I was delighted to see in the letter in the January 7 issue from Drs. Abraham L. Halpern and Alfred M. Freedman noting that the Lifers of APA have taken a firm stand against the death penalty. For me this raises two questions: (1) Do psychiatrists have to be 70 years old to have such courage of their convictions? and (2) Do younger psychiatrists not have the same humanitarian ideals as the older ones?

Henry P. Hare Jr., M.D.

San Antonio, Tex.