VOTE NO ON #2!
It's Overkill!

INCREASE THE VISIBILITY OF THE VOTE NO ON #2 MESSAGE

A letter to the editor of a newspaper or magazine has a much better chance of being printed if it makes one clear and concise point. Shorter is better. A different letter could be written for each of the points made in the Points To Consider page of this website. Please send original clippings of any letters published to our office.

For a listing of email addresses for letters to the editor, visit the Newspaper Association of America: Hot Links to Newspapers Online.

Here is a sample letter:

To The Editor:

I am writing to express my concern about Ballot issue #2, which should concern anyone who believes in sound public policy.

Currently, the Florida Supreme Court has the authority to interpret the Florida Constitution. If Amendment 2 is passed, it will effectively strip this authority, and instead require the U.S. Supreme Court to decide how the death penalty will operate in Florida. Why would the Florida Legislature want to defer to the federal judiciary on such important an issue?

Issue #2 is political grandstanding at its worst. I urge everyone to vote "NO" on Issue #2.

Sincerely, (your name here)


Here are more examples:

Subject: Letter published in Fort Myers News-Press 10/27/98
Date: Thu, 29 Oct 1998 14:21:34 -0500 (EST)
From: RCALLEN@webtv.net (RICHARD C. ALLEN)
To: cuadp@cuadp.org

SOUND OFF
Today's Featured Letter to the Editor

Richard C. Allen
Fort Myers

VOTE TO KILL "OLD SPARKY"

I have been a practicing lawyer and legal educator for almost 50 years, and during all my professional career have sought to bring an end to capital punish- ment in America. Today, our country stands almost alone in the civilized world in continuing to kill in the name of "justice".

In Florida, we execute the death penalty by what is generally considered the cruelest method in use today: electrocution. Three times in the last decade, "Old Sparky", Florida's antique and unreliable electric chair, has failed to function "properly", causing its victim to die in agony.

Pedro Medina was burned alive last year, with flames issuing from his face mask, a vision of horror permanently engraved in the memories of the wit- nesses.

Before the 371 men and women on death row are killed - in the bizarre hope that killing teaches others not to kill - it is my earnest prayer that the citizens of Florida will abolish the death penalty.

But whether you oppose capital punishment or support it, there is every reason for you to vote "no" on Florida Constitution Revision 2 on the November ballot. The proposed amendment's title, "Preservation of the death penalty," is deceptive, because the death penalty will continue to be the law of Florida whether the amendment is passed or defeated.

If Amendment 2 is approved by the voters, capital punishment will be enshrined in the Constitution, no longer subject to oversight by the body closest to the people, the Florida Legislature. And, exclusive authority to review the death penalty will be conferred on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Amendment 2 will ekiminate Florida's unique constitutional provision outlawing cruel or unusual punishment, thus depriving Florida citizens of an important right. The will of 77% of Floridians, as shown by a recent Mason-Dixon Poll, to replace electrocution with lethal injection, will be frustrated.

Furthermore, Amendment 2 will create new legal issues, leading to more delays and greater expense in enforcing senten- ces of death. Amendment 2 does not preserve the death penalty, but it does preserve the electric chair.

The Florida Supreme Court has as yet failed to declare electrocution an uncon- stitutionally cruel penalty. but has come within a single vote of doing so; and five of the seven justices have urged the legislature to consider lethal injection as an alternative punishment.

Whether you support or oppose capital punishment, I hope you will join me in voting "No" on Amendment 2. Its passage would threaten, rather than advance, the objectives of the criminal law and the safety of the people of Florida.


Constitutional Amendment #2

The second constitutional amendment goes beyond the death penalty. If passed, it will effectively strip the authority of the Florida Supreme Court to interpret the Florida Constitution with regard to the definition of cruel and unusual punishment.

This function would be passed to the U.S. Supreme Court. More importantly, the constitutionality of punishment for all crimes, from shoplifting to embezzlement to capital murder, will be determined by the U.S. Supreme Court.

This is a clear abdication of the power of the Florida Supreme Court, which should concern all Floridians.

The title of the amendment - "Preservation of the Death Penalty" - is highly misleading. It would be far more accurate if the title read "Preservation of the Electric Chair." The death penalty in Florida is not in jeopardy; this is about preserving an outdated and unpopular method of execution.

Father Rene Roberts St. Augustine

Published in the Florida Times Union on October 23, 1998.