How Executive Decision Works
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M E M O R A N D U M
| To: | The President of the United States |
| From: | D. N. Forser, Chief of Staff |
| Re: | Capital Punishment |
| Date: | April 6, 2000 |
Dear Mr./Ms. President:
Even as the number of executions mounts, faith in the justice of the death penalty has been shaken by a rain of revelations of police and prosecutorial misconduct surrounding capital-punishment cases. Influenced by exposés (like the one in the November, 1999, issue of The Atlantic Monthly) of the criminal-justice system in Illinois, where innocent men have been condemned to death, Governor Ryan has declared a moratorium on the death penalty, opening a national debate over it. The public remains overwhelmingly in favor of the death penalty, but nine out of ten Americans also favor the use of DNA evidence to determine the guilt or innocence of today's prison population, including those awaiting execution. Opinion is more labile on this question than at any other time since 1976, when the Supreme Court ruled that death was not the kind of "cruel and unusual punishment" proscribed by the Constitution. Reporters will soon begin asking you to comment on the death penalty in light of the Illinois moratorium and the revelations about the criminal-justice system that lie behind it. As President you have no executive control over state governments, which administer the death penalty, but you have a role to play as moral leader. The question for you to decide is: should you lead a movement to end the death penalty or stay out of it as a matter for the states to settle?
Two of your advisors have written memos advocating distinct courses of action. You'll want to read them before you make your decision. Good luck.
A. Lead a Crusade of Conscience Against the Death Penalty (Read a memo in favor of Option A.)
B. Stay Out of It (Read a memo in favor of Option B.)
All material copyright © 2000 by The Atlantic Monthly Group. All rights reserved.
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