I woke today to a wonderful piece of news: Attorney General Garland has re-set a moratorium on federal executions. Under our previous administration, that moratorium was lifted after 20 years and 13 people (including the first woman to be executed in 70 years) had their death penalties carried out.
Garland’s reasoning is sound. He wants to take a good, hard look at why the poor and minorities are executed most often, at the chemicals and other aspects of the execution process, and at why so many people have been exonerated too late, after their death sentence has been carried out. These are not moral issues, debating whether or not death is a moral sentence — “eye for an eye” of the Old Testament was replaced by Jesus’ commandments and example. It’s very practical, and human.
I hope we get answers so that, should the death penalty be reinstated, it would be ONLY on the basis of fairness and surity of guilt.