A January comeback for the death penalty?

As I noted here, December has been a remarkable month for the death penalty because it has been the first month without an execution in the United States since July 1994.  But, for different reasons, January is also shaping up to be a remarkable month for the death penalty.  Because of pending executions and coming legal and policy debates, January will include noteworthy death penalty stories from coast-to-coast: 

• In Massachusetts , as this article details, there is a brewing policy debate over Governor Mitt Romney’s proposed bill to bring the death penalty back to the state (some background here). 

• In Connecticut, as this article details, the legal battle over the planned January execution of serial killer Michael Ross has made it to the state Supreme Court (some background here).

• In Kansas, as this article details, the state is seeking reconsideration of the Kansas Supreme Court’s decision to invalidate the state’s capital sentencing procedures (basics here, commentary here and here).

• In California, as effectively detailed in this post from How Appealing and in this article, the Ninth Circuit has quickly rejected a habeas appeal which removes one more legal barrier to the scheduled January 19 execution of Donald Beardslee.

And, perhaps making certain we will not have another execution free month, Texas has four executions scheduled for January (despite the recent scrutiny Texas cases are getting, as detailed here and here).

And in addition to all these happenings, also in the works is AG nominee Alberto Gonzales’s Senate confirmation hearing (with a death penalty backstory as noted here and here and here), as well as a possible Supreme Court decision in Roper on the juvenile death penalty (background here and here).