DEATH PENALTY’S FATE SHOULD BE UP TO COLORADO’S VOTERS [ARTICLE ON THE DEATH PENALTY OF THE WEEK ~ SUNDAY 16 JUNE 2013 TO SATURDAY 22 JUNE 2013]

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. I chose this article on the Death Penalty of the week in memory of Javad Jay Marshall Fields and Vivian Wolfe.

PAGE TITLE: http://www.denverpost.com/

ARTICLE TITLE: Death penalty's fate should be up to Colorado voters

DATE: Wednesday 13 February 2013

AUTHORS: John Suthers is Colorado's 37th attorney general. State Rep. Rhonda Fields, D-Aurora, is the mother of Javad Marshall-Fields, who was gunned down outside his apartment in 2005.

URL: http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_22575304/death-penaltys-fate-should-be-up-colorado-voters

John Suthers

Rhonda Fields

Guest commentary

Death penalty's fate should be up to Colorado voters

Posted:   02/13/2013 12:01:00 AM MST

By John Suthers and Rhonda Fields

Re: "Why Colorado should end the death penalty," Dec. 27 editorial.

 

The Denver Post editorial on Colorado's death penalty was thoughtful and initiated a constructive dialogue on a controversial issue. We wish to contribute to that conversation by explaining why it is the people of Colorado who should have the final word on this life-and-death matter. 

Together, as Colorado's attorney general and state legislator (as well as mother of a murdered son whose executioner currently sits on death row), we share the belief that capital punishment should remain a viable punishment for the most heinous crimes. However, we are even stronger in our belief that it is the people of our state, through the referendum process, and not their elected representatives, who should decide this important public policy matter. 

The repeal of the death penalty is a divisive issue that needs to be fully debated and considered. And Coloradans deserve thorough discussion from all sides, especially in light of last year's highly publicized tragedies. 

What about the argument that there are a certain few cases when the death penalty is necessary for societal self-defense? There are recurring examples that have gone unanswered: murderers who kill witnesses, or a prisoner already serving a life sentence who premeditatively kills a correctional officer, as happened this summer. Without the death penalty, society appears defenseless. How can justice be served in these types of instances? 

That question is all too critical to every Coloradan not to be fully vetted. And, to date, the vetting process is less than complete. 

In the past, Coloradans have twice voted to keep capital punishment on the books and use it in limited circumstances. The legislature should not ignore these votes. Rather, they should ask the citizens of Colorado about their current views on the death penalty. This year, we should keep up a healthy and respectful dialogue on whether to repeal the death penalty and then put it to the citizens of Colorado to decide in 2014. 

John Suthers is Colorado's 37th attorney general. State Rep. Rhonda Fields, D-Aurora, is the mother of Javad Marshall-Fields, who was gunned down outside his apartment in 2005.