NATION - moratorium on executions vetoed

National Catholic Reporter, June 4, 1999 by Matt Kantz

Nebraska governor vetoes moratorium on executions

The Nebraska Legislature nearly became the first in the nation to place a moratorium on executions, but Gov. Mike Johanns vetoed the legislature's vote May 26.

The one-chamber, nonpartisan Legislature May 20 voted 27-21 in favor of a bill that puts a two-year ban on executions while a study is done to see if the death penalty is being applied fairly in the state. Death sentences could be imposed during the two years, but no executions would take place.

Johanns -- a Republican and Roman Catholic in his first year in office -- said the moratorium would be poor public policy, and death row inmates would use it as a basis for unnecessary appeals.

"The death penalty is the law of Nebraska," he said. "We have an obligation to enforce that law."

Johanns said he received more than 250 letters, e-mails and calls on the matter, including a call from Pope John Paul II's representative in washington, urging him to sign the bill. Johanns said he did not let politics or religion play a role in his decision.

The American Bar Association and the National Conference of Catholic Bishops have called for such moratoriums. Other states have considered them but have not approved legislation.

Three men have been put to death since Nebraska resumed executions in 1994 after a 35-year hiatus.

Effort to reinstate Maine death penalty fails

An effort to re-establish the death penalin Maine was defeated in May, when both houses of the state Legislature rejected a bill calling for a public referendum on the issue.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Debra Plowman, R-Hampden, was one of several efforts in the Legislature in recent years to reinstate capital punishment in Maine, which has not had the penalty for 112 years. The latest measure would have established the death penalty for the murder of a child under 16; a police or corrections officer; more than two people; and an elected official.

A prominent opponent of the measure was the state's corrections commissioner, Martin Magnusson, who told the legislature that he could not order or carry out an execution. "I've seen [murder] cases that absolutely make me sick," said Magnusson, a former prison warden. "They make me angry. But that doesn't mean the state should kill the killers." Magnusson supported Maine's sentencing option of life without parole.

He testified that commissioners and wardens in other states warned him that the death penalty "gets easier and easier once you start. Soon you don't mind executing women, people with mental problems and younger inmates," he said.

The last execution in Maine occurred in 1885. The executed man suffered for 17 minutes because of a poorly tied noose, and the incident led to the repeal of capital punishment in 1887.

Judge rules Daly's classes can be withheld from roster A Middle sex Superior Court in Cambridge, Mass., ruled May 24 that Boston College was within its rights in not listing Mary Daly's course on introductory feminist ethics in next semester's course roster.

Judge Martha Sosman wrote in her decision that a professor's defiance of the university's nondiscrimination policy -- "in this case, a vehement and very public defiance -- would give the school ample grounds for her termination."

Daly barred Duane Naquine from her class, saying she found that having both men and women in feminist courses is not a good mix. Naquine, represented by the Center for Individual Rights, a conservative public-interest law firm, threatened to sue if he was not admitted. After school officials demanded Daly admit Naquine, Daly took a leave of absence and said she was effectively forced to retire.

School officials say they can't allow her to continue teaching "separate but equal" courses, which they argue violate federal antidiscrimination laws.

"It seemed the logical course of action to take, given that [Daly's] stated preference not to teach men is so clearly in violation of federal law," said Jack Dunn, a college spokesman.

Gretchen Van Ness, Daly's attorney, said the college has used "backdoor tactics" to fire a tenured professor because she disagreed with them.

Seven protesters arrested at Andrews Air Force base

Seven protesters were arrested May 15 at the Department of Defense Air Show at Andrews Air Force base in Washington after they unfurled antiwar signs next to a B-52 bomber.

Veteran protesters Philip Berrigan, Art Laffin, Coretta Warren, Susan Crane, Katie Krolcyzk, Jim Goodnow and Liz McAlister were charged with trespass and failure to obey the orders of an officer. They were ticketed and released after six hours in custody.

The protesters stood in front of the B-52 bomber and B-1B bombers, which were cordoned after last year's "Gods of Metal" Plowshares demonstration when protesters used hammers and poured blood onto the planes.

"We got through a litany Art Laffin had brought with him when we were surrounded by airmen who ripped the banners from our hands and forced us to kneel and then took us into custody," McAlister said.