European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 09, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 10 the stars and stripes monday september 9. 1985 columns & comments William Safire Summit Points Reagan should make with Media in the new sum Mitry he Media arc the . Having foolishly begged for a gel acquainted meeting with the new soviet Leader Ronald Reagan has been rocked Haek on his heels by the Gorbach Vian response a orchestrated barrage of publicity aimed at raising Hopes for a dramatic american Concession. We Are now saving to the world Don t expect much while the russians say plenty and if nothing comes of the meeting. I All the americans fault mow should the president adapt to the new sum Mitry he should recognize that the drum beating in the Foothills Means that his Long sought Summit has already begun. Here arc the Points he should be making 1. Star wars is already a Brilliant Success because it has induced the rus sians to talk of arms reductions. The american Criders of the feasibility of missile defense were shown to be mistaken when the russians treated it As a real threat to their decade Long reach for superiority. Sen. Robert Byrd reports from Moscow that Mikhail s. Gorbachev is pre pared to put Forward the most Radical proposals on strategic arms but not until the very next Day after you agree to pro Hibit the militarization of that of course is not a serious position the russians do not really expect us to abandon the one idea that has brought them Back to the table in return for a pig in a poke. In the Early 70s. We gave up abm defense in the Hope of limiting offensive buildups but that did not work we surely will not be duped that Way again. Reagan should Point out publicly that any new limit on a defense shield must be accompanied by serious reductions in existing warheads. No package no Deal. Nor should we buy the soviet arms race in space rhetoric space is militarized by an fcb travelling through it not by a shield to Stop that missile. The nation that already has deployed a system to kill satellites can hardly complain As Gorbachev does of a second generation asat 2. Why do the russians insist on superiority in warheads they have 7,900, we have 7,500 we have proposed in Geneva that both sides Cut Down to 5,000. That s a constructive William f. Buckley proposal but the russians refuse to give up their Edge instead they talk of limiting launchers As if launchers kill people and doubling the number of warheads in each launcher. How Many people know it is Gorbachev not Reagan who stands in the Way of reducing nuclear warheads 3. We Are prepared to Call the new soviet Leader s Bluff on verification. We Are interested in reliable verification of any agreement As much As they Are Gorbachev told time s editors. Great. But satellites cannot verify everything Reagan should Start pressing now publicly for on site inspection which the russians cannot reasonably refuse if they arc serious their favorite word about arms control. How Many people know that Gorbachev turned Down our invitation to View a . Test for fear of setting a precedent that might apply to before we talk one of his tests 4. Don t let the russians limit the Agenda to backing us off on missile de lenses linkage lives. Neither the junket ing senators nor time s editors apparently troubled Gorbachev with questions about his crackdown on dissidents in Gorky his pouring of arms into Syria and Libya and other sponsors of terrorism his Central american ventures or his new Slaughter in Afghanistan. If he gets testy about those subjects so be it. 5. Pick up on his hints at openings rather than wait until formal proposals Are made. Moscow s official position at Geneva forbidding All Basic research into space defense has been silly both sides will continue such research and both sides know it. Gorbachev has now acknowledged this which Calls for a response from Reagan who should not be the one standing on ceremony. An Ameri can proposal to share a certain Type of defense research is one possibility. Similarly Gen. De Rowny s. U per ked up at the unexpected Russ i. Use of Karadyi explosive charge which could indicate a willingness to discuss War head reduction. The next Gorbachev inter viewer should probe there after asking the soviet Leader if his frequent evocation of god s name indicates a belief in a a prime being. If there is to be a superpower Deal its outline is no secret verifiable warhead parity and non aggressive soviet behaviour m return for a limit on testing space de lenses. Unlikely but a Good Deal All around if it comes about hats will be off to the new sum Mitry. C new York Telmet Florida mercy killing is question of Law morality Cov. Bob Graham of Florida tells us that he has acted As he has in the matter of Roswell Gilbert be cause of the unique facts of this Case Well they Are not unique but one should t get too exercised about the governor s saying that they Are. Roswell Gilbert killed his wife to whom he bad been married for 51 years. He confessed 10 having killed her. She was suffering from alzheimer s disease from the progressive memory loss that goes with that disease and from osteoporosis a Bone ailment that we Are advised causes great pain. Or. Gilbert did not deny killing her pleading simply extenuation Given his wife s condition. He was properly convicted of murder in the first de Gree which it certainly was he no doubt premeditated the murder Over a period of weeks perhaps months. He was properly sentenced under the Law life imprison ment with no possibility of parole until he has served 25 years. Although the factual Case is open and shut there Are. Of course appeals. Under the Law you can Appeal a finding that two plus two equals four. Gov. Graham feeling the considerable Public sentiment in the matter has elected to invoke Florida s strange and complicated clemency provisions. These provide that a governor May Grant what amounts to suspension of a sentence at any Point in the process but Only provided that he can persuade the members of his six member Cabinet to concur in his judgment. So gov. Graham announced that or. Gilbert could go Home and wait there until the appellate courts were through with his Case. Two members of the cab inet concurred two opposed and two Are undecided. So or. Gilbert remains in prison unless and until one of the undecided goes with the governor. What everybody is engaged in doing obviously is waiting until Public sentiment finally crystallizes. Gov. Graham s moral and intellectual problem is precisely that the facts of the Case Are not unique. There Are others Many others like if. Instances of a spouse killing a spouse or even of a Mother killing a child because of afflictions deemed intolerable and pronounced incurable. No doubt Many of these go undetected. No doubt Many of these arc quietly detected but not prosecuted and allowed to tiptoe away. It is not easy to prosecute someone whose Only motive in killing is the Relief of pain that cannot otherwise be relieved. And yet a Point on which most people agree no one can legally be Given the Power to kill someone else. The Law needs to be absolute in making these rules. It is because Laws need to be absolute that tradition gives us two Leavening tribunals. The first is the jury sometimes juries take the Law into their own hands and when they do there is nothing anyone can do about it. And finally there is the Factor of clemency clumsily devolving in the state of Florida on the governor and three elected members of the Cabinet. This presumably to guard against executive Caprice. How should Cov. Graham or other Gover nor be guided in such matters obviously they Mutt not act As though they Are enacting a fresh policy go ahead and murder your wife. If you can prove that your motives were pure i la Pardon you. That is Why of. Graham stresses that the Gilbert Case is unique which r sur51" " of a few Vears "8� gov Hub a Woof new York who was solidly opposed to capital of ashment vowed that if the restoration of capital punt Mcnol were done Over his veto he would retaliate by giving executive clemency to everyone subsequently convicted of murder and sentenced to the chair. That was Contumacy on a grand scale if a legislature write a Law and the chief executive announces that he a Fol frustrate the legislature by systematically circumvent lat the Law Why Here if Ever you have impeachment time. He � end ourself there Are Mon subtleties that the Law cannot Hope to accost and that for that reason we have the Factor of clemency. Thil b not to argue that clemency cannot be abused. It b abused. It is to argue that Public odium should bed to sch a a Oswe Gilberts not for Utin Iii h a of the right to kill under similar circumstances. Angry Wilh Roswel Gilbert. The to More resilient. Clemency u and gov Graham should be a Aulhorn y wart the protests that " u la judgment c Una jul Pru Syi Wittle
