Centerfield

Ashcroft's Ancestors

I have previously defended John Ashcroft from Howard Dean's charge that he was a "descendant of Joseph McCarthy." But his pursuit of the death penalty makes me wonder whether Ashcroft might be descended from Henry VIII's marriage counselor.

Federal prosecutors have asked Ashcroft to file death penalty charges in a case in which the defendent was convicted in a Massachusetts court some time ago and is already serving a life sentence. The case is a horrifying crime in which two sexual predators raped and murdered a small boy. The "federal hook" is apparently that the body was dumped in Maine. I have to assume that this request is not a surprise to the Justice Department, but is in fact part of Ashcroft's efforts to federalize the death penalty.

I applaud Gov. Romney's efforts to reinstate the dealth penalty in Massachusetts. But until that passes, my state does not have a death penalty, and I respect the rights of my fellow citizens to make that decision. It's galling that a party which supposedly supports states rights is trying to extend a federal death penalty to jurisdictions which have rejected it.