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Article: Chipping away at the death penalty: Death-row justice is growing ever more complex, as high court follows an evolving national consensus.(USA)
- Article from:
- The Christian Science Monitor
- Article date:
- June 25, 2002
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 The Christian Science Publishing Society. 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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Byline: Peter Grier and Seth Stern Staff writers of The Christian Science Monitor
WASHINGTON AND BOSTON -- Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun, a staunch opponent of capital punishment, once famously said, "I no longer shall tinker with the machinery of death."
But Blackmun retired eight years ago, and tinkering with the death penalty is exactly what the nation's highest court continues to do.
Death-penalty decisions handed down in recent days may - or may not - lessen the use of America's most profound criminal sanction.
One thing they clearly will do, however, is alter the nature of its application. In doing so, high court ...