About a week ago, in the wake of the GOP debate where a (presumably) pro-life crowd cheered for Rick Perry’s execution record, I wondered about what it really meant to be pro-life in this country and I pointed to the example of the family of a murder victim in Mississippi:

They argue that the death penalty violates the core tenets of their religion and they argue that it is bound up with societal injustices that have deep roots in our history. Public and non-public reasons are being employed here, and you can take your pick as to which you find to be compelling. But even if you aren’t convinced by either one of the arguments they make, you have to agree that this is what a pro-life position looks like.

Now, in case you were wondering what the answer to my question about how the prosecutor would choose to act, after having been asked by the victim’s family not to seek the death penalty against the alleged killer:

A 19-year-old Mississippi man was charged with capital murder Tuesday in the death of an African-American man who died after allegedly being beaten by a group of white teens and run over by a truck, authorities said.

Deryl Paul Dedmon, 19, of Brandon, Mississippi was also charged by a grand jury with hate-crime enhancement in the murder of James Craig Anderson, said Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith.

I’m just guessing, of course, but I’ll bet this District Attorney likely identifies as pro-life … though it seems clear to me that he doesn’t quite understands what that means. He would do well to spend some time speaking with the victim’s family.