Once in a while, seldom often enough to make it news and not just same-old-same-old, an elected official will come out on the right side. Although our Ohio Governor John Kasich usually races to the right of every issue, this time he deliberated and came out right. Gov. Kasich affirmed the decision to commute a man’s death sentence to life imprisonment.
In an unusual foray into wisdom, Gov. Kasich looked into the condemned man’s background and determined that, while the man’s crime of murder of an elderly neighbor was not excused by his abuse and neglect as a child, in his case, the death penalty was not appropriate. Typical of the prisoner’s early life, he was sold as a child by his abusive and alcoholic father for a bottle of moonshine and then sexually assaulted by the purchaser. In addition, the prisoner has been adjudicated to be mildly retarded. Indeed, as Gov. Kasich has wisely decided, there are criteria other than the horror of a crime to be evaluated in deciding the appropriateness of the death penalty.
So, Gov. Kasich, you have shown an example of real political leadership! Congratulations! I did not vote for you but I readily applaud you!
Don’t stop with just one example! Try again! You have shown that wisdom does not deliberately elude you, except perhaps when you rush to the right.
Sanchismos 