Re: DNA clears inmate too late, Dec. 15.

How much more proof do we need that the time has come for a moratorium on the death penalty? Even if we set aside debates about the ethics of executing killers, Frank Lee Smith's torturous passing on death row brings up two issues that must be addressed before one more execution takes place.

First, there is the problem of erroneous convictions. How sure is sure enough? At the very least, we must apply new technologies, including DNA testing, to older cases, and it should be done at the request of any convicted person who claims to be innocent. And we also must attend to every case in which new or buried evidence comes to light.

In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. criticized those who are "more devoted to 'order' than justice." If it is justice that we want, we must abandon our comfort zones and risk some disorder. It is time to take a hard look at our criminal justice system - if we do, indeed, desire real justice.

The second issue is one of human rights. Our Bill of Rights demands that the convicted be free from cruel and unusual punishments. If for no other reason than adherence to the Eighth Amendment, we must ensure that not one more prisoner is left to die in a bed of his own excrement. But beyond constitutionality, this is a question of dignity - dignity to which the innocent Frank Lee Smith was entitled. We cannot save Smith now, but his suffering demands that we take action.

What other horrors are taking place on death row that we know nothing about? No matter how angry we are at convicted killers, we must demand that all people be treated humanely. If we are not willing to do this, then our Eighth Amendment and system of appeals are largely irrelevant.

There are, of course, many other worthy reasons to examine the propriety of the death penalty. If we are going to allow executions, we must do so with minds and hearts focused on justice, rather than order. And we must also consider the possibility that the death penalty may not be just. Let's take the time we need to be sure that we are acting responsibly. We must demand a moratorium on the death penalty now.

Erika Aust, St. Petersburg

System needs overhaul

Re: DNA clears inmate too late.

Frank Lee Smith died a horrible death at the hands of the Florida State Prison system. Broward Assistant State Attorney Carolyn McCann has blood on her hands. It won't wash off. I can't believe any self- respecting prosecutor would deny DNA testing to an inmate.

Isn't the point supposed to be a search for truth? Isn't even one innocent life taken supposed to be one too many? Florida's electoral process isn't the only thing that needs an overhaul.

Chris Howard, St. Petersburg

A disturbing case

Re: DNA clears inmate too late, Dec. 15.

Sydney Freedberg's article about Frank Lee Smith was very disturbing to me. It seems that DNA testing proved this man was innocent - after he died in prison.

We could pay for further future DNA testing of prisoners by firing that prosecutor mentioned in the story and any other public employee who gets in the way of free DNA testing that may liberate innocent citizens.

Paul Scherffius, Holiday

Death penalty law was mischaracterized

I'd like to respond to your Dec. 17 editorial, Remove barriers to DNA testing. Frank Lee Smith's death was indeed a tragedy, and the Times rightly said it should deeply concern all of us working to improve the criminal justice system.

But the Times simply got the facts wrong regarding the Death Penalty Reform Act of 2000. In my original proposed legislation, I included an exemption for those prisoners whose innocence could be proved through DNA testing. The Legislature modified this provision to include any claim of innocence, based on constitutional error, whether or not the relevant evidence is DNA-based.

In addition, the bill did not limit any death row inmate's opportunity to seek a pardon or clemency on the basis of innocence, just as Freddie Lee Pitts and Wilbert Lee did to obtain their freedom. More important, this legislation would have provided a postconviction lawyer sooner to convicted defendants. Those lawyers would then be able to convince a court to grant their clients a new trial, or their freedom, much more promptly.

It's also inaccurate to claim that I "routinely" sign death warrants. Currently, there are 371 prisoners on death row in Florida. I have signed eight death warrants since I became governor, of which seven have been carried out. In none of those eight cases would DNA evidence have conclusively proved the innocence of the inmate. Indeed, no court has found in any of these eight cases that the inmate was entitled to any relief whatsoever, let alone relief based on DNA evidence.

As governor, I am committed to helping ensure that existing DNA evidence is made available for testing whenever it could exonerate an inmate. I continue to support making new technology available when it can make a difference. Florida must lead here.

Signing death warrants is the most solemn duty entrusted to me by the people of Florida, and I am dedicated to performing that duty with the utmost dignity and gravity, and after full consideration of the merits of each case. It is not and will never become routine for me.

Gov. Jeb Bush, Tallahassee

The justice system can be wrong

Re: Parole denied ex-socialite in husband's '75 murder, Dec. 14.

It's a proven fact that the courts are not infallible. The courts are operated by people, and people are terribly fallible.

In this story, Hillsborough prosecutor Pam Bondi asked how a person can be rehabilitated if she doesn't take responsibility for the crime. Maybe the woman in this case never did the crime but still got convicted. DNA testing has finally exonerated many people who were convicted of capital crimes and sentenced to death.

Bondi's blind faith in the system is one of the greatest problems this nation faces.