Beyond the ‘Humanly Tolerable’

FOR a long time, it has seemed that conservatives are as mindlessly enamored of the hangman as liberals are of the abortionist. Given recent developments, however, we may now see a break in at least the former affinity. It would be salutary if George W. Bush, the champion of “compassionate conservatism” and the official in charge of the busiest assembly line of executions in the nation, were embarrassed by the sordid details that have come out of Texas. Perhaps he might even be induced to add a modest disclaimer to his bland assertion of confidence that no innocent person has ever been executed on his watch.

The evidence is rapidly mounting of the likelihood that innocent people have indeed been executed all along. And, as Carl M. Cannon said in the recent NATIONAL Review, conservatives should not be surprised by this, since the judicial system, after all, is a branch of government: Conservatives have a supremely validated suspicion about government in all of its branches. It is almost an instinct of conservatives to distrust the wisdom of government, and therefore to limit its powers; surely this distrust should extend to this ultimate power over life and death.

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Peter L. Berger

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FOR a long time, it has seemed that conservatives are as mindlessly enamored of the hangman as liberals are of the abortionist. Given recent developments, however, we may now see a break in at least the former affinity. It would be salutary if George W. Bush, the champion of “compassionate conservatism” and the official in charge of the busiest assembly line of executions in the nation, were embarrassed by the sordid details that have come out of Texas. Perhaps he might even be induced to add a modest disclaimer to his bland assertion of confidence that no innocent person has ever been executed on his watch.

The evidence is rapidly mounting of the likelihood that innocent people have indeed been executed all along. And, as Carl M. Cannon said in the recent NATIONAL Review, conservatives should not be surprised by this, since the judicial system, after all, is a branch of government: Conservatives have a supremely validated suspicion about government in all of its branches. It is almost an instinct of conservatives to distrust the wisdom of government, and therefore to limit its powers; surely this distrust should extend to this ultimate power over life and death.