The Birmingham News
By The Editorial Board
January 14, 2009
James Harvey Callahan is scheduled to die Thursday. But courts have been asked to step in to spare Callahan from being put to death for the 1982 murder of Rebecca Suzanne Howell of Jacksonville.
It's our view that governments ought not be in the business, period, of setting the timetable for killers like Callahan to go to their graves. We believe those who commit the worst offenses and pose the greatest threat to society should spend the rest of their days in prison, yes. But we believe the ultimate length of those inmates' sentences -- i.e., the length of their lives -- is something best left to their maker.
The Callahan case is an example of so much of what is wrong with the alternative, not just for defendants but for victims and their families, too. We as humans are simply not capable of dispensing perfect judgment.
Callahan has been tried, convicted and sentenced to death twice for Howell's murder. Execution dates have been set and stayed. If his execution proceeds this week, 27 years will have passed between crime and punishment. And still there are questions.
Not about Callahan's guilt or innocence, to be sure. Defense lawyers' latest attempt to postpone the execution doesn't argue Callahan did not commit this crime. But it did raise intriguing questions that should be answered before Callahan is put to death.
Before sitting in judgment at the trial, then-Calhoun County Circuit Judge Sam Monk showed up for part of Callahan's interrogation by police. Monk talked with Callahan about his constitutional rights; the judge told him he could talk with an attorney but he didn't have to.
Callahan made incriminating statements during the interrogation. Monk later ruled they were admissible and rejected defense lawyers' efforts to get him not to preside at Callahan's trial.
Prosecutors say Monk's actions have not been viewed as a problem by courts. Indeed, the Alabama Supreme Court refused Tuesday to block Callahan's execution. The case now heads to the U.S. Supreme Court.
It's worth a look. Circuit judges don't routinely take part in police interrogations of the defendants who later appear before them
This is not to say Monk didn't have good intentions. More likely, his actions illustrate the problem with rendering justice in savage crimes that most outrage the community. These are the moments that demand the most restraint from police and prosecutors, but they are often the very cases that invite authorities to go the extra step -- and sometimes a step too far -- in pursuit of the perpetrator. What happened here suggests judges aren't immune to the temptation.
Whether Callahan dies this week or not, his case again brings into focus the fundamental problem with our society inflicting a mortal punishment: We're mortals ourselves.