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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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Indiana officials say death penalty protocol is sound

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Indiana Death Chamber
INDIANAPOLIS – With the possibility of an execution occurring yet this year, Indiana officials are standing by their death penalty process, despite controversies over prolonged lethal injections in other states.

Doug Garrison, chief communications officer for the Indiana Department of Corrections, said officials are confident they have the right death penalty protocols in place to prevent the types of problems that recently marred executions in Arizona, Oklahoma and Ohio.

Michael Overstreet – who was sentenced to death in July 2000 for the 1997 murder, rape, and confinement of Kelly Eckart, an 18-year-old freshman at Franklin College – is likely to be the next inmate to face lethal injection.

“He is the closest to reaching the end of the appeals process,” Garrison said. No execution date is set but Garrison said it could be later this year.

The last Indiana execution was that of Matthew “Eric” Wrinkles in 2009.

Overstreet’s execution comes as states across the nation are struggling to deal with criticisms over the punishment and problems securing the drugs necessary to do lethal injections.

Three states – Ohio, Oklahoma and Arizona – used the sedative midazolam in recent executions – and all took longer than expected, raising questions about whether the punishments crossed a constitutional line to become cruel and unusual.

In early May, Indiana officials announced they would switch to Brevital – an alternative sedative.

Now, officials say they have enough Brevital on hand for the next execution, even though executives from its maker – Par Pharmaceutical – say they don’t want it used in that way. “The state of Indiana’s proposed use is contrary to our mission,” the company said in a statement.

Par Pharmaceutical went on to say the company is working with its partners to establish distribution controls on Brevital to “preclude wholesalers from accepting orders from departments of corrections.”


Source: TheStatehouseFile.com, Seth Morin, August 8, 2014
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