Is it constitutional to execute the innocent? Scalia: Nothing the legal system needs to worry about.

[Kadie]

Executing the Innocent?


Is it constitutional to execute an innocent person? That's nothing the legal system needs to worry about, says Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

Sounds outrageous, but as Scalia pointed out in an opinion last week, the court "has never held that the Constitution forbids the execution of a convicted defendant who has had a full and fair trial but is later able to convince a habeas (reviewing) court that he is 'actually' innocent."

The court has managed to avoid the issue for decades. In 1993, a majority said a Texas man who couldn't point to any legal flaws in his trial wasn't entitled to a hearing based on his claim of new evidence of innocence. But in that same ruling, Chief Justice William Rehnquist said he assumed that it would be unconstitutional to execute someone who came up with a "truly persuasive demonstration" of innocence.

Last week the court was faced with the case of Troy Davis, sentenced to death for the 1989 murder of an off-duty policeman in Savannah, Ga. Davis ran out of appeals before seven prosecution witnesses recanted their testimony against him, most of them saying they had been pressured by the police, and some pointing the finger at one of the remaining witnesses.

The Supreme Court has now ordered a federal judge in Georgia to hear the evidence despite federal laws that were designed to limit legal review after appeals are exhausted. As Justice John Paul Stevens put it in the majority opinion, allowing those laws to send an innocent person to the death chamber would be "arguably unconstitutional."

Scalia wrote a dissent that scoffed at Davis' claim of innocence and called the new hearing a "fool's errand."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/crime/detail?entry_id=46139&tsp=1#ixzz0PE3q95G1

[DireStrike]

1. LOL

Yeah the constitution also doesn't outright forbid raping your neighbors' pets to death. Get crackin, Scalia!

If the nation's "top" lawyers can't find a legal justification to protect what very well may be an innocent man, they deserve to be fired.

[rfranklin]

2. Can we gin up a capital case against Scalia...

and his accomplice, Clarence Thomas?

[City Lights]

8. +1. nt

[Hannah Bell]

3. there *are* no constitutional issues for fascists.

[DebbieCDC]

4. Why on earth did this POS ever become a lawyer?

For someone who has so little regard for the rule of law, justice for all, etc. etc. someone please explain to me why in fuck's sake this asshole wanted to be a lawyer?

[PA Democrat]

5. So executing the innocent is not "cruel and unusual"?

Of course Scalia also thinks there is nothing wrong with executing people who are mentally retarded, so why should I be surprised?

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=91533&page=1

[zbdent]

6. Score one for the "Party of Life" ...

you know ...

"Nuke 'em all and let God sort them out"

"Kill the bastards"

"Death Penalty"

"Gimme all the guns I can buy!"

etc.

Oh, almost forgot ... "Save the fetus!"

[MisterP]

11. they love to unite death and pleasure

they get almost orgasmic when talking about shooting something, whether it's deer or FMLN members
it's like "Dr. Strangelove" or "Gravity's Rainbow": sex and the most modern weaponry are hopelessly, inextricably fused

[zbdent]

14. Herr Trigger of The Venture Brothers ...

licking the tip of his sniper rifle, giggling with sexual ecstasy ...

[DefenseLawyer]

7. Kill em all and let God sort em out.

Right Tony?

[lsewpershad]

9. Is there some legal way

to get rid of a sitting SCJ. This is a good time to start the procedure.

[DefenseLawyer]

10. Being an asshole is not an impeachable offense.

Tony does give the red faced appearance of always being on the verge of a heart attack, so if you see him, please, buy him a steak.

[anigbrowl]

12. Completely misleading story

You should go read the original opinion. Scalia said that if the appropriate thing would be to appeal the case directly to the US supreme court, not to the district court which wouldn't have the authority to release the guy. I am not a fan of Scalia but in this case he is not arguing for the guy to be executed, just saying he should take his case to the Supreme court directly.

[bemildred]

13. Is the prosecution working to get this guy freed? Why not?

That's what I want to know. They are supposed to care about justice. There is no situation where executing an innocent person is justice.