Murder not stopped by state-sanctioned murder

The man charged in the recent Buffalo massacre would never have been deterred by the death penalty in his state, if such a consequence had existed, according to writings ascribed to him, in which he claims he was interested in both murder and suicide. If he had died in the attack, he reportedly wrote that he hoped his death would inspire others to take action to kill those he believed were replacing the white majority.

The authors of the recent commentary, “Buffalo shooting makes a clear case for the death penalty” (May 16), offer an incredibly simplistic thesis. They ignore the presence of 300 million guns in private ownership in our country. They ignore the increasing internal terrorism threats of white supremacy. They ignore the growth of ethical awareness in states abolishing the death penalty.

Capital punishment is premeditated murder by a state. The government is not above its own laws.