Illinois and Sanders on the death penalty

Check out TalkLeft's coverage of the Illinois clemency hearings.

At the behest of outgoing Illinois Governor George Ryan, clemency hearings began today in the cases of Illinois prisoners on death row. All prisoners will be given a hearing. The process is expected to last nine days with hearings lasting approximately one hour for each inmate.

After checking out the Illinois post, check out this one -- a partial trancript from the senatorial debate between SC candidates Graham (R) and Sanders (D).

MR. SANDERS: I have said that and that is my sincere religious belief. Now let me say it would be the easiest thing in the world for me to change my opinion about that. I could simply say in the wake of 9/11, I've revisited the will of God and I've decided that God's changed his mind and that would absolutely prohibit whatever political burden I have, but I'm not going to do that. I'm going to continue to stand up for what I believe and I think people respect that, at least they do in South Carolina.

But let me say again, the death penalty is just a diversion from the differences between us on Social Security, the budget, corporate crime and the other issues that legitimately divide us. So when I go to Washington, I'm not going to try to impose my religion on the country; I simply ask that people not impose their religion on me.

The signs may be incremental and subtle, but there is a clear shift around the country. The death penalty is increasingly on the defensive. Even a conservative Supreme Court has been chipping away at capital punishment. And when a Republican governor and a Dem candidate in a conservative southern state can openly tackle the issue, it represents real progress

Posted October 15, 2002 11:01 AM | Comments (0)