| Ignorance, life and death ... Among the social issues inciting public debate including slot machines at race tracks, Affirmative Action and tax cut proposals two concerns of urgent consequence await life or death decisions from our top federal and state leaders. They are whether to go to war against Iraq and whether to resume death penalty executions in Maryland. As of today, Jan. 28, the U.N. weapons inspectors have inconclusively reported no findings but prevailing suspicions of Saddam Husseins hidden weapons of mass destruction. President Bush prepares to give his State of the Union speech and promises to declassify and reveal evidence of those elusive weapons next week. Meanwhile, plenty of sabers are rattling on both sides of the Iraqi border as missile launchers, battleships, fighter jets and anti-aircraft weapons are positioned, and reportedly 80,000 U.S. troops stand poised on Saddams doorstep, waiting for the order to attack. On the home front, incoming Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich, a United Methodist, wants to discontinue the moratorium on death penalty executions, which United Methodists were instrumental in obtaining. Meanwhile, Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, state Attorney General Joe Curran and others are calling for the hiatus to be extended. They cite the compelling, but not surprising, University of Maryland report which found that those convicted of killing white victims are much more likely to be sentenced to death than those who murder black victims. Another finding points to a pattern of geographical discrimination, in which Baltimore County prosecutors seek and win the death penalty much more often than prosecutors in Baltimore city and neighboring counties. Beyond these racial and geographical bias concerns, however, is a more troubling one affecting numerous states: inmates convicted of murders and rapes are being found innocent. Some are exonerated by DNA evidence, some by confessions from the real perpetrators. In too many cases, malpractice among prosecutors and defense attorneys is found to be the damning culprit. Departing Illinois Gov. George Ryan, also a United Methodist, after halting executions three years ago, recently pardoned four apparently innocent inmates awaiting execution and commuted the death sentences of 167 others because he found or suspected errors in their prosecution. If Gov. Ehrlich resumes executions in Maryland, some families and friends who lost loved ones to heinous murders may look forward to finding peace and vindication once convicted murderers are put to death. But will they feel such assurance knowing that the system is so fraught with injustice and too often wrong in its convictions? Do two tragic wrongs add up to a right? Meanwhile, if the dogs of war are unleashed, lives are lost, the dubious weapons are found and Saddam is toppled, will we feel safer or more secure? Biological, chemical and nuclear weapons will continue to exist here at home and in other places. Terrorists will continue to pose a threat to our nation perhaps a greater, more emboldened threat. Government-sanctioned violence whether preemptive, as in Iraq, or punitive, as in the death penalty panders to our fears and our desire for vengeance. The common denominators here are our immorality in choosing violence as a solution and our ignorance of whether such violence is warranted or justly administered. It does seem odd that in this scientific era of sophisticated intelligence and forensics capabilities, we would callously make fatal judgments with so little certainty. Our ignorance may lead us to once again destroy the lives of people that we may have judged and punished unfairly for crimes they may not have committed. Such actions are neither preemptive nor redemptive, but merely insane. UMConnection will publish a special, 8-page issue next week containing excerpts from In Defense of Creation, the Council of Bishops historic 1986 anti-war statement. We urgently recommend that you read, use and share it with others. I also recommend an insightful booklet, Capital Punishment, A Faith-Based Study, by Hunter P. Mabry, published in 2002 by Abingdon and available from Cokesbury. Many of us, and our leaders, joined thousands of worshippers and peace marchers recently in the yearly ritual of celebrating Martin Luther King Jr.s birthday and invoking his commitment to peace and justice. Now we need to truly honor his memory and his vision by turning away from ignorance, war and violent retribution, and embracing instead truth, justice and moral, life-affirming restraint. Clearly, it is time to come to our senses. | 
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