JOHN ASHCROFT'S DEATH-PENALTY EDICTS

Attorney General John Ashcroft has directed federal prosecutors in New York
and Connecticut to seek the death penalty in a dozen cases in which they
had recommended lesser sentences. Mr. Ashcroft's orders are a triumph of
ideology over good prosecutorial practice. The Bush administration should
reconsider them.

In 10 current cases in New York and 2 in Connecticut, United States
attorneys decided not to seek the death penalty. One involved a defendant
who pleaded guilty in exchange for testifying against other members of a
drug ring. Another involved a defendant who according to his lawyers is
mentally retarded and thus ineligible for the death penalty.

Mr. Ashcroft's decisions appear to be driven by a desire to see the death
penalty used more. His aggressive promotion of capital punishment is not
only wrong, it is badly timed. Popular support for the death penalty is
declining, due in large part to the growing number of cases in which DNA
evidence is exonerating death row inmates.

Mr. Ashcroft also seems to have a regional agenda. The reversals in New
York and Connecticut are nearly half of all cases nationwide in which he
has overruled decisions not to seek the death penalty. Mr. Ashcroft's drive
to increase the use of capital punishment here flies in the face of the
administration's oft-repeated commitment to allowing states and localities
more control over policy issues.

United States attorneys' offices are among the most respected institutions
in law enforcement. The Justice Department should let these professional
prosecutors make decisions about sentencing, not impose a political agenda
on them.