The Lethal Gaps in How the Supreme Court Handles the Death Penalty
By Adam Liptak
“Sidebar,” The New York Times
Dec. 12, 2016
Excerpt:
The leading student of the courtesy fifth is Eric M. Freedman, a law professor at Hofstra University. The title of his 2015 law review article on the subject makes his views plain: “No Execution if Four Justices Object.”
On Thursday night, as it became clear that Mr. Smith was going to die, Professor Freedman made a more modest point. The justices, he said, should at the least explain their reasoning and standards.
A version of this article appears in print on December 13, 2016, on Page A13 of the New York edition with the headline: A Fitful Commitment to Halting Executions. Order Reprints.
Read the full article at nytimes.com.