Rock on — I’m a couple days late hearing about this, but on Tuesday U.S. District Judge William Sessions declared the federal death penalty to be unconstitutional.
U.S. District Judge William Sessions said the law does not adequately protect defendants’ rights.”If the death penalty is to be part of our system of justice, due process of law and the fair trial guarantees of the Sixth Amendment require that standards and safeguards governing the kinds of evidence juries may consider must be rigorous, and constitutional rights and liberties scrupulously protected,” he said.
According to the article, this won’t affect individual states’ death penalty statutes, and he’s actually the second judge to make this ruling.
For me, the death penalty has never been something I’ve supported. I fully realize that there are some amazingly heinous crimes committed, and I can sympathise with those who feel that the death penalty is the only recourse (it’s entirely possible that I’d feel the same way if I was faced with the violent death of a loved one), but I’ve never seen anything to convince me that it’s an actual deterrent.
Hrm. This should probably get more thought and exploration than I’ve got time to give it this morning. Maybe I’ll come back to this post later on.