Macon asks Barnes, lawmakers to temporarily stop executions City Council resolution supports study of death penalty and DNA database; Macon only second Georgia city to support moratorium
By Andy M. DruryMacon weighed in on the death penalty Tuesday, becoming only the second Georgia city to ask Gov. Roy Barnes and the General Assembly to temporarily halt state-sanctioned executions.
The City Council voted 10-3 for a resolution that asks for a moratorium on executions, supports a comprehensive study of the death penalty and requests the state create a DNA database to help determine if people charged with capital crimes are guilty.
Councilmen Ed DeFore, Dick Dickey and Jim Lee voted against the resolution, and Councilmen Willie Hill and Jimmy Patton were absent from the meeting.
Amnesty International, which supports the moratorium, says the death penalty is arbitrary and racially biased, said Jay Shippen, a Mercer University student who is Amnesty International's local president.
"It's wonderful," he said after the vote. "Tonight, Macon joins Atlanta in taking a strong stand on this issue."
Shippen, who lobbied the council to adopt the resolution last year, said the vote surprised him.
"I haven't heard from (the council) in a year," he said. "I didn't know this was coming up."
Lee, the most vocal of the three dissenting members, said he has seen no evidence that a death row inmate has been executed in recent years and later proven to be innocent.
"I cannot support asking for a moratorium on the death penalty and prolonging the expenses for keeping these people (in prison) ... without any hard evidence that innocent people have been executed or will be executed," he said.
Councilman Henry Ficklin, the ordinance's sponsor, encouraged the council to take a stand against the "stepped up pace" of executions since lethal injection was approved as a means of execution in Georgia last year.
Supporters point to recent revelations that death row inmates have been set free after DNA testing cleared them of wrongdoing. The Georgia Moratorium Campaign, an effort encouraging the General Assembly to pass a moratorium on executions, says on its Web site that Illinois declared a temporary halt because the rate of exonerations nearly matched the number of executions.
Georgia following suit would be "a wise and humane thing to do," Ficklin said.
Council President Anita Ponder said Tuesday's vote should not be interpreted to mean that city leaders are against the death penalty, but only that they want to halt it temporarily to ensure innocent people aren't put to death.
"In my opinion, there's no harm in waiting and making sure the right person is being executed," she said.
Dickey, one of the three opponents to the resolution, said he views the death penalty as a deterrent to crime.
"I think it should remain like it has been," he said.
Mayor Jack Ellis said he looks forward to signing the council resolution.
"I support it 100 percent," he said.
In other city business, the council:
o Presented a proclamation to the Northeast High School Raiderettes, who recently won the Class AAA girls basketball state championship.
o Received a proclamation from Nana Ato Arthur, district chief executive in Macon's sister city of Elmina, Ghana.
o Approved a new fee schedule allowing the Macon Police Department to charge higher fees for a variety of services, including providing incident or accident reports. The fee would rise from 25 cents for each page to $3 per report.
o Approved placing a trail marker from Georgia Civil War Heritage Trails Inc. at Civic Square in front of City Hall.