It’s undeniable that innocent will die

I read with regret about the killing of persons at a wedding party in Afghanistan. As we all know, innocent civilians sometimes die in war. Inside The Herald on the same day I read of a federal judge declaring the federal death penalty unconstitutional because too many innocent people are being executed before they can be vindicated.

This comes as no surprise to anyone familiar with death penalty cases. What does come as a surprise is that federal prosecutors argue that the Supreme Court has already decided that our Constitution does not guarantee perfect or infallible outcome and thus the death penalty should continue.

It seems like the government war on crime and the government war in Afghanistan have one thing in common – the killing of the innocent. I’ll never know how innocent victims are chosen in Afghanistan, but I do know how innocent victims will be chosen in the U.S. – the American victims will be in poverty. Is there a better reason for material wealth than to defend yourself or your family against our prosecutorial mistakes?

Arlington