Idaho Statesman

IDAHO: Clergy, activists, lawmaker want executions deferred--Moratorium would allow time to study changes in process

A group of clergy, social activists and defense attorneys joined Boise Democrat Rep. David Bieter Tuesday in his call for a 2-year moratorium on the death penalty.

 The group gathered on the Statehouse�s 4th floor and heard from Bieter, Sun Valley attorney Andrew Parnes and former death row inmate Donald Paradis, who was released after about 2 decades when his conviction was thrown out.

 Paradis said the system is unfair, and it can condemn innocent people. "We need more than a 2-year moratorium on the death penalty," he said.

 Paradis would take it off the books altogether.

 "I had my 1st hot meal in 22 years on April 10, 2002," he said. "I can�t even support my family because the years have passed me by."

 The Rev. Susan Watterson of the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Boise said her reading of the Bible leads to a more compassionate justice.

 "What kind of people do we want to be?" she asked. "And what kind of world do we want to live in?"

 Parnes noted that since the state reinstated the death penalty, 2 people have been freed, even more have seen their sentences revoked, and just 1 person waived his rights to appeal and was executed.

 He said defense attorneys like to think they do a good job, but it'�s often luck that can result in an innocent defendant'�s freedom.

 Bieter�s bill would keep the state from killing any death row inmates for 2 years, but it wouldn�t stop prosecutors from seeking the death penalty or juries from imposing it. It would create a commission to study whether the system could be made more fair.

 He said the supporters of a bill to reinstate the death penalty - which passed both houses easily - could also support this closer look. He pointed to a recent public policy poll by Boise State University that found while just 20 % of Idahoans oppose the death penalty, about 44 % said the state should impose a moratorium on it to allow study.

 "The time is definitely right for some calm thinking on this issue," Bieter said.