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My name is Bill Aleshire. I write to encourage those who oppose the death penalty, as I do, to withhold public support or contributions for any candidate for District Attorney who does not pledge to refrain from use of the death penalty. Regardles of which candidate you end up voting for, death penalty opponents should be heard loud and clear in this Democratic Primary election by contacting the candidates and letting them know you oppose the death penalty.
This is a unique opportunity because the selection of the next District Attorney is practically confined to the Democratic Primary since there is no Republican candidate. Although the death penalty maintains broad support statewide, Democratic voters in Travis County can elect a D.A. who would professionally and competently enforce the law without using the death penalty.
The death penalty is not mandatory. The D.A. decides whether to seek the death penalty or not. Death penalty opponents have been practically beaten into submissive silence by the notion that stopping this inhumane practice is not politically feasible. Instead of debating an end to the death penalty, it has shifted to debating--can you believe it?--whether the death penalty should be administered "humanely." That's the same Orwellian nonsense as making bombs "smart."
Don't give up. The Democratic Primary voters could make a difference in how the next D.A. handles this issue. The criminal justice system, even in this allegedly progressive community, is not perfect, and innocent people can be convicted, particularly if their ultimate fate on appeal is dependent on the likes of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals who would close their doors rather than give a death-row inmate 15 minutes extra to file an appeal.
If you oppose the death penalty, please don't publicly support a D.A. candidate who will use the power of that office to continue this vengeful, barbaric practice.
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