To the Point

Justice, the Death Penalty and Christian Compassion

The New York Times reports what it calls "the growing alliance of conservative Roman Catholics and evangelicals." They've found common cause in Pope John Paul's "culture of life" and have joined in the effort to restore Terri Schiavo's feeding tube, but disagree on capital punishment. America's Catholic bishops have begun a campaign to abolish the death penalty, but evangelical leaders still support it. Should America's criminal justice system be based on punishment or rehabilitation and reconciliation? As Easter weekend begins, we hear how Christians differ over the "culture of life," and discuss religion and America's criminal justice system, with Catholics, Evangelicals and advocates of criminal justice, including a former Californian legislator who served time in prison for criminal racketeering. Making News: Opposition Seizes Power in Kyrgyzstan The government of Kyrgystan appears to have changed hands after protesters stormed the palace of President Askar Akayev, who reportedly fled the country. Tension has been building over alleged corruption, repression and fraud in a recent election, but such a sudden transfer of power had not bee expected. From the capital of Bishkek, the Los Angeles Times' David Holley says the revolt has major implications for Russia and the rest of the region. Reporter's Notebook: Paleontologist Discovers Soft Tissue in Dinosaur Bones Until now, all the evidence about the scariest of the dinosaurs has been from fossilized remains. Now, researchers have found what appears to be transparent flexible filaments that resemble blood vessels and traces of what look like red blood cells in the bone marrow cavity of a 70 million year-old Tyrannosaurus Rex in Montana. Mary Schweitzer, a paleontologist at North Carolina State University, is the principal researcher.