http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SCOTUS_JURY_BIAS?SITE=NYROR&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT "WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a black death row inmate deserves a new chance to press his claim that prosecutors stacked his jury with whites and death penalty supporters. The 8-1 ruling is a rare example of the conservative-leaning court agreeing that a death row inmate may have been treated unfairly at trial." Does this case, along with the recent blanket clemency in Illinois, and the Supreme Court decisions outlawing the execution of the mentally retarded and striking down state laws that allow for judges to hand down death sentences reflect a changing of the political climate towards joining the rest of the western world and ending this practice all togther?
Congress can't act, short of a constitutional Amendment, and that's unlikely. So that leaves the decision to individual states, and therein lies the rub. It's just politically easier to have it than to actually vote against it. As somebody pointed out here recently, in most states it's a lot like sodomy laws, seldom enforced but politically dangerous to vote against. Look at Gov. Bush's response to Illinois' moratorium - sure, maybe they make mistakes, but we don't. The particular state where these errors occurred might abolish the death penalty in response to public outcry, but other states are going to treat it as an isolated problem. Polls show that many people already believe an innocent has been executed, and yet they still support the death penalty. I think the pro death penalty politicians and their constituency look at the execution of an innocent as a "cost of doing business." :m: Peace.
i pitty your country goofy as has already been shown once in Australia the fed goverment could EASERLY over rule the states in something like this unfortunatly last time they did it it was unthanasia that was over ruled cause johnny thinks its BADDDDD
Although I agree that its unlikely that any law will be passed outlawing capitol punishment nation wide, there are several things that could happen that would have the same effect. One is that all the states could declare moratoriums, another is that the supreme court could call a moratorium until better safeguards are put in place, which happend in the past and remained in effect until 1970's and stopped capitol punishment until then. A constitutional amendment woudl be needed to do away with it permanently but it can be stopped relatively easily if the right people agree to it.
