on Saturday,
explaining that the dance movements accom
panying songs are smaller and more confined
than most but are still an important part of the
Divisi package.
“It’s a really tight song for us.” — Jacob
LaCombe of Oregon State University’s a cap
pella group Outspoken on Saturday, referring
to “Don’t Whiz on the Electric Fence” from
“The Ren and Stimpy Show.”
“I think I can hear crickets.” — ASUO Presi
dent Adam Petkun of one of the lengthy paus
es during last Thursday’s Program Finance
Committee hearings.
“My suggestion is not voting on it, just doing
it first. I just want to do it then figure it out lat
er.” — PFC member Khanh Le on Feb. 25 dis
cussing how to remedy the PFC overspending
its budget.
“This is the biggest crisis Lane Transit has
been in, ever.” — Carol Allred, executive board
officer for the Amalgamated TYansit Union
Division 757 and LTD driver on Feb. 25 in
reference to the impending drivers’ strike.
"She didn't know what the hell she was do
ing.” — former ASUO receptionist Laurie Rice,
on Jenny Neiwert, who was hired by her
sister-in-law, ASUO Accounting Coordinator
Jennifer Creighton-Neiwert, to work as a
temporary employee.
“All I know about Jenny is she showed up
one day in the office. There was never an inter
view process, so she was hired without any
competition.” — Rice on Neiwert’s lack of
interview process.
“There are changing models of institution.
Current models are a thousand years old, and
we are in the 21st century. ” — Yolanda Moses,
former president of the City University of New
York and the American Anthropological Asso
ciation and current special assistant to the
chancellor for excellence and diversity at the
University of California, Riverside, speaking
about diversity issues in higher education at a
forum Jliesday night.
“She would always compliment me on how
I looked, and she would compliment a lot of
people on how they looked. She loved little kids,
and she would always go up to them and kind
of coo and make funny little talks with them.
She was just a part of our lives every day. I
will miss her a lot, and it's going to be really
strange going by there and not seeing all of
her things there. It was great that people just let
her be there and just sort of accepted her.”
— University student and bookstore employee
Emily Rogers remembering community
member Victoria “Hatoon” Adkins, who lived
on the corner of East 13th Avenue and
Kincaid Street and was killed in an automobile
accident Tuesday.
“Hatoon was what everybody wants to be
lieve a homeless person is in Eugene: a person
who had a family, had a home, and for whatev
er reason developed some mental illness that
caused them to decide that they needed to live a
different lifestyle. But she functioned. She knew
her Social Security, managed to take care of her
self, never caused any trouble, never got herself
arrested and was a good addition to the neigh
borhood. It's a damn shame.” — Eugene police
officer Randy Ellis, also remembering Hatoon,
who he knew for 20 years.
— From Daily Emerald news reports