George,

The sanctimonious and self righteous fundamentalist "Christians" who. with their Tea Party allies and like minded "good people" endeavor to nail the Ten Commandments to every school house and court house wall, they insist it is the "WORD OF GOD" and as such the "INDISPUTABLE FINAL WORD." What they fail to mention is one of those commands: "Thou shalt not kill," does not have an asterisk as far as I have seen granting exceptions that allow a government to legally kill another human being.

At the recent Tea Party sponsored Republican debate, the mob applauded Governor Perry's boastful claim of annihilating 234 human beings! Perry and they overwhelmingly claim Christianity and a strong belief in God as their moral guide.

Can someone who is more schooled in the area of biblical teachings than I, explain this contradiction?

A few days ago there was a homicide in Georgia (euphemistically called "capital punishment) not entirely unusual. Rick Perry has presided over 235 (two more recently) in Texas, but given that something over 115 human beings have been released from death rows nationwide as a result of DNA testing, new forensic evidence, questionable eyewitness testimony, police misconduct, etc. all of whom were originally found guilty "beyond a reasonable doubt," it would appear to me that the murder of Troy Davis was brought about by a legal "process." A process so haphazard, unfair and unevenly applied, it must surely lead to the execution of innocent human beings!

A process so familiar and sanctioned by Supreme Court judge Antonin Scalia & Company, as long as the "i's are dotted, "t"s crossed and the letter of the law followed--it simply does not allow retroactive second thoughts or exculpatory evidence, even when witnesses recant or complain of police coercion as was the case with the late Troy Davis's capital conviction.

Did I read these facts correctly?

The judge who made the decision to let the execution go forth said, "while the state's case is not ironclad, Davis has not sufficiently presented evidence of innocence."

How would Davis do that? There was no DNA, no gun, nothing, really except his pleading of "not guilty"

Apparently, this judge disregarded the legal standard "beyond a reasonable doubt."

Maybe one day our "old" reptilian brain of revenge, anger, fear, greed, and hate will finally be evolved away and a brain of dignity, humanity, culture, compassion and tolerance prevail. . . .

Humanity must do all it can to hasten that day.

Harry Tenney (Electronic mail, September 26, 2011)