Ten years ago the SCOTUS ruled that executing mentally retarded people was unconstitutional, but it did so in a fashion that allowed the states a lot of practical leeway in regard to implementing this policy. Characteristically, Texas has done a judicial end run around the decision, with the result that, if a stay isn’t granted, […]
Tag: the death penalty
In a 5-4 opinion written by Kennedy, the Court has ruled that the Eight Amendment makes the death penalty unconstitutional in cases where the defendant did not intend to cause death. More when I have
What Baze hath wrought. Good to know that Texas is getting all fired up to execute a dude in a wheelchair.
Given what bean correctly identifies as the complexity of today’s ruling in Baze v. Rees, I’ll have to leave discussion of the fractured holding until tomorrow. For now, let me discuss one interesting and unexpected development. For the first time since the nearly-retired Harry Blackmun, the Supreme Court now has a justice who believes the […]
The Supreme Court just rejected 7-2 a constitutional challenge to the 3-injection lethal injection protocol. Details to come. The case is Baze v. Rees. Good to know that Supreme Court believes that do
The Nebraska Supreme Court ruled today that execution by electrocution is unconstitutional because it is cruel and unusual punishment.The court’s logic seems pretty sound to me: “We recognize
It’s been buried by NH primary news, but it’s worth noting that the Supreme Court heard Baze v. Rees yesterday. The case challenges Kentucky’s use of a three-drug cocktail to execute the condemned. By all accounts, it does not look good for Baze, who is challenging the procedure. As Linda Greenhouse recounts this morning, even […]
There’s news today that executions have declined around the country in 2007. This should come as no surprise given the current federal de facto moratorium pending the Supreme Court’s resol
As I’ve noted before, being an executioner is not necessarily considered the most respectable of professions (which is, I think, a sign of waning for support for capital punishment. So what if t
The New Jersey legislature has voted to abolish the death penalty, and Corzine says that he will sign the bill. Good. Some death penalty supporters will undoubtedly mention that a majority of the state’s citizens still support the death penalty, but this is misleading. When residents are asked to choose between the viable alternatives, what […]
There’s word today that New Jersey is poised to repeal the death penalty in the state. The senate passed the bill, which will now go to the democrat-controlled house and then to Governor Corzine
For years, proponents of the death penalty have argued that it acts as a deterrent. This claim has been damn tough to prove, probably because it’s wrong. What’s ironic, though, is that the