THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, May 30, 1995 TAG: 9505270001
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 29 lines
Whether one is for or against capital punishment, kudos are in order for the staff writers, editors and The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star. The recent articles on death row inmates Willie Lloyd Turner and Dennis Stockton were excellent.
Exposing the fact that Virginia is the lowest, nationally, in areas of fairness within the justice system is not only informative - it is gutsy. Hopefully journalism awards for this coverage will be bestowed.
Changes in Virginia's laws are a must. We no longer can treat these inmates so shabbily. Until questions of innocence and cruelty can be resolved within a reasonable time frame, we should abolish the death penalty. The U.S. Supreme Court made that decision once.
If we wish to continue being a death penalty state but cannot administer it properly ourselves, perhaps we should consider inviting some outside agency that can to do it for us. Does such an entity really exist?
MARY C. ALLEN
Norfolk, May 19, 1995 by CNB