times they are a'changin'... maybe

Two days ago, the Chicago Tribune published a piece entitled 'Abolish the Death Penalty'. Yep, you read that right. The Trib has been for the death penalty for a little while ... ahem, since at least 1869.

Meanwhile, in Missouri, a Republican death penalty proponent, is sponsoring legislation that would halt the death penalty in MO until January 11, 2011 and create a Death Penalty Commission.

The commission will make recommendations for changes to the laws and court rules regarding death penalty cases to ensure that:

(1) Defendants who are sentenced to death are in fact guilty of first degree murder;

(2) Defendants are provided adequate counsel and adequate resources at trial and at the appellate and post-conviction stages;

(3) Race does not play an impermissible role in determining which defendants are sentenced to death;

(4) Appellate and post-conviction procedures are adequate to correct errors and injustices occurring at the trial level, including access to evidence for forensic testing; and

(5) Prosecutors throughout the state seek the death penalty in a uniform fashion.

The commission must issue a report of its findings to the Governor, General Assembly, and Missouri Supreme Court by January 1, 2011.

Gandhi said "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth and the whole world would soon be blind and toothless." I wonder if people are starting to listen... I know that's awfully optimistic of me.

Don't know the death penalty law or stats for your state? Go to the Death Penalty Information Center's website.