It all depends on what the meaning of the word “innocent” is…

In 1994, Justice Harry Blackmun famously announced his opposition to the death penalty: “From this day forward, I no longer shall tinker with the machinery of death.” It cannot be administered fairly, he said, and “the inevitability of factual, legal, and moral error” ensures that some innocent defendants will be killed.

The circus around Troy Davis’ execution tells me that we are continuing to tinker with the machinery of death. We are diminished as a society as a result.

Comforting to know that being put to death without any physical evidence and seven of nine witnesses recanting is still possible in this country. And they say things aren’t like they used to be in ‘Murica. [Engage USA! chant macro]

It should be noted, for the record, that the Roberts court is one of the most right-wing Supreme Courts in generations. Buncha activist judges tramplin’ on our states’ rights.

For my money, this was the most bizarre moment during the GOP presidential debate. Even if you are in favor of the death penalty, enthusiastically cheering the deaths of 234 Americans is just bizarre.

In 1976, Alabama passed a law allowing judges to override juries’ death penalty decisions in capital cases. So that their wiser, cooler heads could prevail over the passions of the jury… supposedly.

Fifteen states do not give the option for the death penalty to their prosecutors. A sixteenth, Illinois, is about to join them.

The Washington Post’s Michael Gerson wrote the most cowardly chickenhawk op-ed I have seen in a long time. Perhaps he’s really afraid a fair trial will reveal more than KSM’s criminality?

The signers of the Manhattan Declaration are an interesting bunch. Whether they are Roman Catholics, evangelicals, or Anglicans, they share a strong bent for purity, both inside and outside the church. We’re going to be hearing from them for a while.

Looks like it. It’s starting to look more and more like Texas governor Rick Perry orchestrated an effort to thwart a state probe into an arson investigation that may have led to the execution of an innocent man. Sam Bassett — the former chair of the Texas Forensic Science Commission, who Perry declined to reappoint [...]