On June 25, an executioner in Texas killed Kimberly McCarthy with a lethal injection. As we all have probably read, this was the 500th execution in Texas since the death penalty was reinstated there in 1982.
This practice puts Texas and the United States in the exalted company of some pillars of enlightenment: Yemen, Syria, Oman, North Korea, Uganda, China, Iran, and the like. Around the world, 140 nations so far have banned the death penalty. If only America, which prides itself as a beacon of fairness, compassion and justice, would join them.
Ward Upson
Vancouver
