Cotton For Senate






TOM COTTON: Justice served | by Tom Cotton and Leslie Rutledge
Special to the Democrat-Gazette
















John,


I wanted to be sure you saw my op-ed on justice and the necessity
of the death penalty.

Not surprisingly, the Left disagrees, but they can't articulate
why...only that they feel it is wrong.


Thanks for all your support,

Senator Tom Cotton




TOM COTTON: Justice served
Resuming death penalty right thing
by Tom Cotton and Leslie Rutledge Special to the
Democrat-GazetteSept. 16, 2019
This summer, President Trump and Attorney General Bill Barr
resumed the federal death penalty for five brutal murderers,
including a white supremacist who murdered a family of three
right here in Arkansas.
The federal death penalty has been in a de facto moratorium since
2003. Attorney General Barr's announcement will end this
misguided moratorium and align the federal capital-crimes process
more closely with the policy of our state and many others.
Though we understand some Arkansans have principled objections to
the death penalty, we believe the ultimate punishment is
warranted for the most heinous murderers. Capital punishment can
help bring closure for victims' families, deter other would-be
murderers, and express the moral outrage of our society for the
most atrocious crimes.
Consider the case of Daniel Lewis Lee, one of the five convicted
murderers whose execution will now proceed. Lee belonged to a
white-supremacist group called the Aryan People's Revolution.
According to court filings, "the group believed that whites were
the chosen race, [and] that Jews were the devil's children and
should die."
After a crime spree, Lee and a companion robbed the home of
William Mueller in northern Pope County. It was early January
1996, just a few weeks after Christmas. When Mueller returned
home with his young wife and their 8-year-old daughter, Lee and
his companion overpowered them. But it wasn't enough to take
their loot and leave.
They duct-taped the family's hands and tortured them, repeatedly
shocking them with stun guns until they passed out. Then they
duct-taped their heads in plastic garbage bags, suffocating them
to death. After murdering the Mueller family in cold blood, they
tied rocks to their corpses and dumped them in a bayou. Lee later
joked that he had put the Muellers "on a liquid diet."
For such a barbaric crime, simple justice demands that Daniel
Lewis Lee and murderers like him face the ultimate punishment,
which truly fits the crime. Further, the death penalty in this
case warns criminals to stop short of murder, lest they face
execution. The death penalty also ends a horrific and prolonged
period of pain and justice delayed for a victim's loved ones--in
a case where Lee doesn't even deny his guilt.
In 1999, 12-year-old Andi Brewer--a beautiful and joyful young
girl--was raped and murdered by Karl Roberts of Polk County.
Roberts confessed to the crime. Even his attorneys don't claim
that he's innocent. Yet 20 years later, Andi's family is still
waiting for justice. Her mother, state Rep. Rebecca Petty, was
shocked to learn that Roberts was even selling prison art from
death row while his case dragged on. Resuming federal executions
will relieve at least a few families of the pain that
Representative Petty has endured for years.
A decent society must respond decisively to crime in order to
preserve law and order. For the most severe crimes, where
innocent life has been stolen, even life in prison can be an
inadequate punishment. As we know from too many cases, prisoners
can escape (or get parole), murder prison guards, or enjoy from
behind bars some of life's pleasures that their innocent victims
will never enjoy again.
The decision to reinstate the federal death penalty will ensure
that justice is served in five terrible, bloody cases. It will
reassure law-abiding citizens that our government has the will to
protect them from violence. And it will remind criminals that
justice may be delayed, even for years, but it cannot be avoided.
That's why we welcome the decision by the president and Attorney
General Barr.


Tom Cotton (@sentomcotton) is a Republican senator from Arkansas.







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Senator Cotton was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army.
Images do not imply endorsement by the Department of Defense or
any service branch.

PO Box 7504
Little Rock, AR 72217-7504












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