Letter to the editor: On death penalty, what about the innocent?

Letter-writer Jeanne Snyder (“Can killers be reformed, forgiven?”), responding to the letter “If we respect life, we must end death penalty,” is correct in describing murder as barbaric. If there was any evidence that the death penalty would somehow solve this problem, that would be wishful thinking at best.

Maybe through all the statistical information we may have forgotten the hundreds of inmates on death row who have been exonerated because of DNA evidence. Remember, the evidence presented at trial was overwhelming and led to their convictions. Many were incarcerated for most of their adult lifetimes. Had they been executed and this DNA evidence been presented afterward, we can all take heart in the words that “we don’t have a perfect system.”

Many people believe in forgiveness, even with the loss of a loved one. But one thing that we all agree on is that we don’t teach our children that two wrongs don’t make a right.

Chris Hartig

Port Vue