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Detail
of Bartolomeo Vanzetti and
Nicola Sacco from the cartoon of a mural by Ben Shahn © Estate of Ben
Shahn /Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY
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A
lesson for Massachusetts?
Look at the cost of the Death Penalty in Illinois:
Death
penalty's price too high, and there's proof
Chicago Tribune
March 9, 2003
George
Ryan, former Illinois governor, used his last day in office to save
lives. Shocked by a criminal justice system that tortured innocent
men into confessing to capital crimes, and railroaded others onto
death row
because of a deeply flawed system, the Governor undertook to end his
term in office free from the nagging doubt that he neglected to spare
an innocent life. His courageous act makes us all a more civilized
society.
In Massachusetts, we have witnessed a number of high-profile exonerations,
none more horrific than the four men who spent decades in prison,
with the apparent collusion of the Boston FBI office, for crimes they
did not commit. Three of those men were sentenced to death when Massachusetts
still had a death penalty. Fortunately, before they could be executed,
the law was overturned by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
When their innocence was established, the two surviving men were released.
(The other two died in prison.)
My grandfather, Herbert Ehrmann, as a young defense attorney, struggled
to save the lives of Sacco and Vanzetti in the late 1920's. His wife,
Sara, my grandmother, spent the rest of her life in the battle to
abolish the death penalty. As the Chairman and President of Massachusetts
Citizens Against the Death Penalty, I speak for thousands of commonwealth
residents who are still engaged in this life-and-death challenge.
We know we can never be complacent, even here, where we have not had
an execution in nearly sixty years, but hope that Governor Ryan’s
example will inspire our governor and, indeed, our President, to be
guided by the desire for justice rather than revenge.
David
Ehrmann,
President and Chairman
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