The death penalty is swiftly gaining speed as the Republicans' "wedge" issue in the 2005 Virginia gubernatorial campaign.
Democratic candidate Tim Kaine opposes the death penalty, citing his Catholic faith, but says that he will not exercise the governor's power to grant clemency any more liberally than previous governors. Republican candidate and sitting Attorney General Jerry Kilgore, on the other hand, is taking an approach to the death penalty that seems, well...bloodthirdsty.
The centerpiece of Kilgore's legislative agenda is called the Death Penalty Enhancement Act, which proposes to remove the "hung jury" and "trigger man" restrictions on death sentencing. The Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star says:
See more on the VA Death Penalty issue below the fold...
Kilgore's legislative package--which will have to be introduced by lawmakers because Kilgore cannot introduce legislation himself--seeks to eliminate the "triggerman" requirement that in order to receive the death penalty, the defendant must have been the person to actually pull the trigger. [...]
Kilgore also wants to get rid of the "life in prison" default sentence when a jury in a capital case is hung. He wants to allow courts to dismiss hung juries and impanel new ones in capital cases.
Meanwhile, Kilgore's campaign has been taking every opportunity to highlight Kaine's opposition to the death penalty, saying that his position is "out of step" with "Virginia values". It's alarming to think that the GOP might succeed in defining state executions of human beings as a "Virginia value" - and even more alarming to think that in its effort to win the governorship, the Republican Party will remove safeguards that currently reduce (but don't eliminate) the likelihood that innocent people will be executed in Virginia.
Kilgore's death penalty proposals are so well coordinated with his campaign rehetoric that one can't help but think that his legislative agenda is motivated by his political ambitions rather than by a sincere desire to improve Virginia law enforcement. My question is this: How many people is Jerry Kilgore willing to wrongly execute in order to become governor of Virginia?
Kaine's team has been quiet about Kilgore's proposal, either because the media hasn't been asking, or because they don't want to play into Kilgore's attempt to demagogue the issue. They have, however, responded to Kilgore's attacks:
Kaine's campaign officials said that every time Kilgore discusses the death penalty, they will shift the conversation to Kaine's support of strict crime policies as Richmond's mayor and to Kilgore's opposition to the state's 2004 budget deal, which included money for police and firefighters.
"Tim's never apologized for his faith-based, moral opposition to the death penalty," spokesman Mo Elleithee said. "These two cases were court-appointed cases, and he felt a moral obligation under the code of legal ethics to provide them with a defense."
Elleithee also vows to hit back at Kilgore. He accused the attorney general of once defending a hospital executive who embezzled money and of being the lawyer for a state worker who falsified safety inspection reports for mines.
"He's represented some very shady characters during his years as an attorney," Elleithee said.
As someone who is wholly opposed to the death penalty for several reasons, all of which are trumped by the fact that no government should be in the business of killing people, it's a shame to see a situation where Democrats can't stand up and fight the death penalty for fear of falling into an electoral trap. On the other hand, the issue is a clear loser for Kaine given Virginia's socially conservative leaning, and it's clear that for death penalty opponents such as myself, a Democrat with strong reservations about the death penalty is a far better choice than a Republican who is demagoguing the issue to the point of trying to remove safeguards that help to ensure that the innocent are not executed.
Tim Kaine is a strong Democrat who has the record and the charisma to keep the Virginia governor's office in Democratic hands. Jerry Kilgore is a petty, bloodthirsty menace who is playing to the worst in the electorate. Democrats must fight in Virginia in 2005, not only to regain some momentum after the 2004 elections, but perhaps more importantly to end the political climb of Jerry Kilgore, protégé of George Allen (who is perhaps grooming him for John Warner's senate seat...) and all-around partisan hack.
How many innocent people are you willing to kill for your career, Jerry, how many?
Coming soon: Kilgore and Big Pharma and the Top Ten Reasons to Elect Tim Kaine Governor of Virginia in 2005