Friday, October 12, 1934
Pago 4
Daily Nebraskan
I O ri O J "J
Jomfeeirt
just sentence
I confess to being one of
those so-called bleeding
hearts when it comes to
these matters concerning capi
tal punishment and the like.
However, for the first time, I
believe the Nebraska judicial
system passed a just sentence
when they issued their latest
cell on Death Row.
In a larger sense, I don't
believe the death penalty serves
as a deterrent. No one has
proven at anytime that be
cause one man is executed,
crime drops. But in John Jou
bert's case, it becomes more of
a matter of what can you do to
the individual, not what you
can do as an example.
Revenge is an easy crutch
for most favoring arguments
on the death penalty. As the
judges in the Joubert case said,
they trjed to sec the case
through the eyes of the victims.
You would have to go pretty
far before you found anyone
who wasn't emotionally dis
turbed by Joubert's crime. It
would easily follow that those
same emotions could be chan
neled into revenge against the
perpetrator.
But what can society do for
felons such as Joubert who
have no remorse for a crime,
no reason for it? The death
sentence is too cruel, too much
like answering a wrong with a
wrong. An irreversible life sent
ence is also too cruel, too un
Unsigned editorials represent
official policy of tne fall 1984
Daily Nebraskan. They are writ
ten by this semester's editor in
chief. Chris Welsch.
Editorials do not necessarily
reflect the views of the university.
"OltB.
,tq you belter
get
fair, being that it deprives the
man of any chance for freedom
even if he rehabilitates. And,
the current status of a life
sentence could mean he at
least is eligible for parole and
that's too good for him.
Joubert didn't just stumble
upon two Bellevue boys and
accidentally kill them. He was,
and is, a cold, calculating
murderer, who didn't see fit to
allow two children to live their
lives. There is the problem as
well of tax dollars supporting
an imprisoned criminal, and
the fact that some of these
men are so immersed in the
criminal world that they are
beyond reform. A man who
slaughtered two innocent boys
would have to be considered in
such a category.
When (if ever) Joubert is
executed, there is no reason to
believe an equally depraved
mind would hesitate to rape or
kill given the opportunity. But
doesn't Joubert deserve some
penalty for his actions?
When other ? entences have
been handed down that con
demned a man to death, I
considered it no more than a
useless eye for an eye. But it is
difficult, if not impossible, to
feel sorry for Joubert. As long
as the state sees fit to have the
death penalty in its status, this
is a prime example of a de
serving candidate.
Word W.Triplett III
Daily Nebraskan Senior Editor
its employees, t he students or the
NU Board of Regents.
According to the policy set by
the regents, responsibility for the
content of the newspaper lies
solely in the hands of its student
editors.
lEctitGirizil
Policy
U3
off now than-you were four years -ago?
hrr !.".'.' i . 17Tv-ri7gfir.fifa, ,i m hi i ' --y - - r -
;2a Letters
Deathpenalty
In Jeff Browne's editorial, "State
needs irreversible life sentence,"
he stated: "If we had an irrever
sible life sentence society would
not have the blood of another
human being on its hands." In the
same article he also stated, "State
law needs to be changed to take
these emotional issues out of
sentencing." These statements
seem to be contradictory to each
other.
I agree that the decision to
hand down a death penalty should
U.S. officials listen to clink of
I would like to respond to the
editor's simplistic commentary,
"If you dont vote, dont complain."
(Page 4, of Wednesday's Daily
Nebraskan.) First, let's dispense
with any notion of equal partici
pation in the election process.
Not everyone over 18 in the
United States has the chance to
vote. Hundreds of thousands of
homeless people in our cities can
not even register because they do
HAPWAlTfP j
J WHAT COUR tACKOtioutJP ; I -
law involves facts, not emotions
not be an emotional one. The
decision handed down by the
three judges was based on a law
that says the aggravating and
mitigating circumstances must be
balanced against each other. This
law is the result of a U.S. Supreme
Court decision in recent years,
Nebraska's law concerning the
death penalty deals with circum
stances surrounding the murder,
i;Ot emotional issues.
. We already have a life sentence ,
in Nebraska. To be released, a
not have an address. Do these
people have the right to com
plain? For those of us who do
have a home, our voting privilege
has become more a gesture than
a means of change.
The political weight of a single
ballot has been diminished in
recent years. It costs millions to
be elected President and hundreds
of thousands for a congressional
race. The bulk of this money is
lifer" must face the parole board.
The parole board considers the
behavior of the criminal while
incarcerated and determines if
he is fit to be released into society.
Nebraska does not need an
irreversible life sentence. The
death penalty is a just and fair
sentence, and an integral part of
our justice system in Nebraska.
Brad Stepp
, .i .-v. vv.v : junior
natural resources
coins, not vote
not donated by the average
American, but by wealthy indi
viduals. Political action commit
tees are playing an ever increas
ing role in determining the out
come of elections.
The Federal Election Commis
sion says that corporate PACs
alone have multiplied by more
than 17 times since 1974. Their
money i3 given as an Incentive"
Csitiissed en Page 5
