The Supremes - A Brief Moment of Sanity

As the sad story unfolds in Chicago of federal judge Joan Lefkow's loss - the murders of her husband and mother that may eventually be traced back to an obsessed follower of Matthew Hale, the Supreme Court gave opponents of the death penalty a glimmer of hope with a squeaker of a decision (5 to 4) effectively banning the execution of death row inmates who committed their crimes when they were under the age of 18 [Mar. 10: Lefkow murders linked to Bart Ross]. For a nanosecond of history, this country sent a modest, humanitarian message to itself and the world. And for that, judges Kennedy, Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg, and Breyer are to be complimented. But as far as I'm concerned judge Scalia can to hell, go directly to hell, do not pass Go, do not collect $200, and best of luck in the "Lake of Fire."*

My home state of Texas, Oklahoma, and Virginia, remain the only states to wave the flag of lethal injustice when it comes to killing once-juvenile killers during the last ten years. Even countries like Iran, Saudi Arabia, and China have abandoned the practice of executing young offenders. We made the "difficult decision" to join the ranks of these "enlightened" governments, but it wasn't easy. Judge O'Connor, the swing vote savior in many cases, dissented separately from judges Rehnquist, Thomas, and Scalia, but dissented nonetheless. While agreeing with Kennedy on "evolving standards of decency" she claimed there was no "national consensus" regarding the execution of young offenders.

But Scalia, The Dick's hunting buddy, couldn't hold back from hollering "PULL!" as he aimed his over-and-under at the Court's slim majority:

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"The court proclaims itself the sole arbiter of our nation's moral standards — and in the course of discharging that awesome responsibility purports to take guidance from the views of foreign courts and legislatures," Scalia said. "I do not believe that the meaning of our [Constitution] should be determined by the subjective views of five members of this court and like-minded foreigners."

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A brief glance at the majority's decision should provide any fence-sitters with food for thought on both the horror of Christopher Simmons' crimes and the horrific nature of the barbaric laws around the nation that are now considered "cruel and unusual punishment."

I remember when once-moderate governor Mark White began running campaign ads where he slowly walked past huge posters of some of the inmates who'd been executed under his watch here in Texas. The tide was turning right, and White was trying to preempt the "wimp" factor by strutting his Huntsville hustle for the voters. He lost the election. And now hundreds have been executed in Texas while questions abound concerning Harris county's forensic accuracy. If White had stayed true to himself and found a way to reach voters with a conscience, had Ann Richards taken BoyGeorge more seriously during her bid for re-election, our sad tale might have had a less bitter ending than judge Lefkow's heartbreaking tragedy. We've needled two women and a mentally retarded man among the many others in recent years. At least now, Texas can help "balance the budget" by saving money on trial and appeals costs. We forced juries into a corner by not giving them a life without parole option. Now, overzealous prosecutors have one less option when it comes to killing killers. Boy howdy ~

*see Marlon Brando in the film, "Free Money."

(link behind "Mar. 10" above takes you to The Chicago Tribune's story on the alleged killer of Judge Lefkow's family, Bart Ross. CTrib's site now requires free registration to view that story. Any new major developments will be dated and linked to from the same "Mar. 10" location in this post.)
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Scalia quote above taken from an article in today's Los Angeles Times, and is assumed to be the newspaper's copyrighted material, used here for contextual purposes only.