A Sign of Things to Come?
By all accounts, Sam Alito is going to be a terribly right wing justice. He’s going to side with the conservative bloc, and along with Chief Justice Roberts, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, tip the Court in a more conservative direction than Sandra Day O’Connor ever allowed it to go.
Probably.
Like any other position that one holds for life, you just never quite know what you are going to get until after someone is appointed (remember: John Paul II was expected to be a liberal Pope.)
In his very first decision, Justice Alito broke ranks with his conservative brethren and went with the majority in a 6-3 decision to stay a Missouri man’s execution. On what grounds? That the drugs used would cause undue suffering. In other words, you can’t kill him Missouri, if you are going to make it hurt while you do it.
Oh good grief.
While as I get older, I find myself getting more and more liberal, (and I find this decision a wonderful, if unconvincing, first sign of things to come with Justice Alito) this decision is ridiculous. Just because I’m getting more liberal doesn’t mean I’m not still from Texas. I support the death penalty. There is no doubt that this man committed the crime (kidnapping, raping, and murdering a 15-year old girl). He pled guilty, he admits that he did it.
And he can’t be executed because it might hurt?!?!
Oh well, I just wonder how many hard line conservatives are clinching up a bit that the man nicknamed “Scalito” didn’t vote as predicted on his very first decision out of the box.