Is the death penalty dying? It’s a fair question given that the Republican-controlled Nebraska legislature just abolished the punishment over the governor’s veto (the New York Times has the story here), and that yesterday’s ABC News poll reveals a “new low” in national support for the death penalty (albeit only over a time horizon of 15 years). It’s also the question Time magazine asked in this recent feature story. Here’s a related question that I’ll pose to readers: Which will come to North Carolina first, marijuana legalization or the repeal of the death penalty? In other news: No override yet of veto of magistrate marriage opt-out. Regular readers know that the General Assembly, in order to accommodate magistrates with religious objections to same-sex marriage, has passed a bill allowing magistrates to opt out of performing marriages at all. Governor McCrory vetoed the bill. The Senate voted to override the bill, but the House hasn’t voted yet, despite having passed the bill originally by a margin great enough to override and having had the matter on the calendar each of the past two days. It seems that some House members are on the fence about whether to override. WNCN reports here. Chief Justice creates new commission. The North Carolina Commission on the Administration of Law and Justice, to be exact. The press release is here. The commission has five co-chairs and five focus areas, one of which is “criminal investigation and adjudication.” Exactly what opportunities stakeholders may have to provide input to [...]
Faculty Coordinators
