Radical feminists can’t handle others’ beliefs
Has there ever been a nation whose majority saw themselves as victims of some sort of “establishment” that has declared war on them? This coven is generally led and founded by rich, white women, loudmouths, Hillary, the Katy Perrys of the world, leftwing pols and Cher. Scarlett Johansson (Names and Faces, April 8) demands Ivanka Trump not only change her beliefs, but herself! She doesn’t fit the mold of a radical feminist and I fully expect they’ll accuse her of being the wrong sex.
It’s a selfish, ignorant simpleton to require others be in lock-step with any philosophy (Hitler!) and think they’re more equal than others. It’s inhumane, and to use a liberal buzzword, it’s not “inclusive.” Imagine this lack of respect for others not like ourselves started during the Obama administration and now these women are forlorn and exasperated, poor dears.
I fail often, but I’m of the bent that every person is required to be treated with dignity and respect. You “warriors” could have been born in Iran or South Korea, but for the grace of God.
I will leave you with an expression borrowed from Ernie Ford: Bless your pea-pickin hearts.
STEVE HILL
Bella Vista
Governor can give closure on killings now
I have struggled with the death penalty most of my adult life. In trying to assess what it means for a state to intentionally take a human life in circumstances that don’t necessitate it, I appreciate what seems like even-handed coverage on the issue by the Democrat-Gazette these last few weeks. But like a letter to the editor in the April 16 paper, I, too, was bothered when the paper’s editorial of Good Friday seemed to state the governor has no role to play in the deaths of these men. The truth is, the governor is not just a cog in a wheel. His hands are not tied. There is nothing that compels or coerces him to execute these men. The citizens of Arkansas have given a jury and judge the right to impose the sentence of death. Those same citizens, acting through the Arkansas Constitution, have explicitly given Gov. Hutchinson the right to commute the sentences of these men, if he, in his sole discretion, determine there is a sufficient reason or reasons in his judgment to do so.
This authority to grant commutations is one of the most burdensome he shoulders as our governor. I believe he does not take this authority lightly. I am confident and hopeful that when he allows himself the space to be reflective, he knows this grant of authority is not asking him to ignore a jury verdict, or to ignore a judge’s sentence, or to ignore the emotional pain experienced by a victim’s family, or to substitute his legal opinion for the assessment of the multiple legal claims asserted by the defendants on death row. Rather, this grant of authority is asking him to reach into his own humanness and make the decision that enhances our society — each of us, including the families of the victims and the families of these inmates — given the existing circumstances. In this role, Gov. Hutchinson does not sit as simply one further appeals court applying legal standards of judicial review.
By commuting sentences to life without parole, Gov. Hutchinson can bring all of this uncertainty to an immediate end. He is the only one empowered to bring closure now. I hope and pray he does.
STEPHANIE ENSINGER
Rogers