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Article: Non habeas corpus: the Supreme Court. (case of convicted rapist and murderer Roger Coleman) (American Survey)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- May 16, 1992
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1992 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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PUNDITS have not missed the irony. Just as the Supreme Court, in Planned Parenthood v Casey, seems about to uphold the right to life of the unborn, it also seems about to turn down the last-minute appeals that might save Roger Coleman from execution. On the one hand, life at all costs; on the other, death without more delay. The court, however, is a place where life-and-death dramas must always boil down to technicalities; and, in these cases, the justices are perfectly consistent. They wish to prevent issues apparently settled at state level from being raised again in federal court.
Mr Coleman, who is due to be executed in Virginia on May 20th, was convicted ...