There was an article in the (Peoria?) Journal Star today about George Ryan and his speech to the ACLU in Peoria. I’d like to pull out a few quotes that illustrate what I think are inconsistencies in his argument against the death penalty.
Ryan, a former pharmacist who never practiced law, is telling the world the American legal system is so sloppy, so flawed, so political that innocent people are not only routinely found guilty but also routinely executed.Ryan said families of victims need the maximum punishment allowed by law. “Anything less dishonors their relative. If the maximum is life in prison without parole, that is what families need.”“The death penalty is unfairly imposed on the poor,” [Ryan] said. Two states, Texas and Alabama, have no system of public defenders, he said. “A poor guy indicted in those states can’t even get a public defender,” Ryan said.
Why is it more just to incarcerate an innocent person for life without parole than it is to give an innocent person the death penalty? How does abolishing the death penalty help poor people get justice in Texas and Alabama when they still don’t get a public defender and can’t afford an attorney? Getting rid of the death penalty does nothing to solve the root problem: injustice.
Just for the sake of full disclosure, I’ll reveal that I’m in favor of the death penalty. However, even if I were opposed, I would not find this particular argument very convincing. If the former governor’s allegations about the legal system are true, then we should be putting a moratorium on convictions until it’s fixed, not on sentences.