US lawyers resume call for moratorium on executions

0 Comments | AFP, April, 2008

WASHINGTON (AFP) — The head of the American Bar Association (ABA) on Monday reiterated a call for a moratorium on executions, arguing the system remained riddled with profound injustices.

Last week the US Supreme Court ruled that lethal injection -- which can cause extreme pain if wrongly administered -- did not violate the constitution which bars all "cruel and unusual punishment."

But as many states prepare to resume a temporary lull in executions following the ruling, the American Bar Association has argued that there continue to be major failures of due process in several places.

"This problem is so severe and so widespread that for the court's recent ruling to open the floodgates to executions would be a tragic mistake," wrote William Neukom, president...