Van Os Blasts Abbott's Death Penalty Pandering

It looks like Greg Abbott may be scared that his right-wing base will stay at home on election day, due to the many Republican blunders and criminal acts. Now, in an effort to pander to that base, Abbott has declared that he is in favor of the death penalty for sexual predators. Don't get me wrong - I am in favor of harsh punishment for this type of crime. But the death penalty shouldn't be on the table unless a life was lost.

Fortunately, Abbott has an opponent that believes in applying the law in a fair and common sense way, instead of pandering to fringe voters. David Van Os, the Democratic candidate for Attorney General, gave us his own views on this matter yesterday. This is what he had to say:


While I support stiff penalties for sex predators, I am opposed to the death penalty as punishment for a crime that did not result in a death. In my opinion the death penalty in such circumstances would be out of proportion to the crime. Applying the death penalty to cases where there has not been a homicide undercuts the seriousness of capital punishment. Also, reserving the death penalty for homicides saves some crime victims' lives. Making non-homicide crimes subject to the death penalty will result in some criminals killing the victim where they might not have done so, since they've already committed a capital crime and have nothing to lose by committing murder.

This makes me the exact opposite of Greg Abbott, who favors the death penalty for sex predators. Abbott's position on this issue is typical of his grandstanding. It is also typical of the way he deals with families. In his administration of child support, for example, he does not care about the families who are involved in anguishing situations. He only cares about getting his statistics to use as political bragging points. In many sex predator cases the offender is a family member who needs treatment and cure. To apply the death penalty in many such cases would only bring more anguish to an already distressed family. Families need help, not death needles.

~David Van Os