We Concur On Need For Compensation For Wrongful Convictions

The following letter to the editor from Michael J. Macchioni of South Hanover was published in yesterday's PennLive.com Mr. Macchioni writes about the need for compensation for the wrongfully convicted in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania has many examples of wrongful convictions, including six men that were exonerated after being sentenced to death. The full text of the report of the Advisory Commission on Wrongful Convictions can be found here.

I urge you to contact your PA State Representative expressing your support for the introduction of a bill dealing with this issue and asking that they consider working with Representative Marsico to draft such legislation.

"A commitment to equality for all citizens and to a fair justice system are hallmarks of our democracy. Pennsylvania, however, is one of 24 states having no wrongful conviction compensation statute. Advanced DNA testing has been used by the Innocence Law Project to exonerate those wrongfully convicted of crimes.

Michael Morton of Texas is an example of an exoneree helped by the Innocence Law Project. He spent nearly 25 years in prison for murdering his wife until DNA testing proved his innocence and implicated the real perpetrator. Since his exoneration, the Texas Supreme Court has ordered a court of inquiry to determine whether the prosecutor contributed to Morton’s wrongful conviction by concealing evidence of Morton’s innocence from the defense.

Even the conservative-leaning state of Texas has a comprehensive wrongful conviction compensation statute. Texas provides compensation for child-support payments, tuition for up to 120 hours at a career center or college and re-entry and reintegration services, including life skills, job and vocational training for as long as those services are beneficial. In addition, the state provides necessary documentation (i.e. a state ID card) and financial assistance to cover living expenses. Help also is provided to access medical and dental services.

I’ve asked Rep. Ron Marsico to introduce legislation to counter the injustice of wrongful convictions. I ask that other interested citizens join me in calling for this to be made right.

MICHAEL J. MACCHIONI
South Hanover Twp."

Lawrence Brewer

After so much attention paid to the execution of Troy Davis in Georgia on September 21st, 2011, I thought it necessary to remember someone else who was executed on the same day in Texas. Lawrence Brewer's execution passed with little or no fanfare, as the eyes of the world were focused on Georgia. Brewer was convicted for the 1998 murder of James Byrd Jr., a black man from Texas. Byrd was brutally beaten and dragged from the back of a pickup truck by Brewer, along with John William King, also on death row, and Shawn Berry, given life without parole.

The guilt of these men is not under question in what is one of the worst hate crimes in recent history, and the men were openly involved in white supremacist groups. However, it is important to remember that for even the most heinous of crimes to which there is overwhelming proof of guilt, the death penalty remains unjust, wildly expensive, and a reaction of vengeance, not of justice. As human beings, our natural inclination is that of revenge. We desire to see those that hurt us or hurt those closest to us to have pain inflicted back upon them. We imagine in our own minds that taking the life of a criminal who has taken innocent life will somehow balance the scales. These emotions, while common and natural, are not things we should desire in our legal system. The law is meant to supersede our fickle, volatile human responses to things that upset us. It is meant to use rationality and reason, not an animal desire to inflict pain on others.

So while I am revolted by the actions of Lawrence Brewer, I do not celebrate his death. I do not see that the scale of justice has been balanced by his death, rather, it has been tipped even further. As a nation that proclaims itself to be a pillar of human rights and a guiding light to other nations on the way justice should be carried out, it is time that we abolish the death penalty in this country, as every European nation has already done, and as countries around the world have done.