Death penalty politics
The article “No Hiatus for Death Penalty” (Jan. 20) is a devastating comment on the sad state of representative government in California.
The subhead says it all: “Assembly kills a bill that would have temporarily halted executions. Democrats feared it could hurt them in upcoming elections.” I was shocked that the Democrats would admit shunning one of the most challenging moral questions of our time (and do so solely for the petty, self-interested reason of sidestepping the risk of appearing “soft on crime.”)
While it’s naive to think that politicians would abandon cynical political calculations, the least they could do for their constituents is not flaunt those calculations. When our elected officials cease to see the need to hide their craven acts of self-interest, we lose faith in representative government. Perhaps it’s time to recall the entire Legislature and start anew.
BECKY BOND
San Francisco
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