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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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Australia's extradition laws stopping death penalty

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Alabama's attorney-general has blamed Australia's extradition laws for his inability to seek the death penalty for a man jailed in Queensland over his wife's death.

Gabe Watson's wife Tina died during a scuba diving trip while the pair were on their honeymoon in 2003.

Under Australian law a person cannot be extradited if there is a chance they would face the death penalty.

In a letter to Queensland Attorney-General Cameron Dick, Alabama's attorney-general Troy King said United States authorities had cooperated fully with Australian investigators.

But Mr King described Queensland's position on the death penalty as "a refusal to honour your commitment to the citizens of the State of Alabama".

As a result he says he was forced to reduce the maximum penalty for any charges laid against Watson to life without parole.

Mr King says the extradition laws reflect Australia's long-standing, bipartisan opposition to the death penalty.

Watson pleaded guilty to manslaughter and is due to be released in November after serving an 18-month sentence.

Source: ABC News, June 29, 2010
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