Ending Executions  As I write, the United States is preparing to
execute Timothy McVeigh on May 16. If the death penalty is to
exist at all, it's hard to imagine a more compelling candidate--
a terrorist and mass murderer, apparently sane and unremorseful.
Yet, remarkably, there are stirrings of debate about McVeigh's
execution, led by the doubts expressed by some of the families
of his Oklahoma City victims. When the hardest of hard cases
gives so many people pause, it's clear that an opportunity is at
hand for a public reappraisal of capital punishment in America.
In the last year or two, a remarkable shift has taken place.
Minds have begun to change, or at least open. The Republican
governor of Illinois, George Ryan, declared a moratorium on
executions in his state. The New Hampshire legislature repealed
the death penalty, only to have Governor Jeanne Shaheen, a
Democrat, veto the bill. George Will and Pat Robertson have
expressed reservations about the death penalty. Polls show a
sizable drop in public su