A plea for a moratorium on executions in Missouri is matched by a plea for executions to continue. Just a few days after Missouri’s first execution of the year, and a few weeks before its second one is scheduled to occur, moratorium proponents and opponents squared off at the Capitol before a House committee. Representative Chris Liese of Maryland Heights wants a two-year halt in executions while the issue is studied. Death penalty opponents suggest Missouri might have executed five people by mistake. But supporters of the death penalty say years and years of court reviews at all levels of the court system insure mistakes are not being made.
