Death Penalty

Over the past year, The Times has published many reports, editorials and letters on the subject of capital punishment. I commend The Times for its editorial position, but despite this, the advocates of capital punishment clearly outnumber the opponents by more than 2 to 1.

In the letters columns, one aspect of state executions has yet to be addressed: the fact that our justice system is far from infallible. It has been demonstrated scientifically countless times that eyewitness testimony is often way off the mark. Combine this with the fact that a small percentage of district attorneys seem to be willing to pay any price to obtain a conviction, and you have the makings of a tragedy.

More than one Times report has stated that we now know that more than 300 citizens have been sentenced to death for a crime they did not commit. Sadly, 23 were executed. This has to be the ultimate crime.

I cannot believe that there are many who will argue that the execution of innocents is simply one of the costs we must pay for justice.

GEORGE SCHROEDTER

La Verne