Capital lawyers in Maryland do the job right

The Sun's zeal to bring recognition to the serious problems that infect the administration of capital punishment in this country is understandable. But the editorial "Lawyers and death" (June 11) contained several inaccuracies that require correction.

The editorial highlighted the recent U.S. Court of Appeals ruling holding that it was ineffective counsel for an attorney to nap repeatedly during a client's capital trial.

A better example of bad lawyering would be tough to find. The Sun drew the conclusion that "this issue hits home in Maryland" as well. The three cases The Sun cites, however, fail to demonstrate this point.

Eugene Colvin-el was represented at trial by an assigned private attorney 20 years ago, shortly after Maryland's death penalty statute was revived. His trial was clearly a travesty.

The state Office of the Public Defender, through staff and appointed counsel, worked tirelessly for more than two decades to rectify this injustice. As a result, two years ago, Mr. Colvin-el's death sentence was commuted within days of his scheduled execution.

The Sun's summary of the case of Wesley Baker -- as one in which trial counsel did not present relevant mitigating evidence to the sentencing judge "because Mr. Baker thought the evidence was too embarrassing" -- is also misleading.

In fact, the trial court was well aware of Mr. Baker's desire not to disparage his mother's reputation in open court. The court chose to allow Mr. Baker, rather than his attorney, to control what evidence was presented on his behalf. Further, shortly following the trial, attorneys for Mr. Baker requested a motion for modification of sentence, under which all the mitigating evidence not previously heard was presented to the court.

Nevertheless, the court imposed the death sentence. But through the persistent, decade-long efforts of the state and federal public defender and appointed counsel, Mr. Baker just last month again received a stay of execution.

The last case the editorial mentioned, that of Anthony Grandison, requires little comment. The Sun notes only that Mr. Grandison received poor representation when he was permitted by the trial court to proceed without a lawyer and conduct his own defense. But under our Constitution, defendants have the right to represent themselves.

In its editorial, The Sun inaccurately points to a "new rule" in Maryland requiring that a public defender must "team" with a private attorney in capital cases. Such a rule does not exist. In fact, the Office of the Public Defender's staff attorneys represent virtually all capital clients at the trial and appellate level. And two attorneys are assigned in all capital cases.

The Maryland Office of the Public Defender shares The Sun's grave concerns regarding the racial and geographical disparities in capital punishment's implementation, but the capital lawyers in Maryland do not share in the national shame of unconscionably deficient representation.

This is not to suggest that Maryland's capital defendants receive perfect trials. This is far from true, as is illustrated by the high number of appellate reversals.

Still, these reversals are significantly more often the result of judicial or prosecutorial error than of ineffective representation by defense counsel.

Stephen E. Harris Katy C. O'Donnell Baltimore

The writers are, respectively, head of the Maryland Office of the Public Defender and chief of its capital defense division.

Schools must show better sense ...

In June, the city public schools twice invoked the rule that if the temperature is 90 degrees by 11 a.m., school is canceled. This means kids must line up at pay phones, many of them outside, to call parents, then wait in the sun to catch a bus or be picked up.

This is almost as foolish as the policy that says that if it's snowing in the morning, parents must leave work and drive over unplowed roads to pick up their children at noon.

Neither of these policies shows respect for the time of working parents or concern for the actual safety of students.

What is the evidence that it's more hazardous to keep children in school in hot or snowy weather than to send them home in chaotic fashion?

And how did the school year end? With a half-day of classes on a Monday. This ensures that thousands of children skip school -- not a great lesson -- or be a half-day late for the many camps and other activities that begin that day.

And what did my 12-year-old son do when he went to school? He spent much of his time sitting in a class watching Legally Blonde, a PG-13 movie.

The Baltimore school system might find it had more defenders, not to mention more students, if it showed a little more common sense.

David Brown

Baltimore

... and give up toying with the latest fads

After reading the article "School bells to ring today" (June 24), I can't help but wonder if Baltimore's New Board of School Commissioners isn't missing what seems to be obvious. If the failure rate for city schoolchildren is, as the article suggests, one-third to one-half, could the problem be the basic curriculum?

As a product of the Baltimore City schools more than 30 years ago, I remember rote learning and being taught basic math, reading and language skills.

I'm proud to say that foundation held me in good stead, through college, graduate school and a career in the federal government.

But, what I see now frightens me. As the daughter and sister of retired school teachers, with 62 years of experience between them, I have seen the basics replaced by teaching the material necessary to pass the soon-to-be-defunct MSPAP and other state-mandated tests. I've watched teachers become frustrated, demoralized and uninspired as their talents are wasted, causing many of them to retire early.

As a taxpayer, I'm tired of seeing my money wasted on "flavor of the year" educational programs (remember Tesseract?) that yield disappointing results, or the privatization of public institutions.

It's time for the city's leadership to realize that continuing to stray from basic education principles and practices is not the solution, but a major part of the problem.

Our educational curricula of the 1950s, '60s and '70s wasn't broken. Indeed, many of our current city leaders are products of that system.

And this is why I'm mystified that our city leaders have bought into education alternatives designed for failure. This approach cheats the citizens of Baltimore and, more important, the children.

T.Y. Hall

Baltimore

Lights ruin vistas of the Shenandoah

The Sun's article "Air pollution mars park vistas" (June 9) and the letter "Turn off the lights to save our vistas" (June 17) struck a nerve.

When I moved here 17 years ago, Shenandoah National Park was my favorite place to camp in this region. In addition to the scenic daytime vistas, the park provided a nighttime sky featuring an uncountable number of dazzling stars.

