Hype and Hypocrisy

Why does our Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice, deny torture exists in our great country when the death penalty is alive, uneven in its use, more applicable in some states, completely banned in other states and does seem to be more about petty politics than punishment?

When the California Republican Party issued strong warnings to Governor Schwarzenneger that he will suffer the wrath of the party faithful if he fails to have the state of California execute Stanley "Tookie" Williams, is this not political gamesmanship?

But the real question is how can Condi Rice issue strong declarations which deny the US even uses torture when we execute children, the mentally afflicted and the mentally retarded? Why do we execute Timothy McVeigh and not Charles Manson, the "Unabomber," Sirhan Sirhan and Susan Smith? What consistency am I failing to grasp? If McVeigh had written books denouncing terrorism, should his life have been spared?

This is neither a plea to spare or not spare the life of "Tookie" Williams. This is a plea for consistency and a strong plea to spare us, the US citizens, the hypocrisy of Condi Rice's speech which condemns torture and in fact denies we even use torture in the US. The flagrant misuse of the death penalty in our great nation which is more about politics than justice is torture whether Condi Rice prefers to stay in denial or not.

Shoshana Rubin