Coming Up on Nightline

W A S H I N G T O N, May 1 -- The death penalty is one of those subjects that polls show theoverwhelming majority of Americans support. But dig a little deeper beyondthe "are you in favor or not in favor" question and the answers get morecomplicated. Tonight's broadcast looks into one of those difficult aspectsof the death penalty. What if the convicted death row inmate is mentallyretarded and doesn't even understand the concept of a last meal?

But first a quick word about tomorrow night's Nightline. We willcontinue tonight's exploration of the death penalty with material fromexecutions never previously broadcast nationally. Normally we aren't thiscoy, but obligation requires us not to describe the broadcast in very muchdetail. But we will be able to provide more detail at the end of tonight'sbroadcast.

Tonight's broadcast was put together by Laura Palmer, a freelance producerwho contributes regularly to Nightline. Here is her description:

"Robert Frost once said that his poems began with either a lump in thethroat or a scream. Tonight's broadcast was like that too, except for me,it began with both.

"Tonight's broadcast is about murder. A vicious, awful murder of avivacious young woman on the threshold of life; a newlywed, with hopes ofstarting a family and the sister of a famous football player.

"The man that confessed to killing her had a murderous childhood. Mostchildren find love and security in their mother's eyes. Johnny Paul Penryfound evil and violence of hideous proportions-- compounded by his mentalretardation. Can it ever be a tragedy to survive your own childhood?

"22 years after the murder, this case is still not resolved. It was,incredibly, heard by the Supreme Court recently for a second time.

"At one level, the case is about jury instructions. At a more fundamentallevel, it's about how we decide who lives and who dies. Should someone be,as strange as it might sound, 'smart enough to die?'

"I've traversed some rugged emotional terrain producing for Nightlineover the years. I'm always asked, 'Isn't it depressing?' The answer hasalways been a resounding no. I've never set out on a piece without havingseen that there is light in the darkness no matter how black it mayinitially seem.