Posted: 9/28/06
Death penalty stance separates attorney general candidates
by T.W. Budig
ECM Capitol Reporter
Death penalty politics is helping to define the Minnesota Attorney General race.
Rep. Jeff Johnson, R-Plymouth, on September 19 proposed the death penalty for sex offenders who murder a child in the commission of a sex crime.
ìI think the death penalty should at least be on the table,î said Johnson, Republican candidate for attorney general.
Johnson indicated that he would be willing to consider a broader application of the death penalty, but for now is restricting the proposal to sex offenders.
The proposal has supporters. Gov. Tim Pawlenty supports the death penalty for the most heinous crimes, and during the 2007 session would work with Johnson to pass the death penalty initiative, said Pawlenty Campaign spokesman Brian McClung.
Rep. Tom Hackbarth, R-Cedar, who has authored death penalty legislation in the past, said he supports Johnsonís capital punishment proposal. ìAnd I would definitely carry it (the legislation),î said Hackbarth.
But Hackbarth, who believes Minnesotans support the death penalty, noted that death penalty legislation has floundered in the Legislature.
ìThat is confusing to me,î said Hackbarth of a perceived disconnect between public sentiment and legislative action.
Independence Party Attorney General candidate John James opposes the death penalty. ìI am not supportive of the death penalty,î said James.
ìI think itís a mistake ó I think this is the politics of fear weíre taking about hereî he said.
The death penalty does not deter criminals, James explained. ìThink about how cracked and crazy youíd have to be to kill a child. You think the death penalty is going to deter that,î asked James.
The death penalty doesnít deter crime, it costs a fortune, and people make mistakes, he said.
James opposition to the death penalty is shared by Independence Party gubernatorial candidate Peter Hutchinson.
Hutchinson who has lampooned the perceived use of the Five Gs ó guns, gays, God, gynecology, (sports) gladiators ó by politician as wedge issues, added ìguillotineî to the list.
ìI think this is being raised for exactly the same reason,î said Hutchinson of the death penalty as a wedge issue.
He questioned whether the proposal would have come up at all had there been no election.
DFL gubernatorial candidate Attorney General Mike Hatch in a statement indicated support for the death penalty for criminals guilty of certain heinous crimes.
But Hatch added that studies have shown that current death penalty statutes have resulted in an innocent person being executed, a murderer escaping justice.
ìIf there was adequate assurance of certainty, I would support a death sentence for certain crimes,î said Hatch. ìUnfortunately, I have not seen one drafted that meets this standard,î he said.
DFL Attorney General candidate Lori Swanson indicated that any death penalty legislation she would look at must include assurances that an innocent person could not be put to death.
Swanson made her comment at a Capitol press conference.
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