February 25, 1998

The Editor

The Columbus Dispatch

Like many readers, I was puzzled by the logic of Attorney General Betty

Montgomery's statement that Wilford Berry has a "right" to be executed,

and that keeping Berry alive would cause him "irreparable harm."

This seeming incomprehensible logic is thoroughly explained in a book

from 1920 called "The Permission to Destroy Life Unworthy of Life."

Written by a psychiatrist and a lawyer, this German book argued that

suicide was a "human right," and that assisted suicide should not be

penalized. The authors further stated that individuals whose lives were

not (in the eyes of society) worth living, because of mental or physical

handicap, were entitled to a quick and painless death.

"Life unworthy of Life" was read by the young Adolf Hitler. This book

influenced the development of Nazi Germany's "euthanasia" program, in

which thousands of physically and mentally handicapped German citizens

were murdered (many by lethal injection) during World War II. Has our

Attorney General been reading this book as well?

Jonathan I. Groner MD

Bexley, OH 43209

(source: Columbus Dispatch)