To the editor:
Leo Morris in his piece “Can officials be trusted with death penalty” (March 16), touched on nearly every aspect except “what happens if the conviction is in error?” With every other penalty, an erroneous conviction can be reversed. If society puts someone to death, there is no redress — ever.
In a civilized society, the only possible justification for capital punishment is that it is the only way to assure the protection of the members of the society. In a modern political state, penal institutions are sufficiently secure to effectively assure society’s protection.
In the United States, there is no rational justification for the death penalty.
Bob Siefker
Greenwood
