Septem ber 27, 2000
Page A 4
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Death Penalty Flawed
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T h e C lin to n A d m in is tra tio n
should offer the leadership required
to guide the U nited States aw ay from
judicial executions
A Justice D epartm ent study has
reportedly found significant racial and
geographical disparities in the appli
cation o f the death penalty at a fed
eral level and indicates that m inori
ties - particularly A frican Am ericans
have been disproportionately tar
geted.
It also reportedly show s that pur
suit o f death sentences by federal
prosecutors is not uniform across the
country despite efforts by A ttorney
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Gary Ann Taylor
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Michael Leighton
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Joy Ramos
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unfair.
"T his ‘A m erican-roulette’ isa h u -
man rights scandal for w hich there is
only one solution abolition,” Dr.
Schulz said.
In an A ugust 1999 letter respond
ing to A m nesty International’s find
ing in its rep o rt on race and the U.S.
d eath p en alty . K illin g w ith p re ju
dice, the Ju stice D epartm ent agreed
that “ it ca n n o t be d isp u ted that the
circ u m sta n ce s o f m any o f the id en
tified c a s e s .. . raise concerns.’’H ow
ever, the departm ent said that this
w as a m atter for the states and that at
the federal level “every effort has
been m ade to force less race as a
factor in the decision as to w hether to
seek the death penalty." T he depart
m ents ow n review seem s now to
indicate that “every effort” has not
been enough.
A m nesty International noted that
the U.S. regularly violates interna
tional standards on the death pen
alty, including the use o f it against
children, the mentally impaired, those
denied adequate legal represention,
those w hose innocense is in serious
doubt, and foreign nationals w ithout
appeals m ust take a stand against
such violations by saying that it can-
not interfere in individuals sta te s’
use o f capital punishm ent.
H isto ry sh o w s th a t c o u n trie s
th a t have ab o lish ed sta te e x e c u
tio n s - now m o re than h a lf o f all
n atio n s - h av e n o t d o n e so o n the
b asis o f o p in io n p olls, b u t have
relied upon the co u rag e an d v isio n
o f leaders to ad o p t a lte rn a tiv e s to
th is b ru tal an d b ru talizin g p u n ish
m e n t,” Dr. S ch u lz said. “ T h e d eath
p en a lty is b ey o n d repair. A m o ra
to riu m o f federal e x ecu tio n s w ould
b e a co n stru c tiv e first step to e n d
ing the death p en a lty o n ce an d for
all.’
letters To The Editor Joe Sperm is a bad seed
STAFF
E
G eneral Janet Reno to m ake it so.
“N o one should be surprised that
the federal death penalty is display
ing the sam e lottery like qualities that
plague capital justice at a state level,”
said W illiam s F. Schulz, Executive
D irector o f A m nesty International
USA “W e urge President Clinton to
exercise leadership on this life-and-
death issue.
A m nesty International and others
have consistently docum ented how
prosecutorial discretion, coupled with
issues o f politics, race and econom ic
status, have rendered the U.S. death
penalty arbitrary, discrim inatory and
ir e c t o r
Robert Parker
4 7 4 7 NE M a r tin L u th e r K ing,
Jr. Blvd.
P o rtla n d , O R 9 7 2 1 1
5 0 3 -2 8 8 -0 0 3 3
Fax 5 0 3 -2 8 8 -0 0 1 5
e-m ail
Bush Ad
Disgusting
1 am w ritin g to ex p re ss m y
to tal d isg u st w ith th e m o st re
cent R e p u b lic an ad a tta c k in g A1
G o re ’s H ealth C are Plan.
T he ad v e rtise m en t, w h ich I
u n d ersta n d , w as p ro d u ce d by
the sam e p eo p le w ho cam e up
w ith th e “ R a ts” ad, is clea rly
m islead in g and false. It d em o n
strates the d ep th s to w h ich the
R epublic’s w ill go to scare, shock
and even lie to se n io rs, like m e,
to get votes h ere in O regon.
As I understand it, A1 G o re’s
plan protects M edicare by placing
the entire M edicare surplus in a
lockbox, so it can only be used for
M edicare and paying dow n the
national debt.
A1 G ore’s plan will also modern
ize Medicare and w ork to eliminate
fraud and waste. He will also, make
sure seniors can choose their ow n
doctor and a health plan that makes
sense for them.
1 also believe G o re’s plan for
prescription drugs is best for all
seniors. His plan w ill establish a
voluntary, affordable prescription
drug plan and he w ill ensure 55 to
65 years olds can buy into M edi
care.
Thank you for your tim e and
consideration in this im portant
matter.
Lolita A. Darby,
Retired Educator
North Portland
n ew s@ p o rtlan do b server.co m
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T hank you Portland
O bserver
I am w riting to thank you for this
assistan ce th a t you an d T h e O b
serv er p ro v id e b y p u b lic iz in g o u r
needs fo r v o lu n te ers.
