Death Penalty Issue

Regarding “Capital Punishment Held Up as Life or Death Campaign Issue” (Aug. 30, about the Florida gubernatorial campaign): It truly frightens me to think that the people who run our country are elected because of their promise to kill. The death penalty has never been proven to deter murder or any other crime; it does not bring the victims back; it does nothing but satisfy a need for revenge. Meanwhile, the crimes more likely to actually affect us--robbery, vandalism, gangs, etc., and their prevention and punishment--have been pushed to the background. These issues hide behind a smoke screen called the death penalty, which the politicians want us to believe is the answer to all of society’s ills.

MIRIAM BILLINGTON

Santa Monica