Big Brother Bombs

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No one much cares about Freddy Ferrer, the Democrats’ sacrificial candidate for mayor of New York City, but this article from the New York Times caught our attention for a tangential reason:

A prominent opponent of the death penalty criticized Fernando Ferrer yesterday for saying that capital punishment was justified in some cases, the latest of several positions that the Democratic candidate for mayor has taken on the issue.

“After 10 years of experience with the death penalty, New Yorkers have rethought their position on the issue, and Mr. Ferrer should, too,” said David Kaczynski, executive director of New Yorkers Against the Death Penalty, which was influential in virtually scuttling the state’s death penalty law this year. “We would welcome the opportunity to sit down with Mr. Ferrer to help him sort through the various issues.”

The rebuke by Mr. Kaczynski, who lives upstate and is not backing any candidate in the mayor’s race, was a source of considerable frustration for Mr. Ferrer’s aides yesterday. Mr. Ferrer made the remark Thursday night at a televised debate, which Ferrer aides had hoped to declare a clean victory for the Democrat and a defeat for Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who had been criticized for skipping the event.

Kaczynski . . . Kaczynski . . . hmm, does that name ring a bell? Why yes, David Kaczynski is the younger brother of Ted “Unabomber” Kaczynski, who murdered three people and wounded 23. This might have been relevant to mention in a story about his efforts regarding criminal justice, but the Times did not do so.