Do the right thing again, Mr. Bush

Whether it was for political gain or genuine compassion, Texas Gov. George W. Bush did something he had never done in his five-years in office�granted a stay of execution. In this case, Ricky McGinn, convicted of the 1993 rape and murder of his 12-year-old step daughter, will have the opportunity to have DNA testing of evidence from the crime to, once and for all, exonerate him or seal his death.

There are six more executions scheduled in Texas in June. One of them is Shaka Sankofa (a.k.a. Gary Graham). Mr. Graham was convicted when he was 17-years-old for a grocery store killing on the basis of one sketchy eyewitness who identified him, while several other eyewitnesses did not. Furthermore, there were no fingerprints or ballistic evidence linking him to the crime. Even a store employee who saw the shooter fleeing the scene told police Mr. Graham was not the killer. The employee never was called to the witness stand.

The opportunity for DNA testing of evidence where applicable must be granted to all who face death in America�s prisons, and in those cases where mistakes were obviously made or other factors like racism and sloppy defense attorneys played a part in a conviction.

While the death penalty is flawed to the core and the lives of the "expendable" masses and classes are cut short through long prison and death sentences in the name of politics, DNA technology offers an opportunity for law makers to rethink the whole issue of the death penalty and why it should be abolished.

How many innocent lives have been lost since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976? While supporters claim there is no evidence of an innocent person being executed, we do know that in Illinois 13 innocent men have been freed from death row since 1987. And Gov. George Ryan, a republican, has sparked the debate by ordering a moratorium on executions while the state�s death penalty procedures are examined for fairness.

Many unusual things happen in a presidential election year. We remember a campaigning Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton taking a break from the campaign in 1992 to personally witness the execution of a Black man who had lobotomized himself with a bullet to his head. Clinton wanted to show he was "tough on crime." We remember the Willie Horton campaign of former President Bush, that ultimately led to the "a Black man did it" syndrome that plagued the nation, particularly following the Susan Smith drowning of her two young boys and blaming it on a Black man.

Recently, even Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, a potential vice presidential running mate for the Republican ticket, agreed with the stay of execution offered by Mr. Bush.

Bush and Ridge can do the right thing in coming months. Gov. Bush can stay the executions of Mr. Graham and others and offer Mr. Graham clemency or a new trial, while Gov. Ridge can demonstrate further compassion by granting clemency to Mumia Abu-Jamal, an obvious victim of how the death penalty is used for political gain at the expense of fairness and impartiality.

Governors, do the right thing!