Consider these two approaches to discussing the wisdom of the death penalty

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http://www.suntimes.com/opinions/7698158-474/editorial-on-death-whistles-and-cheers.html

Editorials September 18, 2011 10:34PM

On death, whistles and cheers

Consider these two approaches to discussing the wisdom of the death penalty:

† At a Republican presidential debate two weeks ago, the audience whistled and cheered when the moderator noted that Texas Gov. Rick Perry had approved the execution of 234 inmates — more than any other governor in modern times.

† In Jackson, Miss., last week, the family of James Anderson, a black man beaten to death in an allegedly racist attack, asked prosecutors not to seek the death penalty against the two young white men charged with the murder. Sparing them, Anderson’s family said, might “spark a dialogue that one day will lead to the elimination of capital punishment.”

That same dialogue might just as well lead to the continued use of capital punishment, because plenty of thoughtful people see the matter differently.