Run from the truth in VA

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This past week, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice traveled to Europe to rally support against Iran. Rice and her European counterparts have worked hard to bridge their differences and unite around a single plan for Iran. The various world leaders are all optimistic that an alliance can be formed, but one must ask if the United States is making its alliance with the right nations.

The United States, Iran, China, and Vietnam account for 84% of all executions worldwide. That's right. While our European friends have all abolished the death penalty, we remain on par with the very country our president defines as evil.

Even worse is how the United States executes the death penalty. Our state of Virginia provides a prime example of injustice on death row.

In 1996, Daryl Atkins, a mentally retarded man, robbed and killed an innocent man. The courts found him guilty, and Virginia tried to execute him even though his mental deficiencies prevented him from fully understanding his actions. Atkins took his case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court in 2002 and won a nationwide ban of executions of the mentally retarded as cruel and unusual punishment. But that hasn't stopped Virginia.

In the structured environment of prison and in close contact with educators and attorneys, Atkins has thrived. Because of this mental stimulation, which is likely more than he has ever received, Atkins now tests higher on IQ tests. Instead of scoring just below the line for mental retardation, Atkins scores just high enough to qualify for the death penalty. And prosecutors are taking Atkins back to court so they can return him to death row. Is this the justice we want pursued in our name?

Virginia in particular is a leader in executions in the worst possible way. Virginia was the first to execute a convict in the New World. The state has executed more people than any other state in the United States. Virginia also holds the records for most executions of women and youngest children. Only recently has Virginia slipped to second place in the number of executions per year. Texas, a state with a much higher population, holds that record.

Virginia is also very inclusive in its application of the death penalty. Children 16 years of age and older qualify. Until Atkins 2002 Supreme Court case, the mentally handicapped were also eligible with seven mentally handicapped prisoners executed in Virginia's history. Unfortunately, it appears the mentally handicapped are still eligible.

The death penalty is already a miscarriage of justice. Even more appalling is the flagrant abuse of the death penalty against the underprivileged in our society. Who are we to criticize other nations when we ourselves commit the same crimes?

Though Virginia is one state out of 50, it forces us to ask when we will stop pointing the finger at other nations and address the injustices in our own nation. Do I recommend a "regime change" in Virginia? No. I merely ask for the nation that is blameless to throw the first stone.