Published May 6, 2004, in issue 0318 of the Hook

Have I got this right? Virgil Goode voted against HR 3214 (the Debbie Smith Act) because, although it would provide law enforcement officers with additional tools to apprehend rapists, he was troubled because "I support the death penalty"?

Let's not even get into the morality, the usefulness as a deterrent or the cost-effectiveness of the death penalty. I thought that even death penalty advocates like Goode only wanted it to be applied to guilty criminals. DNA is a useful tool for both determining guilt as well as establishing innocence. HR 3214 would help law enforcement officers and the courts to be sure that, if somebody's going to die at the hand of the government, they really did what they're accused of doing.

To understand the support this bill got, it should be noted that Goode voted against it as it passed 357-67. It was backed by the Bush administration. It was co-sponsored by 7 of Virginia's 11 Congressmen, including Congressmen Tom Davis, Bob Goodlatte, Frank Wolf, and Randy Forbes. All of the other 10 Virginia Congressmen, both Republican and Democrat, voted for it on the floor. Senator John Warner has co-sponsored the corresponding bill in the Senate - SB 1700.

Goode is just out of touch with mainstream Virginia values. You don't let rapists walk the streets to attack women, and you don't kill innocent people.

Harry Landers
Free Union

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