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Any speculations on what this Election Day could mean for the death penalty?

By Douglas A. Berman

There are a number of state initiatives concerning sentencing and drug policy reforms that might provide a sense of some voters' current views on drug crime and punishment.  But I cannot recall a single election story, either at the federal or state level, in which the death penalty has been a consequential issue.  (This marks a significant contrast to 2006, when a death penalty ballot issue in Wisconsin and a heated race for Governor in Virginia partially revealed the political salience of, and current attitudes on, the modern death penalty.)  But even though the capital punishment has been a very quiet issue this election cycle, election results at both the national and state level will surely impact the future of the death penalty in the United States...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on November 04, 2008 (boomark / email).