Last spring, I was camping with a Boy Scout troop and had trouble falling asleep. Gradually, I came to the sickening realization that there was light shining in my eyes.

I looked around and noticed that the new bathrooms in the campground were brightly lit up like huge flying saucers. And that the parking lot and lodge were ringed with unshielded streetlights and floodlights. I was heartbroken when I looked up to see a sky no darker than my Reisterstown backyard. I have not been back to Shenandoah since.

These "improvements" were undoubtedly funded in part by my park entrance and camping fees.

I am furious at the idiocy of the National Park Service. They ruined the night sky at Shenandoah and are probably totally oblivious about it.

Now I oppose increased funding for the National Park service. I fear that if they are given more money, they will only ruin more parks.

Bernard P. Codd

Reisterstown

Don't blame Tunnel for city's violence

I was intrigued by The Sun's editorial "A public nuisance" (June 27). What intrigued me was the laundry list of reprehensible behavior The Sun attributed to the Tunnel, a nightclub catering to Baltimore's hip-hop crowd.

This must be one heck of a place. After all, I don't think I've ever heard of such a large, inanimate object capable of much more than remaining stationary.

But then, in our "blame anyone but those responsible" culture, I suppose it was far easier, and way more politically correct, to blame a club for the behavior of its patrons.

I'm not denying the Tunnel seems to be the nightly epicenter of rude and often illegal activity. But the reason the liquor board hasn't revoked the club's license is that, aside from the editorial's assertion that it allowed entry to minors, the club hasn't done anything wrong.

Its patrons, on the other hand, seem to be quite capable of everything from drunk and disorderly conduct to armed robbery and murder.

Sure, the club serves alcohol. So do hundreds of other establishments. The club plays music and allows dancing. So do hundreds of others. It stays open past midnight. So what? Do you see 10 police cruisers lined up outside the Hippo at closing time? Do half the law enforcement officers in the city have to converge on the Redwood Trust shortly after last call?

No. Because those establishments seem to attract people who, by and large, behave themselves.

Go ahead. Shut down the Tunnel. That won't solve the problem. It'll just migrate. Do you think its clientele will suddenly start behaving themselves once the doors of this venue are shuttered?

Face it. This issue isn't really about a bar. It's about the collapse of values within certain sectors of the African-American community.

The problem isn't the Tunnel. The problem is tunnel vision.

John Phelan

Baltimore

Why are mobsters alone remembered?

As a second-generation Italian-American, I often wonder about the narrow-minded portrayal and publicity given to those individuals who have had negative and destructive influences in this country who share my heritage.

Why do individuals such as Al Capone and John Gotti receive so much press coverage and publicity when little or no mention is made of the positive, praiseworthy contributions of Italian and Italian-American citizens ("End of the line," editorial, June 15)?

I do not deny the sensationalist appeal to some small-minded individuals of the crime families that do exist, but they are not the only Italian-Americans who are newsworthy and Italian-Americans aren't the only ones involved in organized crime.

You do not have to look far to witness the significant and positive side of the Italian-American culture. It is reflected in Baltimore and Maryland by physicians, scientists, business people, professors, artists, teachers, attorneys, judges, politicians and others.

Many outstanding Italian-Americans have earned respect for their achievements and contributions, and I proudly place my parents among them. They overcame harsh criticism and bigotry in their youth to achieve doctoral degrees, and have given back in many, many ways to the Baltimore community.

Why don't we ever read any praise of such people?

This may seem petty, but can you think of any other group in this country so stigmatized as associated with criminal activities with total neglect for its achievements?

M.J. Bushman

Phoenix

Store the vaccine in everyone's arms

I read in The Sun that the Department of Health and Human Services had recommended against inoculating Americans against smallpox, and that the vaccinations instead be offered to select emergency crews ("U.S. urged not to inoculate for smallpox," June 21).

I wonder how many members of the advisory panel would be part of that select crew and whether Secretary Tommy Thompson himself has already had his vaccination.

One is staggered by the hubris of some members the public health community in making a decision of this kind for the rest of us. I, for one, have had smallpox inoculations most of my life and would be willing to take the risks and be inoculated once again should the vaccination again be made available.

The ring vaccination strategy (giving shots to people who might come into contact with infected individuals) is good for a relatively sedentary population, but of dubious value for a mobile population like that of the United States. What would happen if the center of the ring were a major airport and it took the public health community a few days to get its act together?

Things could quickly get out of hand as they did with the anthrax outbreak, in which only a handful of cases were found but the bureaucrats dithered for days. And smallpox is far more infectious than anthrax.

The best deterrent against terrorists using the smallpox virus is a population with a high immunity level. Since the serum will be available, I say the best place to store it is in the arms of those citizens willing to take the inoculation.

Andrew E. Manzardo

Baltimore

Choose joy over crippling fear

While Rosemary Zook and many others share a common fear, there is an alternative ("Color me scared," Opinion*Commentary, June 11).

Fear cripples the mind, body, and spirit. Allowing this to happen does nothing for us or the world and people with whom we share the planet.

Instead, awake each morning saying, "I awake in joy." Faithfully putting this into practice, whether you feel it or not, leads you to remembering all that you have to be thankful for. It becomes a wonderful habit that changes your life.

I know you will not always feel like doing this. Try it anyway -- you might like it.

It is ultimately what each of us does with his or her own life that influences the world for the better. And millions of people around the world go to work every day faithfully doing the best they can with their lives.

These individuals do not have their heads in the sand. Rather they are looking at their world, recognizing it is not perfect and fully participating in it to make it a better place.

Multiply the above by the thousands of people and communities worldwide taking part in such activities, and let that energy change your thinking and actions.

Color me joyful.

Lynn Layton

Easton