Is it possible that the person who decides whether Komisarjevsky lives or dies won’t even be in the courtroom for trial?
Get ready to hear a lot about the death penalty in the coming months as the State begins its prosecution of Joshua Komisarjevsky. When that circus ends, look for the legislature to again take up abolition efforts (remember Sen. Prague promised she’d vote for abolition this year).
If Ruth Bader Ginsburg has her way (and she likely won’t), it shall all be for naught:
In response to a question about what she would like to accomplish in her remaining years on the court, the justice said she would like to revive the Supreme Court’s ruling in Furman v. Georgia, which led to a four-year halt on executions, the Chronicle reports. The court in the case ruled that capital punishment constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.
“I would probably go back to the day when the Supreme Court said the death penalty could not be administered with an even hand, but that’s not likely to be an opportunity for me,” Ginsburg said. WSJ Law Blog.
Ginsburg is certainly being realistic on her chances of abolishing the death penalty but she’s worth listening to. She is one of the few people alive whose opinion on what constitutes cruel and unusual punishment under the U.S. Constitution actually matters.