Letters: Ruling points to flaws in death penalty

ISSUE | DEATH PENALTY

A flawed system

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit showed us that the death penalty is a flawed system ("New trial ordered in 1991 slaying," Wednesday).

The court ruled Tuesday that the prosecution improperly kept evidence out of the murder trial of James Dennis. That evidence might show that the Philadelphia man did not kill a 17-year-old Olney High School student.

The ruling is a victory for Dennis, who has been in prison since 1992 because prosecutors were more interested in getting a conviction than in getting it right.

It is a victory for his family, who stood by him, and for Pennsylvanians, who care about fairness and justice.

Hopefully, with this decision, prosecutors and politicians will move to end the death penalty before we execute an innocent person.

|Nicolas Guerrero, University Park, Pa.