Friday, July 30, 2010

Forehand vs. Kagan on the Death Penalty

From the District 17 Senate forum on July 19. Kagan went after Forehand for missing a vote on the issue and she is correct.

Posted by Adam Pagnucco at 8:00 PM

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1 comments:

Amy Fusting said...

Yes Kagan is correct, correct in admitting that the death penalty is racially biased and in stating that the government should not be taking lives. Yet she can't support the repeal of the death penalty because she wants to “leave space” for the government to make a statement? Maryland has executed 5 people since 1978. In every one of those 5 cases, the victim was white. The same is true of Maryland's death row. There are 5 people currently awaiting execution. In every case the victim is white. What statement is the government making here? And how exactly will one state legislator from District 17 who votes in favor of the death penalty control future “statements?” Is there any other public policy which requires an absurd “1000 %” conviction on the part of its makers?

Although the video caption failed to make this clear, Forehand is also correct in stating that her vote would not have changed the outcome. Even if Forehand had voted on the Brochin amendment (the vote in question) her vote would have made no difference. The amendment passed 24 to 22. The crucial vote in favor of that amendment belongs to Rona Kramer. Had she voted against the amendment the vote would have been 23 to 23, and the amendment would have failed. It should also be noted that Forehand did make other crucial votes that same day, including one particularly difficult vote in favor of the motion to substitute the repeal bill for the unfavorable committee report.

Finally, if we focus on actual votes cast, Forehand is in the lead. She has consistently voted for the repeal in committee and this past session voted against Miller's pro-death penalty bill. Conversely, in 1997, Kagan co-sponsored a bill which would have made any first degree murder “committed in a pitiless manner” a capital offense, arguably the most expansive pro-death penalty bill in years.

I doubt if Brian Frosh or Jamie Raskin, two of the state's most effective legislators, would like to be considered “lofty” for supporting the repeal of the death penalty in Maryland. I imagine they would simply say that they know how to read, weigh the arguments and come to the correct conclusion.

Amy Fusting

9:31 AM

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