The Death Penalty and the Innocent

The article "Supreme Court Limits Death-Penalty Appeals," Jan. 27, is disturbing; it describes an innocent man's fight to get off death row. It is devastating to think that he will be put to death for something that he did not do. It is even more devastating that society is trying to justify killing him, and I find it hard to believe that these rules could lead to the killing of an innocent man. In effect, the man is being accused of doing exactly what the Supreme Court is doing to him.

I strongly believe that killing an innocent man is murder, whether he is killed by the Supreme Court or by a hardened criminal. Justice Harry Blackmun wrote: "The execution of a person who can show that he is innocent comes perilously close to murder." It doesn't just come close to murder; it is murder. Becky Howie, Rexburg, Idaho

Letters are welcome. Only a selection can be published, subject to condensation, and none acknowledged. Please address them to "Readers Write," One Norway St., Boston, MA 02115.