Part I: Clarence Page; Part II: Richard Cohen

The authors of the following two-part viewpoint argue that the continued enforcement of the death penalty in the United States will likely result in the execution of innocent people. In Part I, columnist Clarence Page contends that too many wrongly convicted inmates have just barely escaped execution thanks to exonerating evidence. Such close calls provide proof that the death penalty violates American standards of decency, he points out. In Part II, columnist Richard Cohen explains that technological advances such as DNA testing do not provide relevant information about most murders and therefore cannot be relied on to prove innocence. Erroneous convictions still occur and innocent people will die unless the death penalty is abolished, he maintains.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. According to Page, what “new spin&rdquo...