Gold Star

David Grann:

Did Texas execute an innocent man?

Justice Scalia:

"This court has never held that the Constitution forbids the execution of a convicted defendant who had a full and fair trial but is later able to convince a habeas court that he is 'actually' innocent."

Also worth a "look" -- The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks, which has been misinterpreting bad punctuation since 2005.

Justice Stevens:

Imagine a petitioner in Davis's situation who possesses new evidence conclusively and definitively proving, beyond any scintilla of doubt, that he is an innocent man. The dissent's reasoning would allow such a petitioner to be put to death nonetheless. The Court correctly refuses to endorse such reasoning.

Decius:

Conor Clarke suggests that Scalia and Thomas are not crazy in holding the view that federal courts are powerless to help a convicted but demonstrably innocent death row inmate.

I think this is one of those moments when there is a clear division between right and wrong

Trial By Fire