This is easily the good news story of the day. Last night, the state legislature in Connecticut abolished the death penalty. The number of states that have done away with the practice is now seventeen (the first was Michigan in 1846), along with Washington DC and Puetro Rico. As well, Kansas effectively has no law due to its being struck down by the courts and is considering a bill to throw in the towel, and New Hampshire has maintained a moratorium on the practice since 1939 (there is actually one inmate on "death row" there but there really isn't a secure unit for the condemned to speak of). California is having a referendum on the issue this fall, and Kentucky is giving serious consideration to the idea as well.
Let the trend continue. The fact so many abortion rights opponents also support the death penalty for the post partum is hypocrisy, plain and simple. If even the totally nuts Pat Robertson and the even more conspiratorial Jack Van Impe could see the light on this issue (as both did on the environment after Hurricane Katrina), then there ought to be hope for the more rational conservatives who should see the need to conserve life and reform the guilty. Even the "vilest offender" should have a hope of seeing the error of his or her ways. Keep them locked up, by all means. But it's just plain wrong to legally kill them.
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