Y o u r n ew sp a p er has p ro v id ed
o u r S e n io r C o rp s p ro g ra m w ith
se v e ra l n ew v o lu n te e rs w ho w ill
im p a c t th e liv e s o f h u n d re d s o f
c h ild r e n in th e re g io n . It m e an s
a lo t, n o t o n ly to o u r p ro g ra m ,
b u t th e sc h o o ls , c h ild re n , an d
f a m ilie s th a t o u r v o lu n te e rs a s
sist. T h e P o rtla n d O b s e r v e r ’s
c o m m itm e n t an d s u p p o rt is a
g re a t a s s e t to th e e n tir e c o m m u
n ity .
I lo o k fo rw a rd to w h a t o u r
fu tu re h o ld s b e c a u s e o f th e s e r
v ic e y o u c o n tin u e to p ro v id e .
Randy Lucas
Senior Corps
Volunteer Recruitment Specialist
Measure 9
Threatens Local
Control
B a llo t M e a su re 9 is a d ire c t
th re a t to th e lo c a l c o n tro l o f
o u r s c h o o ls th a t w e no w en jo y .
L o c a l p a r e n ts , te a c h e r s an d
s c h o o l b o a r d s k n o w w h a t’s
b e s t fo r o u r k id s - i t ’s th e ir jo b
to g u id e o u r k id s e v e ry d a y ; i t ’s
n o t th e jo b o f a sp e c ia l in te re s t
g ro u p w ith a n a rro w a g e n d a.
B a llo t M e a su re 9 w o u ld e s
ta b lis h a n ew d ic ta te fro m th e
s ta te , a n d th e b u re a u c ra c y th a t
a c c o m p a n ie s th a t, to m a k e d e
c is io n a b o u t h o w to te ac h o u r
k id s in o u r o w n sc h o o ls.
T h a t v io la te s th e lo c a l c o n
tro l w e v a lu e w ith o u r sc h o o ls
r ig h t no w .
F o r m o re in fo rm a tio n a b o u t
h o w M e a s u re 9 is d a n g e ro u s
fo r k id s a n d d a n g e r o u s fo r
s c h o o ls , p le a s e c o n ta c t J e n n i
fer W e b b e r, N o on 9 C o m m u n i
catio n D irecto r at 503-232-7176.
“Planned Parenthood’s Big Sex in
dustry is now exploiting children in the
same way Big Tobacco did-with a car
toon.' ’ said Ed Szymkowiak, national di
rector ofStop Planned Parenthood Inter
national. Szymkowiak was referring to
Planned Parenthood’ latest affront-a
walking, talking, sperm-like cartoon wear
ing sunglasses.
On S ept 16, children watching the
Celebration Parade in Eugene, Oregon
wereexposedtoJoeSpermashemarvhed
along with giant condoms and birth con
trol pills-with a bevy ofhumans, dressed
as sperm, chasing others dressed as eggs.
Joe Spenn ads are now on Eugene City
buses. “Planned Parenthood has created
a cartoon character that will cause even
very young children to become inter
ested in sex,” Szymkowiak added. “Joe
Sperm deserves the same negative re
sponse drawn by Camel cigarettes’ Joe
Camel led kids to dunk smoking is ‘cool.’
Joe Sperm will do die same for contra
ceptives and sex. Planned Parenthood’s
so-called ‘safe sex’ can lead to sexually
transmitted diseases abortion and seri
ous post-abortion problems The citizens
o f Eugene should kick Joe Sperm and
Planned Parenthood out o f town.”
Bill Shepherd, executive director o f
Planned Parenthood m Southwestern
Oregon, admitted recentlythatJoe Sperm
ispartofabirthcontrolprogramaimedat
the poor in the region. "The beauty o f this
program for Oregon,” he said, “is that the
federal government will match our state
funding on a 9-to-l basis. Right now
Oregon’s putting in $ 1.5million, and the
federal government is adding $ 13.5 mil
lion” (Eugene Register-Guard S ept 19,
2000). “Obviously, Planned Parenthood
is counting on the Joe Sperm ad cam
paign to help diem get a huge chuck o f
this $ 15 million pot o f taxpayer money."
Wyden Applauds Oil Swap
U.S Senator Ron W yden (D-Ore)
is applauding President C lin to n ’s
decision to release oil from nation’s
strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).
In a Feb letter to Energy Secretary Bill
R ichardson, W yden had called in the
D epartm ent o f Energy (D O E) to ini-
tiate a lease exchange or “sw ap” o f oil
from the SPR to give consumers some
im m ediate relief from skyrocketing
gas prices, and has repeatedly urged
the adm inistration to release 30 m il
lion barrels to head o ff supply shocks
and severe price spikes
“Tapping the Strategic Petroleum
Reserve shows strong, decisive lead
ership to help consum ers and sustain
our economic growth. This will im m e
diately increase the oil supply w hich
sh o u ld bring d o w n prices at the
pum p," W yden said.
uppose a tree fell through your garage to n ig h t...
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