New York Daily News, Opinion
December 31, 2019
Flushing: I am opposed to the death penalty for the five men on trial for plotting 9/11. My opposition does not spring from a desire for mercy, which would in this case be sorely strained since they took my son from me. Nor is it from compassion for the pain and suffering the men in that Guantanamo courtroom endure as a result of the illegal, immoral and completely reprehensible torture inflicted on them by order of the United States government. Rather I am stunned and shocked that we as a nation could revert to such primal responses to fear for our safety, that we would abandon every value this country claims to stand for, that we would ignore the concept of human rights and unravel the fabric of our way of life, and the rule of law.
The men in that Guantanamo courtroom are human beings, albeit despicable human beings. It is nonetheless their birthright to be treated with the same respect for their humanity that we would wish for ourselves. I have no compassion for them, there is no forgiveness in my heart. But the legacy of 9/11 must not be the loss of everything this country has represented to so many for so long and the values that thousands have died to protect.
Adele Welty
