The jury box inside Courtroom 201 at the Arapahoe County District Court in Centennial which was used in the James Holmes trial. Jurors gave Holmes life in prison without parole over the death penalty (Brennan Linsley, Pool, Associated Press file)
It is time for Colorado to join the 19 other states that have abolished the death penalty. The back-to-back trials of James Holmes and Dexter Lewis make the choice clear. The commonalities of the cases include gruesome murders committed by assailants with histories of mental health issues. The differences include a substantially higher death and casualty toll in the Holmes case, and the greater likelihood of some shared responsibility with other perpetrators in the Lewis case. Objectively, Holmes might be the more likely candidate for execution.
Mounting evidence from across the nation has demonstrated that the death penalty is administered neither fairly nor reliably. It is disproportionately meted out to defendants who are poor and racial minorities. We must put an end to this arbitrary and unjust system.
Randi Smith, Denver
The writer is an associate professor of psychology at Metropolitan State University of Denver.
This letter was published in the Aug. 21 edition.
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