NOTE: As I am not able to find many Pro-Life articles at the
moment, it will be Pro-Life Article of the Month, not Fortnight. Once I can get
more, I will change it back to twice a month.
NOTICE: The following
article is written by the author itself and not by me, I am not trying to
violate their copyright. I will give some information on them. As Maryland had
abolished the death penalty on 2 May 2013, I will post the article of the
Pro-Life of the month from Cal Thomas. Thank God the abolition does not apply
to the five men on death row but sad but to admit this, why does the Governor
support abortion?
PAGE TITLE: http://washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columnists
ARTICLE TITLE: Death penalty foes discriminate against unborn
DATE: 18 March 2013
AUTHOR: Cal Thomas
AUTHOR
INFORMATION:
Cal Thomas A.K.A John Calvin
"Cal" Thomas (born 1942) is an American syndicated columnist, pundit,
author and radio commentator. Thomas was born in 1942 in Washington, D.C.. He
attended the American University for his undergraduate education. During the
1960s and early 1970s he worked as a reporter at NBC News. His program on CBNC
was nominated for a Cable ACE Award in 1995. His column, which began in 1984,
is syndicated by Tribune Media Services. Thomas joined Fox News as a political
contributor in 1997. He is a panelist on Fox News Watch, a Fox News
Channel program criticizing the media, and until September 2005 hosted After
Hours with Cal Thomas on the same network. He also gives a daily radio
commentary, which is heard on more than 300 stations. Thomas has written
extensively about political issues and he supports, among other things, many
American positions related to Israel. He has written 10 books, including Blinded
By Might, that discussed, among other things, the role of the Moral
Majority in American politics of the 1980s. Thomas was vice president of the
Moral Majority from 1980 to 1985. He is an evangelical Christian. A study at
Hamilton College indicated Thomas as the least accurate prognosticator among 26
notable pundits.
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Cal
Thomas
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Cal Thomas: Death penalty
foes discriminate against unborn
March 18,
2013 | 9:00 pm
The Maryland legislature recently voted to abolish
capital punishment in the state, making Maryland the sixth state in the past
six years to eliminate the death penalty.
The primary argument for abolition is that our justice
system is imperfect and it's possible an innocent person could be condemned.
Indeed, anti-death penalty activists presented Kirk Bloodsworth, a former
death-row inmate, convicted of the 1984 rape and murder of a 9-year-old girl.
His conviction was overturned on appeal after the court found the prosecution
had withheld exculpatory evidence from the defense. However, Bloodsworth was
retried and sentenced to two life terms, a conviction later upheld on appeal.
Then in 1993, Bloodsworth was exonerated after DNA linked someone else to the
crime.
Death penalty opponents say the law is worth repealing if
just one innocent life is saved.
Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty
Information Center, told the Washington Post, "State after state is
deciding that the death penalty is simply not worth the risks and costs to
retain." He predicts other states will soon follow Maryland's lead.
According to the Post, 33 states still retain capital punishment, though
"many are using it more sparingly than in the past."
In the debate over the death penalty some have argued
that it's a deterrent to crime, which can't be proved, any more than it is
provable that abolishing it will encourage some to kill, knowing the worst they
will face is life in prison without parole. Others have argued the death
penalty is "too expensive" because the court system allows for
numerous appeals, a process that takes years.
During the debate in Maryland, Democratic state Sen. John
C. Astle told the Post, "The idea of strapping someone down and
deliberately taking their life -- it was a little difficult for me."
Which brings me to abortion; abortion may not involve the
"strapping down" of a convicted felon, but it takes a life.
Maryland Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley has been a
passionate advocate for repealing the death penalty, but equally as passionate
in opposing limits to abortion in his state. "I believe that it is an
issue that is best left to the individual conscience of women," he told
the Maryland Catholic Conference in October.
In 2008, according to the Guttmacher Institute, while the
number of abortions in the U.S. remained "virtually unchanged from 2005
when the abortion rate was 19.4 abortions per 1,000 women," Maryland produced
"a rate of 29 abortions per 1,000 women. ..." Maryland is a liberal
state, economically, socially and politically. In announcing his decision to
oppose the death penalty, Baltimore Republican Del. William J. Frank at least
sounded consistent when he told the Post: "I'm a reluctant convert to
supporting repeal, but a convert nonetheless." Frank cited his
"respect for human life."
Respect for human life should mean a murderer ought to
forfeit his or her own life as payment for the life taken. Life in prison is
unequal punishment. It is not fair to the victim, to the victim's family or
even to the killer who has not received his or her "just deserts."
In the case of abortion, obviously there can be no
sentence of death or life in prison for the "murderer." But that
doesn't mean that Maryland cannot exercise an equivalent respect for life
through laws that restrict abortion. Shouldn't the unborn also be spared a
death sentence? If the Maryland legislature can stop the state from taking the
lives of murderers, it can adopt restrictions that save the lives of many
threatened by abortion.
I have often proposed a deal for my liberal friends who
are anti-death penalty but pro-choice: I will surrender my position in favor of
the death penalty, if pro-choicers support laws that protect the unborn.
It seems like a fair deal to me, but so far I've gotten
no takers. This seems ideologically inconsistent, if they argue all human life
is valuable.
The death chambers will close in Maryland for a few
murderers, but thousands of abortions will continue in Maryland each year --
more than 1 million annually nationwide -- "sentencing" innocents to
death without due process.
Examiner Columnist
Cal Thomas is nationally syndicated by Tribune Media.
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