Major papers calling for death penalty to be killed off

The Boston Globe and Washington Post have similar editorials today on the death penalty:

• From the Globe, “The Year in Death” ends this way: “The best crime policy isn’t the one that sounds the toughest, but rather the one that keeps the most people safe.  The death penalty isn’t just arbitrary; it also eats up money better spent on deploying police and protecting witnesses.  In recognizing this, New Jersey set an example that the 37 states that retain the death penalty would be wise to follow.”

• From the Post, “Death Penalty in Review” ends this way: “States, especially those already debating the validity of capital punishment, should get ahead of the Supreme Court argument over whether lethal injection unnecessarily inflicts pain and suffering. The best and simplest way to do that is to abolish capital punishment.”