[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----MO., USA

[Rick Halperin]

Oct. 22



MISSOURI:

Sister Helen Prejean's Visit to Missouri Highlights Opportunities for 
Interfaith Work to End Capital Punishment


Following closely upon the announcement that the National Association of 
Evangelicals has altered their position on the death penalty, Sister Helen 
Prejean will be a featured speaker at Evangel University. "This represents an 
opportunity for inter-faith dialogue," MADP State Coordinator Staci Pratt 
observed. "Respect for the possibilty of redemption has deep spiritual roots 
and has made many in the faith community question the application of the 
ultimate punishment." Sister Helen will visit Springfield on October 29th.

Sister Helen Prejean's committment to the case of Richard Glossip, has many 
parallels to our own Kimber Edwards--who recently received a commutation of his 
death sentence to life in prison from Gov. Nixon. She will continue her 
presentation through events in Kansas City on October 30.

Sister Helen Prejean will Speak at Evangel University

When--Thu, October 29, 11am - 1pm

Where--Evangel University at 1111 N. Glenstone Ave., Springfield MO

Description--Sister Helen Prejean CSJ, internationally-known author, speaker 
and anti-death penalty activist, the subject of the movie, "Dead Man Walking", 
will speak at Evangel University at 1111 N. Glenstone Ave. to some of the 
student body at Evangel as well as the Senior Class of Springfield Catholic 
High School on Thursday, October 29, at 11:00 am. This presentation is open to 
the public but seating is limited. Sister Helen Prejean will Speak at Saint 
Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church

When--Thu, October 29, 7pm - 9pm

Where--Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church at 2200 W Republic Road, 
Springfield MO

Description--Sister Helen will also speak at 7:00 pm on October 29 at Saint 
Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church at 2200 W Republic Road. This presentation 
is free and open to the public. Donations to further the work of MADP will be 
accepted.

Sr. Helen will Speak at Avila University When--Fri, October 30, 1:30 pm - 3:00 
p.m.

Where--Campus Chapel

Description--Avila University has invited Sister Helen to speak with students, 
alumni, and leaders at the University.

In supporting her visit, Avila has demonstrated a tremendous committment to her 
vision. Sr. Helen Prejean will Speak at Unity Temple

When--Fri, October 30, 7:00pm - 8:30pm

Where--Unity Temple on the Plaza, 707 W 47th St, Kansas City, MO 64112, United 
States

Description--Dead Man Walking: The Journey Continues in Missouri. An Evening 
with Sister Helen Prejean. Friday, October 30, 2015, 7:00 pm-8:30 pm. 
Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty and The Center for Global 
Studies & Social Justice at Avila University welcome Sister Helen Prejean, CSJ, 
anti-death penalty activist and international best seller of Dead Man Walking: 
An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States. $10 admission, 
$5 for students. For more information, please visit www.madpmo.org or contact 
Emma at emma at madpmo.com.

(source: Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty)






USA:

Scalia Fears Court Will End Capital Punishment


Associate Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, in an address to the University 
of Minnesota Law School, said, "It wouldn't surprise me at all" if the High 
Court struck down capital punishment as "unconstitutional."

It was clear that Scalia was not hoping the death penalty would be halted by a 
court ruling, but was rather lamenting that the Supreme Court has made the 
sentence "practically impossible to impose." Scalia told the audience his 
disenchantment with some of his fellow justices, who do not share his view of 
the Constitution as an "enduring" document, but rather are quick to make it 
flexible.

Although the U.S. Supreme Court has not yet been so bold as to assert the death 
penalty is unconstitutional, presumably under the Eighth Amendment???s 
prohibition against "cruel and unusual" punishment, Scalia explained that 
multiple death penalty decisions of the court have made it "practically 
impossible to impose." He gave as examples rulings adding mitigating 
circumstances that must be considered, or rulings against its automatic use as 
a punishment for such things as the murder of a police officer.

In recent years, the Supreme Court has held that the death penalty is "cruel 
and unusual" under the Eighth Amendment if used on the severely mentally 
handicapped or minors, and has questioned various methods used among the 
states. In Glossip v. Gross, the Supreme Court upheld Oklahoma's use of 
midazolam as an anasthetic before executions, as a way of ensuring it is not 
"cruel and unusual." Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, in a dissent, compared 
Oklahoma's using lethal drugs to being "burned at the stake."

It was in the Oklahoma case that Associate Justice Stephen Breyer called for 
renewed legal debate over the fundamental question of the death penalty's 
constitutionality. The court held that capital punishment was unconstitutional 
in Gregg v. Georgia in 1976, but later reversed itself when several states 
revised their statutes to address the court's concerns. Oklahoma, for example, 
was the 1st state to enact a death penalty by use of lethal drugs, moving away 
from the electric chair.

In his dissent in the Glossip v. Gross decision, Breyer opined that 
"circumstances and the evidence of the death penalty's application have 
radically changed" since its reinstatement. "I believe that it is now time to 
reopen the question" of whether "the death penalty, in and of itself, now 
likely constitutes a legally prohibited cruel and unusual punishment."

As recently as 2011, Breyer told the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia that 
only the legislature can abolish the death penalty. But in his dissent, he 
pointed to an "emerging global consensus" against the death penalty, noting 
that most nations in the United Nations have ceased executions.

Amazingly, one of Breyer's arguments that the death penalty was cruel and 
unusual was the "excessive delays" found in almost all death penalty 
proceedings. Scalia directly challenged Breyer on that point, saying that 
almost all such delays are cause by anti-death penalty activists. He said that 
this reminded him of the man "sentenced to death for killing his parents, who 
pleads for mercy on the ground that he is an orphan."

Associate Justice Clarence Thomas referred to Breyer's arguments as 
"pseudoscientific," while Scalia, in his more colorful way, dismissed them as 
"gobbledy-gook."

Scalia wrote that the death penalty could not be unconstitutional, because the 
Constitution itself states that "no person ... shall be deprived of life ... 
without due process of law," which presumes the legality of the death penalty 
under the Constitution.

It is clear that Scalia will not join in, should the Supreme Court declare 
capital punishment unconstitutional, but he is now 79, and in his 30th year on 
the court - the longest serving member. He told the audience in Minnesota that 
he is in no hurry to leave the court.

Left unsaid, Scalia is most likely in no hurry to leave and let President 
Barack Obama pick his successor, a successor almost certainly to make Scalia's 
prediction of the death penalty's demise come true.

(source: The New American)