What Russia, South Africa and U.S. Have in Common

Ed Clayton (Letters, Nov. 6) suggests it would be more honest to argue against the death penalty per se than “to hide their argument behind a righteous campaign of racial equality.” Here goes:

The United States stands alone among Western nations in its continued use of capital punishment. Israel, a frequent victim of the most vicious of crimes, terrorism, has executed no one since Adolf Eichmann, the Nazi war criminal.

Britain, France, and Germany--also plagued by terrorism--do not resort to capital punishment.

Britain’s Parliament overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to reinstate the death penalty in 1983.

France, the last European nation to execute its criminals, abolished the death penalty in 1981.

West Germany’s constitution forbids capital punishment.

Sweden abolished the death penalty as far back as 1920.

The United States is out of step with the very countries whose basic values are most similar to ours.

Even Turkey, often criticized for its violations of human rights, has substituted 30 years’ imprisonment for the death penalty.

Our forefathers prepared the Declaration of Independence out of “a decent respect to the opinions of mankind.” The only opinions of mankind that coincide with the United States’ opinion on the death penalty are those whose basic values are least similar to ours: the Soviet Union, Communist-bloc nations, South Africa, dictatorships, Third World countries.

The United States is keeping strange company in clinging to capital punishment.

MAYGENE GIARI

Pasadena