ee = : No place to go One of the major philosoph- ical questions in politics is the degree to which citizens should rely on government to solve social and economic problems. In this federal election, each of the three major parties are at- tempting to portray themselves as caring and concemed, with platforms focusing on issues like child care and the environment. ‘But what happens when a government is concerned enough to fund social programs, but the people in the community don’t seem to care? ‘‘It would be ter- rible to think these places will be closed because of lack of public interest,” Lois Stoner of the Sexual: Assault Centre said. She was referring to the vital services provided by the Ksan House So- ciety, including the Assault Cen- tre, Ksan House and Osborne Home. Although the Society has been successfully operating these services since the early 1980s (overseeing a budget last year of almost $350,000), this year they’re having difficulty signing up new board members. | Stoner explains that although the provincial government funds the services, government is not interested in stepping in to run them: — an arms-length associa- tion through a contract with a non-profit group is preferable. to the Ministries. And it makes sense that programs dealing with sensitive issues in the coramuni- ty, like abuse, battering and in- dependent: living: after mental iliness,. are planned. and _ developed by concerned fellow citizens, not by Big Brother. . “The government cannot pay - us to provide the service unless — there’s a community board, it’s part “of the contract,’ staff- person Stoner said. Why aren't people stepping forward? At her most cynical, Stoner thinks it might be because “‘it’s much easier to complain about all the people on welfare, the drunks on the street, the teenagers hanging out after midnight” than to do something about it. The root causes of ‘lives of, poverty and addiction, of despair and des- peration can often be traced to earlier experiences of abuse, vio- lence, or mental illness, left un- treated. Untreated and uncared for, such individuals may never get beyond these difficult times to become fully-functioning and productive citizens. With ser- vices like those provided by Ksan House Society, they have a fighting chance. Terrace now enjoys Ksan House Society’s three essential services dedicated to assisting people reach their full potential, but they’ll fold without a com- munity board. For battered women and their children need-: ing temporary shelter, for adults recovering from mental illness, . for children and adults needing: specialized counselling after sex- ual abuse, there may be no place to go. - Assisting people in times of crisis or acute need not only makes sense from an ethical. point of view but from an economic one as well. It seems” obvious that a child frightened and stunted by on-going vio- lence or abuse, and never treat-. ed, is not likely to grow up to become a good taxpayer. Nor will a chronically depressed or. battered or undertrained adult, ignored by society, likely be able to make an effective contribu- tion as a productive individual. Cleaning up afterwards is always more expensive than investing in some preventative strategies. And the beauty of this par- ticular problem is that the solu- tion doesn’t require anyone to dig yet again into their pockets — just to open up their datebooks: A few hours a month from a few committed in-. dividuals makes the whole continued on page 7 ~ VERIFIED: -- qAcuLATION PalD fy ‘Terrace Review GSN Established May 1, 1985 The Terrace Review Is published each Wednesday by Close-Up Business Services Ltd. Publisher: Mark Twyford = ot + Editor: Michael Kelly “Staff Reporters: “S-/Tod Strachan Charlynn Toews dvertising Sales: - Mas} Twytord » Typesetting: Linda Copeland | “Production: st. Jim’ Hall, Aivin Stewart, “Gurbax Gill, Linda Mercer “”. Office: -°) Carle Olson Accounting: Marj Twyford Second-class mall. registration No. 6896, otters to the editor will be considered for publication only when signed. 