3.01.2005
Whew. Supreme Court finds Juvenile Execution Unconstitutional.
Today, via a slim 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court forbid the execution of juvenile offenders due to the violation of the 8th Amendment's "cruel and unusual punishment" clause. And surprise, surprise - Rehnquist, Scalia, Thomas and O'Connor voted to uphold the executions.
It was the second major defeat at the high court in three years for supporters of the death penalty. Justices in 2002 banned the execution of the mentally retarded, also citing the Constitution's Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishments.
But it appears as if the courts are starting to align themselves with the facts - the death penalty doesn't deter murders, the cost of an execution is a multiple of the cost of a life sentence, and has admittedly killed many innocents.
While I can sometimes understand the guttoral emotion that craves the slaughter of a felon, I cannot sanction something that sometimes executes the innocent. A life sentence allows for the facts to come out. A death penalty does not.
UPDATE: Prof. Althouse has (of course) presented some interesting analysis on the court's use and non-use of international law in the decision. Interesting stuff. But I guess I'm a geek, so it may not be so interesting to everyone else.
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