(That’s a famous photo of the execution of the John Wilkes Booth’s co-conspirators)
Ah, the ethical delusions of the woke and biased!
ProPublica is another one of those supposedly “non-partisan” watchdogs that somehow only finds the conduct of Republicans and conservatives worth criticizing, with enough rare exceptions to let them say, “But what about…?” to rebut that verdict sufficiently for those who aren’t paying attention.
Being reflexively progressive, ProPublica has long been an opponent of capital punishment, though the position is misplaced absolutism. Now it announces, “Early last year, Gov. Ron DeSantis began signing death warrants at a faster rate than ever before. What followed was the most intense period of executions the state has carried out in more than eight decades.”
This supposedly horrific “period of executions” meant that a grand total of 19 murderers who had forfeited their rights to live in a civilized society were dispatched instead of being kept alive at taxpayer expense. Let’s look at the killer ProPublica picked to have us weep for in the first half of the long article: Frank Walls, whom Florida executed last year.
Walls committed his first murder on March 26, 1985, at the age of 17. He noticed 19-year-old junior college student Tommie Lou Whiddon sunbathing at the beach, went over to her and slashed her throat. Walls then stole her car. Whiddon’s body was discoveredthe next day lying in a pool of blood on the beach. On September 16, 1986, he killed 24-year-old Cynthia Sue Condra by stabbing her 21 times. He left her body on the side of a road.[4] On May 20, 1987, Walls broke into the mobile home of 47-year-old Audrey Gygi. Walls raped her, left, but later decided to come back and murder her.He stabbed her to death, stole a fan and a radio, and left her nude body to be found after she failed to show up for work. On July 22 that same year, Walls committed a double murder. He broke into another mobile home inhabited by 22-year-old airman Edward Alger and his girlfriend, 20-year-old Anne Louise Peterson. Walls forced Peterson to tie up her boyfriend, then tied her up as well. Alger managed to get partially free and attacked Walls. In the fight, Walls cut his throat with a knife, but Alger bit Walls on the hand, causing him to drop the knife. Walls then shot Alger three times in the head. After sexually assaulting Peterson, he shot her in the head too, and when the first shot didn’t kill her, Walls put a pillow over her face and shot her again, killing her. The couple’s bodies were found the next day.
The story, as is de rigueur in such sobfests, is told from the perspective of death penalty activist Father Dustin Feddon, who has nothing better to do than “administer” to condemned prisoners like Walls. ProPublica never informs its readers of the details of why Walls was on Death Row. It just arrays the usual anti-death penalty rationalizations:
Ethics Alarms 
My only counter-argument is that death penalty proponents should go after the wrongly convicted angle by making it as rare as possible. We have a problem in the US that law enforcement and prosecutorial misconduct is not properly addressed. It’s fairly rare, I believe, but when it happens, too often it is not properly addressed.
Many of the proponents are also in the “law and order” camp, and give both sides of the criminal justice system a king’s pass on bad conduct. That kings pass places the death penalty in jeopardy, because those wrongful cases are the most powerful counter-argument to the death penalty. Many in the middle don’t care about all of the other arguments. I certainly don’t personally. It is the singular counter-argument that works for me. I remain a cautious supporter.
This extends beyond just the death penalty though. So few are honest about law enforcement misconduct. I’ve beaten this drum for the entire time I’ve been a member here. After all, it is the case of Brian Banks that led me to your blog to begin with; though admittedly that case has little to do with misconduct but is rather a case of the police and prosecutor being fooled too. MOST of the cases accusing the police that come out, particularly from the black lives matter crowd are bunk. But sometimes they ring true. Too many of the law enforcement and their supporters STILL excuse the inexcusable.
So what would I propose? For the death penalty in particular, ANY kind of misconduct that results in an execution is manslaughter. Put people away for decades when caught. Make an officer and prosecutors take an oath along the lines: “I realize my conduct in this case places the death penalty on the line. I take this oath to be truthful, and any dishonesty caries enhanced penalties” or something along those lines. In general, I’d encourage that “the only thing a good cop hates is a bad cop” to be recognized for the lie it is. We need a reformation that puts the “thin blue line” in the dustbin where it belongs.
That’s more or less my position as well. My biggest objection to the death penalty is the possibility of miscarriages of justice, and we need to take the accountability of law enforcement and the judicial system especially seriously in capital cases (and more seriously in general).