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Phone: 635-7840 EE One year subscriptions: In Canada $24.00 Gut of Canada $50.00 Seniors in Terrace and District $12.00 Seniors out of Terrace and District $18.00 eel Slease include your telephone number. ties aédltor rozerves: the fight to condense and edit letters. Opinions éxpressed are not necessarily those of the Terrace Review. ee eens wayCMOUS a oon AY q 7 . AGNNIND FV SENT |, | MY DECORATOR OVER TO STORNOWAY THIS > at — ~ = oe _ ‘This essay by Caledonia’ Senior Secondary School stu- dent Shelley Giesbrecht won sec- ond prize in the Terrace Review's recent editorial essay contest. by Shelley Giesbrecht Thou shalt not kill. This is perhaps the simplest of today’s values, the one that is the most difficult to compromise. But if - we hold life so’ sacred, why do we continue to-consider the possibility of ‘reinstating the death penalty? Capital punish- ment is not effective when im- plemented under our present judicial system, it is of no value as a deterrent, and it is morally wrong. This form of legalized homicide has no place in a civilized society. Our present legal system does not allow for proper implemen- _ tation of the death penalty. If we : wish capital punishment to be | ° effective, we need to rid, the’ system of the possibility of pre- . ~ judice among jurors and judges. We will never know for certain ’ whether an accused murderer is being executed because of the crime he committed, or because he. is of a different race or _ religion. Those with low -in- comes are at a distinct disadvan-. tage, as they will have less effec- tive legal counsel-and thus less chance of proving their. in- nocence. Our judicial system also allows for plea bargains; criminals can avoid death by- testifying against their saci ted exactly the same crime, one. can buy his freedom by im- plicating the other. This same system also allows for . the. frightening possibility of human” error. ; tebe Neither the jurors nor ‘the defending and prosecuting at- torneys are above human fallibility. Jurors, people with © no legal knowledge, are allowed - to decide the fate of another human being. The decision made may be the result of a wish for revenge for society, or of a reluctance to be responsible for the death of anyone, even a murderer. As the accused relies heavily on the advice of his lawyer, one mistake by those supposedly adept at handling legal matters can be literally fatal. This.is emphasized by the fact that criminals can plead guilty to a lesser charge to avoid being tried for a capital crime only. if the prosecutor and - defending attorney agree. H the . prosecutor is looking for the ‘glory and fame associated with winning a case that results in an» execution, or the criminal’s own lawyer thinks he can’ beat the. charge for which death is the penalty, neither of them can af- ford to be wrong. Then, even if the case is carried to its conclu-. sion with no questionable details, the execution: itself serves no purpose whatsoever. Statistics have proven that capital punishment does not ‘serve as a deterrent when more serious crimes are concerned. States. that currently execute criminals have higher homicide ‘rates: than those who do not. When Canada abolished: the death penalty, :the number of people murdered each year fell, and the number has more or less declined through the years. .Ac- cording to supporters of capital - punishment, ‘this is because the Capital punishment, legal murder states that presently support the death penalty already have higher crime rates. This cannot, be the-only reason, as we find ‘ade: when we consider the possibility. complice. Even if they. commiit- PWhat, among those faced with life. punishment, but rather a relief.: It is in our nature to want to see: a convicted killer suffer. Why, isolation from’ society and the: guilt and humiliation that come. with serving time in prison are harsher punishments than an end to the life which most of: them despise having to live? Do we believe that prisoners want to. die?’ One incident in particular _ proves this theory. -In ‘1977, Gary Mark Gilmore’ was ex- ecuted by firing squad in Utah. This may not seem to be such an. unusual happening, but. it followed a ten-year court battle during which opponents of capital punishment fought to spare. his life and Gilmore himself fought for his right to die. . We also need to consider ex- -actly who we are going to ex- ecute; we need to decide where. we are going to draw the line. We cannot justify killing those © with psychological disorders, as their acts are neither their fault nor their intent, Most murders occur as acts of passion, in a moment of anger, and are not likely to be repeated. Indeed, it has been documented that fewer than one percent of freed murderers kill again. Executing. | . everyone who had taken the life _ of another human being would not only be illogical; it would be morally.wrong.- oo “That: issue of. morality has come up.time and time again. ‘when the problems with capital punishment are discussed, What better place to seek resolution of: the moral conflict than the Bi- ble? The. world’s first recorded — murder involved a young man, Cain; and his brother Abel. Cain. slew Abel when he was intensely, angty, and: did not. appear to”. “-csgontinued'on page 7 itfipFison, death would not be a then, do people not see that vet Mie