Statement of abolitionism, via the head of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (interviewed by Salon):
"How death penalty politics radically, shockingly changed: Death row's days are numbered..."
Statement of reality, via Gallup:
For willingness to lie, belligerently and with a straight face, I have seldom encountered anything like the abolitionist movement. The refrain is that public support for the death penalty has been crumbling in recent years, but the truth is otherwise (as abolitionists know while they continue to dissemble)."Americans' Support for Death Penalty Stable. WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Six in 10 Americans favor the death penalty for convicted murderers, generally consistent with attitudes since 2008."
The death penalty's days are numbered. Our country is becoming less and less democratic. What matters is the judiciary's deep-seated distaste for it.
federalist --
The cases noted in the link below, and just granted this morning, will tell us more about the Supreme Court's attitude toward the death penalty.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SUPREME_COURT_KANSAS_CAPITAL_CASES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
My personal view is that, as long as public support remains stable at or above 60%, and the composition of SCOTUS does not change, the DP will not be judicially extinguished. The low-hanging fruit has been picked (exempting juveniles, the mentally retarded, and non-homicide cases), and the country simply is not buying more than that. I thought it very telling that the most recently appointed Justice, Justice Kagan, said at her confirmation that she regards the DP as settled law going forward. I also think it significant that Justice Kennedy has not provided the needed fifth vote for a stay in a couple of recent cases.
As I have said before, the televising and YouTubing of some astoundingly hideous murders will also make it hard for abolitionists to sell the idea that the DP is just too much. These atrocities show that, if anything, it's too little, but the best we've got.