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Editorial: Criticism of Fletcher for signing execution order a cheap shot

November 30, 2004

Gov. Ernie Fletcher has been unfairly smeared by death penalty opponents for his decision to sign an execution order for Thomas Clyde Bowling.

The most recent attack on Fletcher was by a death penalty foe who claimed that Fletcher had violated the ethics code of the American Medical Association which prohibits physicians from being involved in executions.

That's nothing more than cheap shot. Fletcher is not acting as a physician when he signs an execution order. He's doing his sworn duty as governor, which is to uphold the laws of Kentucky.

Furthermore, as Fletcher pointed out in an interview Sunday, if physicians are to be held accountable to the medical code of ethics when they are acting in other capacities, "they wouldn't be able to do a lot of things," including serving on juries.

The other criticism that has been made of Fletcher is that the signing of a death warrant contradicts the governor's commitment to "moral values," including his opposition to abortion.

Again, such criticism ignores the fact that the governor is legally bound to uphold the laws of the state. As long as Kentucky has the death penalty on its books, the governor will have to sign execution orders unless he can find some legitimate reason for granting clemency.

In this case, the governor says he can find no such reason, and he feels compelled to honor the decision of the jury that sentenced Bowling to death.

Clearly, those who oppose the death penalty should focus their energy on persuading the state legislature to change the law, rather than making personal attacks on the governor who is charged with carrying it out.

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