The dastardly death penalty

This is just weird. Here is a radio report on Florida's lethal injection issue. The report itself is a typical radio story, but it takes a turn for the bizarre when you hear the voice of the member of the execution team who testified before the state commission studying the issue.

It is the audio version of the black hood.

PA's southern neighbors

The governors of Maryland and Virginia, both abolitionists, are both finding themselves entangled in the death penalty. The most promising activity is in Maryland.

(Maryland Governor Martin) O'Malley, who was sworn in last month, has pledged to work with lawmakers to repeal Maryland's death penalty -- and could effectively halt executions through the end of his tenure even without their support, given a recent court ruling.

Pennsylvania sticks out like a sore thumb in the mid-Atlantic region. Consider:

New York: abolition by default. A court struck down the death penalty, and although the legislature could easily remedy the problem the court cited, it has refused to do so.
Maryland: abolitionist governor, moratorium, serious push to repeal
New Jersey: abolitionist governor, moratorium, serious push to repeal
West Virginia: no death penalty
Ohio: abolitionist governor and an attorney general who has questioned the application of the death penalty
Pennsylvania: *crickets chirp*