Blurring the Line

Mark Shurtleff, the Attorney General of Utah, would like to take control of the situation on death row and start to deny inmates the process of the seemingly unending appeals to keep them alive. He is proposing an amendment to the Utah Constitution that would cap the appeals at a certain point and making the prisoner face the executioner. He appeals to the public with the cry that this is costing the taxpayers millions of dollars and would finally bring closure and justice for the victims' families.

Mr. Shurtleff, I admire your sentiment but I abhor the amendment you are proposing.

This is a matter for the judiciary branch of government, it has to do with the legal process running its course. The legislative branch, which you are indirectly a member of, does not carry that power to deny the due process of justice. If you would like to change this process then perhaps you should campaign and work to get justices appointed to the bench who will enforce the laws that are on the books.

I get frustrated when one branch of government crosses their boundary and starts to take on the responsibility of another branch. The President does it with the use of executive orders (effectively making law without the legislative branch), President Bush signed more executive orders than any other president and President Obama is on track to sign even more than President Bush. The judiciary will sometimes legislate from the bench, some of the most recent examples are the denial of voting referendums that outlaw gay marriage in several states. Here, AG Shurtleff is proposing a premature end to the judicial appeal process by the state legislature.

I am not opposed to the death penalty and feel that if the crime justifies the taking of the criminal's life then so be it. However, I don't agree with his move by Mark Shurtleff to use the Constitution to blur the line between the judicial and legislative branches.

Here is the article in the Deseret News about the new amendment to the Utah Constitution that Attorney General Mark Shurtleff is proposing.