Death Penalty

To the Editors: Your story on capital punishment [Jan. 24] was one of the best and most balanced pieces that I have read on that emotional and soul-searching issue. After analyzing the arguments on both sides, one can only conclude that the matter is far too complex to be dismissed with simplistic judgments.

John A. Vance Athens, Ga.

In the November elections I voted, with some hesitation, to put the death penalty on the books in Massachusetts. After reading about the atrocities in your article, my second thoughts have passed. There is no doubt in my mind that I made the correct choice.

Betsy Billard Brighton, Mass.

I was working at the U.S. penitentiary in Atlanta the day a 23-year-old female employee was brutally raped and killed by an inmate serving two life sentences for murder and rape. This woman's life would have been spared if the inmate had been executed after his conviction. Capital punishment is the only way to ensure that a person who has killed before will never kill again.

Eduardo Barajas Jr. Lewisburg, Pa.

Henry Brisbon complains about his small prison cell. Someone should remind him of the size of the coffin occupied by the woman he murdered. Janice P. Ellis Hayward, Calif.

The criminal who murdered my sister and orphaned her three children during a housebreaking showed no remorse. He is alive, soon to be free. By contrast, my sister has been slaughtered, and her family is still suffering. Gregory C. Meyer Fort Sam Houston, Texas

Must I teach my children that we have to kill people in order to convince others that killing is wrong? There must be a better way.

Stacy A. Alexander Houston

My loathing of murder is outweighed only by my abhorrence of the authority that claims the legal right to kill. Gerald James Gardner West Redding, Conn.

My daughter, her husband and their baby were stabbed to death recently. The bizarre nature of the multiple stabbings suggests that the murderer was mentally sick. I cannot believe that the execution of the individual responsible for the murder of my family is a solution. Rather than retribution, we need to support research into mental illness and crime. It is the best way to save lives. As a grieving father, I urge that forgiveness replace anger.

Norman Felton Los Angeles

I am a death-row prisoner in Florida. One issue not adequately covered in your otherwise objective article was the inevitability of a mistake. I know of 14 cases in which men who were once on death row have been set free. The Marquis de Lafayette put this issue into perspective when he said, "I shall ask for the abolition of the punishment of death until I have the infallibility of human judgment demonstrated to me."

Robert A. Sullivan Starke, Fla.

The death penalty would be a deterrent if administered to all murderers. The current practice in the U.S., which has allowed just six executions since 1977, is not a deterrent but a joke.

John Sikos Romeo, Mich.

If the death penalty is ever to be a deterrent to crime, we must remove the aura of romance and dignity that surrounds it. Perhaps if executions were shown on TV, some people would think twice before putting themselves in a position to receive the same treatment.

William J. Fleischaker Prosecuting Attorney, Jasper County Joplin, Mo.

The continuing argument over the death penalty does not alter the fact that at this moment Americans are predisposed to "fry" felons. A decade ago we were not. The pendulum of revenge will continue to swing.

Hardy F. LeBel Providence, R.I.

I disagree with the Rev. Jerry Falwell's claim that Jesus Christ favored the death penalty. Christ clearly denounces vengeance in Matthew 5:38-39, "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also."

Dan Wagner Wynnewood, Pa.

In Genesis 9:6, God is quoted as saying to Noah, "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed."

(The Rev.) Robert W. Eckardt Cedar Falls, Iowa

No matter how bloodthirsty, sick or satanic these criminals get, we must not stoop to their level. The commandment "Thou shalt not kill" applies to us too. Nora Berger Rockville, Conn.

Arms and Man

Why is it "preposterous" for the U.S.S.R. to be more interested than the U.S. in controlling nuclear weapons in Western Europe [Jan. 24]? The Soviets face the possible deployment of the Pershing II missile, which can strike into their territory in less than ten minutes. Andropov has sound reasons to bargain seriously for the control of nuclear weapons.

Stephen Wegren Center for Defense Information Washington, D.C.

Negotiations between the U.S. and the Soviets over intermediate-range nuclear missiles are irrelevant. No matter what the outcome, the U.S.S.R. can simply take some of its ICBMS and submarine-based missiles now aimed at us and retarget them at Europe. Unless the talks on intermediate-range missiles are linked to a massive reduction, if not outright elimination, of strategic nuclear missiles, the negotiators are wasting their time.

Paul Bakulski Manchester, Conn.

Nicaraguan Tale

The article "New Regime, Old Methods" [Jan. 24], based on an interview with Roberto Guillen, contains false charges against the Nicaraguan government. My government's open-door policy to visits by international human rights organizations, such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Amnesty International and Pax Christi, is sufficient to counter Guillen's baseless allegations.

Julio Icaza Gallard Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations from Nicaragua New York City TIME stands by the validity of Roberto Guillen's story.

Hatchet Job

It is about time someone called attention to the negative interview style [Jan. 17]. It has become chic to put down another writer in order to make oneself look better, which is what James Conaway of the Washington Post did in his interview with Willie Morris.

Michael P. Cawley Oxford, Miss.

You put into precise words my frequent revulsion with the new journalism. A petty piece of writing remains petty whatever label it is given.

Patricia L. Cooper Blacksburg, Va.

Importance of Winning

Your article "Surviving the Super Bowl" [Jan. 24] is a sobering comment on life in America, where the term burnout is now more widely used than the word success. By insisting on winning in competitive sports, we have encouraged self-destructive behavior.

Kathleen Seusy Moline, III.

Stopping Scoff laws

Re your Essay on scofflaws [Jan. 24]: most people obey laws not because they fear the penalty but because they believe the laws to be good and necessary. Rules that are not widely perceived as essential tend to be ignored. This was the case with Prohibition; it may also be true of the 55-m.p.h. speed limit. If many motorists are ignoring the speed limit, they may be voting with their right foot.

John Griffiths Sedona, Ariz.

The growing disregard for the nation's laws is insidious and damaging to everyone's safety and welfare.

Kent E. Watson San Francisco

Reporting Economics

The networks are not only reporting the state of the economy, they are influencing it [Jan. 24]. The country's financial performance is affected by the expectations of Americans. By harping on bad economic news and ignoring the good, television undermines our confidence and therefore weakens the economy.

A. Robert Florio Jamaica, N. Y.

Australian Intrigue (Contd.)

I write as the former Governor-General of Australia who in November 1975 terminated the commission of Gough Whitlam as Prime Minister of Australia and thereby dismissed his government. You discussed that event in your issue of Dec. 13. Your article stated that since the dismissal, allegations have surfaced that "the CIA had a hand in Whitlam's fall." You referred to a recent piece in Foreign Policy magazine in which a Professor James A. Nathan stated that "a plausible case is being developed that CIA officials may have also done in Australia what they managed to achieve in Iran, Guatemala and Chile: destroy an elected government." I do not know what the CIA did or did not do in those other countries, but it is totally false to say that it did this in Australia.

Before publishing your story you gave me an opportunity to comment, but I decided to continue my longstanding policy of not speaking to the press about these events. However, Nathan's article presents much rumor, gossip and allegation as fact. As a result of being mentioned in TIME, his piece has received widespread circulation in the U.S. and throughout the world. Thus I have come to the conclusion that my denial of CIA participation in any act of mine should be equally widely published.

My decision to dismiss Mr. Whitlam was exclusively my own, made upon my sole and full responsibility as Governor-General. No one else produced it. The CIA had no part in it.

The Rt. Hon. Sir John Kerr London This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.