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Biden Fails a Death Penalty Abolitionist’s Most Important Test

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The mystery of Joe Biden’s views about capital punishment has finally been solved. His decision to grant clemency to 37 of the 40 people on federal death row shows the depth of his opposition to the death penalty. And his decision to leave three of America’s most notorious killers to be executed by a future administration shows the limits of his abolitionist commitment. The three men excluded from Biden’s mass clemency—Dylann Roof, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, and Robert Bowers—would no doubt pose a severe test of anyone’s resolve to end the death penalty. Biden failed that test.
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Dallas DA Craig Watkins says his great-grandfather was executed in Texas

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Craig Watkins
Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins made a startling disclosure today:

"People don't know that my great-grandfather was executed by this state," he said.

The district attorney offered no further details.

The revelation from the first black district attorney elected in Texas came in a news conference after a hearing to exonerate a man, Richard Miles, whose trial and convictions for murder and attempted murder have raised questions.

Before mentioning his executed relative, Watkins said exoneration proceedings offer an opportunity to examine whether Texas is "doing the right thing" by using capital punishment. He added, however, that his office will continue to pursue death cases because it is the law.

Watkins, who has in the past expressed conflicting personal opinions about the death penalty, left as the news conference continued.

He did not indicate whether he or his family believed that his great-grandfather had been wrongly convicted.

He could not be reached for comment later.

His office confirmed that the execution had taken place -- on Aug. 10, 1932 -- but released few other details.


Source: DallasNews, Feb. 22, 2012

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