To non-Americans it is almost inconceivable that a civilised country still retains the death penalty, vigorously enforces it in some States in the Union - notably Texas, George Bush's turf - let alone condemned men or women being allowed to remain on Death Row for years and years. A stay of execution at the last moment isn't all that unusual.
The latest fiasco is detailed by The Independent today:
"Earl Berry had eaten his final meal of barbecued pork chops and was just 19 minutes away from his appointment with the executioner on Mississippi's death row when the news arrived that the Supreme Court in Washington had granted him a stay of execution.
His lawyers had made a last-ditch appeal arguing death by lethal injection – the method of choice in almost every US state that upholds capital punishment – constitutes cruel and unusual punishment and was thus barred by the constitution."
Thankfully, at the moment the life of one man has been spared, at least for the time being. The US Supreme Court will now, it appears, embark on a consideration of execution by lethal injection:
"Berry, a murderer who confessed to the 1987 kidnap and killing of a 56-year-old woman, is far from the only prisoner to make the case. The argument has become widespread ever since a judge imposed a de facto moratorium on executions in California 20 months ago for precisely that reason.
But he appears to be the one who has brought the entire machinery of state-administered executions to a halt across the US for the next several months.
The Supreme Court, which has leaned ever more conservatively in recent years and doesn't seem a likely source of ardent death penalty opposition, agreed last month to take up the lethal injection question based on a case coming out of Kentucky. Since then it has stayed three executions, including Berry's.
Legal scholars now agree that no execution is likely to take place anywhere in the US until the Kentucky case is settled. The Supreme Court will hear arguments in that case in January and is expected to rule in the spring. If the justices decide death by lethal injection needs any modification, however minor, it could be more months still before another execution takes place."
Let us hope that the US Supreme Court sees the light and puts a stop to this barbaric practice. Whether the death penalty will disappear in the US is another matter altogether. Interestingly, it is often people like George Bush, forever pushing Christian values - presumably including compassion - who are the most ardent and fervent supporters of capital punishment.
Meanwhile, in Australia, the The Age reports:
"Australia was guilty of speaking with a "forked tongue" on capital punishment and has sacrificed principle for policy, according to former High Court chief justice Sir Gerard Brennan.
Sir Gerard also drew attention to the role of the Australian Federal Police in the arrest of the Bali nine, particularly Scott Rush, whose parents asked the police to warn him off from becoming a drug mule.
"We can only hope that Australia can effectively intervene so save the lives of those condemned, including 21-year-old Scott Rush, after exposing him to the very risk of execution," he said.
In an address to the Law and Justice Foundation in Sydney, Sir Gerard said: "We cannot declare the execution of Australians to be barbaric and the execution of Indonesians to be acceptable.
"A country which speaks about such an important issue with a forked tongue can hardly lay claim to the rule of law and forfeits its credibility in the international forum."
The latest fiasco is detailed by The Independent today:
"Earl Berry had eaten his final meal of barbecued pork chops and was just 19 minutes away from his appointment with the executioner on Mississippi's death row when the news arrived that the Supreme Court in Washington had granted him a stay of execution.
His lawyers had made a last-ditch appeal arguing death by lethal injection – the method of choice in almost every US state that upholds capital punishment – constitutes cruel and unusual punishment and was thus barred by the constitution."
Thankfully, at the moment the life of one man has been spared, at least for the time being. The US Supreme Court will now, it appears, embark on a consideration of execution by lethal injection:
"Berry, a murderer who confessed to the 1987 kidnap and killing of a 56-year-old woman, is far from the only prisoner to make the case. The argument has become widespread ever since a judge imposed a de facto moratorium on executions in California 20 months ago for precisely that reason.
But he appears to be the one who has brought the entire machinery of state-administered executions to a halt across the US for the next several months.
The Supreme Court, which has leaned ever more conservatively in recent years and doesn't seem a likely source of ardent death penalty opposition, agreed last month to take up the lethal injection question based on a case coming out of Kentucky. Since then it has stayed three executions, including Berry's.
Legal scholars now agree that no execution is likely to take place anywhere in the US until the Kentucky case is settled. The Supreme Court will hear arguments in that case in January and is expected to rule in the spring. If the justices decide death by lethal injection needs any modification, however minor, it could be more months still before another execution takes place."
Let us hope that the US Supreme Court sees the light and puts a stop to this barbaric practice. Whether the death penalty will disappear in the US is another matter altogether. Interestingly, it is often people like George Bush, forever pushing Christian values - presumably including compassion - who are the most ardent and fervent supporters of capital punishment.
Meanwhile, in Australia, the The Age reports:
"Australia was guilty of speaking with a "forked tongue" on capital punishment and has sacrificed principle for policy, according to former High Court chief justice Sir Gerard Brennan.
Sir Gerard also drew attention to the role of the Australian Federal Police in the arrest of the Bali nine, particularly Scott Rush, whose parents asked the police to warn him off from becoming a drug mule.
"We can only hope that Australia can effectively intervene so save the lives of those condemned, including 21-year-old Scott Rush, after exposing him to the very risk of execution," he said.
In an address to the Law and Justice Foundation in Sydney, Sir Gerard said: "We cannot declare the execution of Australians to be barbaric and the execution of Indonesians to be acceptable.
"A country which speaks about such an important issue with a forked tongue can hardly lay claim to the rule of law and forfeits its credibility in the international forum."
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