By Matt for the TIB Network:
I think that this is a bad decision but not for the reasons you might think.As a supporter of the culture of life, I am generally against the death penalty in all but the most severe cases. This is a bad decision because it is based on external sources and not US law. Judges, including US Supreme Court Justices, take an oath to uphold the Constitution...they failed with this decision. It is not in our best interests to have five unelected judges making laws for our country.
Mark's Remarks
I am a supporter of life, however, there are some who cannot be reformed, who actually do more damage being allowed to live in prison with inmates, creating a culture of even more violence in a place with the assumed goal of rehabilitation. Therefore, I am for the death penalty, reluctantly. There are some heinous crimes and people with no hope of rehabilitation, and who would love to live off the government dole for the rest of their lives in a nice little cell with TV and weight rooms, etc. I think there should be a HUGE burden of proof, mind you, but I am for the death penalty, as I don't think it should be ruled out.
More to the point fo hating this decision. As Matt noted above, this is trampling on our Federal system of government, trampling on the rights of THE PEOPLE to decide the laws of the land. And, I do not think that a Court supposed to be deciding on American Law should cite international treaties WE AREN'T EVEN PART OF as precedent for the decisions. We are talking about American law, not international law. Since half of the UN doesn't even follow these "dictates", why should said treaties have any, any significance in making decisions? This should be decided by the people, not five activist jurists seeking to legislate from the bench. The Supreme Court has morphed from being the guardian of the Constitution to the Usurper of Legislative Powers and Trampler of the Constitution.
