Death Penalty

Ronald Dworkin is very right and very wrong on the death penalty (“The Court’s Impatience to Execute,” Opinion, July 11). He makes a convincing case for the abolition of capital punishment, since it has become a cruel lottery with the question of life or death turning on the wealth and race of the defendant, the experience and effectiveness of the defense lawyers and the integrity of the police, prosecutors and judges. But Dworkin mistakenly begins by claiming, “Americans fiercely want the death penalty and few politicians dare to oppose it.” Several independent surveys over the last five years throughout the country have established that when given the choice of imposing the death penalty or life without possibility of parole (and restitution to the victims’ families), 67% chose the latter.

It’s politicians who cater to fear of crime and promote the easy fix of the death penalty, without telling constituents that states (and countries) with the death penalty have higher crime rates than those without it.

STEPHEN F. ROHDE

Los Angeles