Another death penalty case in the Supreme Court

A Kentucky case involving the issue of whether execution by lethal injection constitutes cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution. will be argued in the United States Supreme Court on January 7, 2008. I am personally opposed to the death penalty for several reasons. From a moral standpoint, I don't believe the State should kill people unless it is absolutely necessary to protect the public. The public can be protected from murderers by locking them up for life without parole. Also, in the past decade, thirteen Illinois inmates who were sentenced to death have been released due to innocence. Imprisoning innocent people is bad enough. Killing them is horrific. Finally, the State uses tremendous resources in getting a person sentenced to death and having that sentence upheld. I believe those respurces could be used for better purposes.

Having said that, I doubt the constitutional claim raised in the Kentucky case will be successful. Capital punishment is specifcally referenced in the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution, indicating that the Framers of the Constitution did not consider it unconstitutional. And lethal injection is certainly a less cruel form of execution than hanging, the method employed in the late 18th century. Nevertheless, New Jersey's legislature recently abolished the death penalty and I hope other states follow suit.