Voice of the people (letter).  Death Penalty Is Wrong In All
Cases  December 28, 1993|By Seth Donnelly, Director, Illinois
Coalition Against the Death Penalty.  CHICAGO — I object to the
moral content of Eric Zorn's recent column "Execution makes
sense-for Gacy."  Zorn argues that not only should opponents to
the death penalty "sit this one out," but that the state murder,
even torture ("I won't object if they get out the nail
scissors") of mass murderer John Wayne Gacy is justified. The
basic message of Zorn's piece is that state execution/torture
is, in and of itself, not a violation of our human integrity,
but rather can be righteously and selectively applied.  Within
the context of articulating this message, Zorn quotes me as
saying: "The more heinous the crime, the more difficult it is to
make our case. It forces us into an awkward, defensive position-
standing up to save the life of a horrible person."  This
requires clarification: I mean only that the more heinous the
crime for which a person is charged