Colorado's Death Penalty:  An editorial in the Denver Post makes the rare acknowledgment that there are some murderers who actually deserve a death sentence.  The Post believes that Sir Mario Owens should be executed for murdering three people, including the the witness to one of Owens' killings.  While stating that allowing Owens' crimes to go unpunished, "or even underpunished," "would be a blow to the very foundation of our courts," the Post somewhat paradoxically states that it "has historically opposed the death penalty, and that has not changed."     

Detainee Mistreatment:  The Supreme Court held oral argument today in Ashcroft v. Iqbal (07-1015), a lawsuit brought by a Pakistani Muslim seized after 9/11 who claims that he was brutally mistreated by federal officials while being detained in a Brooklyn prison. A story by Christian Science Monitor writer Warren Richey reports that the plaintiff is seeking a ruling to allow former Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller to stand trial for the mistreatment.   Lyle Denniston has this analysis at SCOTUSBlog. Update: Tony Mauro has this report on the argument at Legal Times.