[Update: A comment here suggests a reason for Ginsburg/Sotomayor voting for a stay; the primary post is a bit stereotypical. U2: She was executed Thursday evening.]
Democracy Now! this morning had another feature on Mumia Abu Jamal, the cause célèbre of the abolitionist movement. I'm somewhat tired of the whole thing, since there are thousands of people on death row, only a small number receive much attention. But, this one, gets lots of it, partially because of the eloquence of the defendant. Also, even those who are no fans of the movement admit the case had various due process problems. If possible, a commutation to life would seem to have saved a lot of time and bad publicity. On the other hand, murky or not, he was convicted of a cop killing.
But, again, there are many other stories such as the Troy Davis case (which led to a truly novel order by the Supreme Court to re-examine), which are less well known, partially since a few cases like this dominate the coverage. The notable case of the moment is Teresa Lewis, even getting mixed in with an Iranian controversy, someone allegedly (though the President there denies it -- if you can't trust him, who can you trust?) sentenced to be stoned for adultery, but also somehow mixed in with a murder of her husband. Since in both cases, the men involved were not sentenced to death, that too is tossed in the mix. To personalize her:
The fact she is a woman makes her case more sympathetic for some, but then again she was involved (and, though this is in dispute, held to be the "head of this serpent" by the sentencing judge, that is, it was her plan) in the cold-blooded murder of her husband and stepson (a reservist about to be sent overseas) for insurance money. If that last bit isn't bad enough, she also was accused of encouraging her teenage daughter to have sex with the two co-conspirators. Lewis was thirty-three at the time, the two guys who did the actual murder (and received life sentences, though one killed himself in prison) twenty and twenty-one. This is the sort of case where the death penalty seems appropriate to many people. Treating her different because she is a (white) woman (or found God, who just loves prisons, apparently) is at least somewhat arbitrary.
[After she was executed, her lawyer said: "Tonight the machinery of death in Virginia extinguished the beautiful, childlike and loving human spirit of Teresa Lewis. For her family and friends, for her fellow inmates at Fluvanna, for her thousands of supporters in Virginia, the United States and around the world, her death is a tragic loss." I realize his position and all but that was a bit much.]
But, there are complications, as there usually are. She did lead the police to the gunmen, after originally declaring her innocence. There is some debate over who was the true "head of the serpent" here, though the evidence of her somewhat reduced involvement only came out later, as part of the clemency petition. There is some argument that she is borderline retarded. As the Supreme Court noted the year before she helped kill her husband and stepson:
Those mentally retarded persons who meet the law’s requirements for criminal responsibility should be tried and punished when they commit crimes. Because of their disabilities in areas of reasoning, judgment, and control of their impulses, however, they do not act with the level of moral culpability that characterizes the most serious adult criminal conduct. Moreover, their impairments can jeopardize the reliability and fairness of capital proceedings against mentally retarded defendants.
But, the ruling gave the states discretion over determining the proper standards here, a matter that has led to continual litigation, down to another case the resulted in the person being executed recently. Here too Justice Sotomayor would grant a stay (joined this time with Ginsburg; five votes are needed in this situation), starting to be a somewhat consistent vote in that area. The evidence is too mixed to give her a serious shot on this ground, even if someone thinks she should get the benefit of the doubt. It is this issue and the actual trigger men getting life that are the main concerns.
Teresa Lewis is a typical example of the problems with the death penalty. A few cases aside, and yes they might be enough, actual innocence is rarely a likely thing. The problem is more that it is "so wantonly and so freakishly imposed." Taking alone, many will not cry for Teresa Lewis, who helped kill her husband and soon to be serving overseas stepson for insurance money. Hard to feel much sympathy for that. But, the people who actually killed them were not sentenced to die. And, her mental state is open to question. I think there is reasonable doubt that the death penalty is being fairly applied.
Given that execution is inherently cruel in various respects, if there is even some doubt, especially given I doubt someone like this is going to kill in prison or have the wherewithal to escape (events showed her compatriots were more likely to do that in some fashion), she shouldn't be executed. And, if someone like this is "spared," yes, it would be hard to imagine who will not. Your Mumia Abu Jamal or Troy Davis might have some other issues. There always tends to be some. The lack of assurance makes the finality of death that much more problematic.
For these people and other cases deemed less newsworthy.