Nicole Flatow:

Chief U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman pointed out that the Second Amendment protects the right to bear arms -- not the right to use them -- and that the officers "grossly misconstrued" the Fourth Amendment when they claimed that it protects them, and not individuals who would be the subjects of police force or seizures.

Joseph Bottum:

America is filled with people frantically seeking confirmation of their own essential goodness. We are a nation of individuals desperate to stand on the side of morality -- anxious to know that we are righteous and dwell in the light.

U.S. 9th Circuit Court Chief Judge Alex Kozinski:

Executions are, in fact, brutal, savage events, and nothing the state tries to do can mask that reality. Nor should we. If we as a society want to carry out executions, we should be willing to face the fact that the state is committing a horrendous brutality on our behalf.

Timothy Noah:

Violent crime has fallen by 44 percent in America over the past two decades, but during that same period the prison population has more than doubled.

FBI Director James Comey:

I believe people should be skeptical of government power. I am.