Compelling capital contrasts

Though Booker/Blakely stories have the bulk of my attention, the death penalty developments this month, as I foreshadowed here, are remarkable, and the contrasting capital sentencing dramas of the last few days alone could merit dozens of blog posts:

• In Connecticut, as thoroughly covered by Kirby’s Reports here and here, the Second Circuit upheld the stay issued by Chief US District Judge Robert N. Chatigny of the planned execution of serial killer Michael Ross.  This Newsday article provides the latest news on the case (as of this writing).

• In New York, as detailed in articles here and here, the state Assembly is hearing testimony concerning whether and how to fix flaws in the state’s capital punishment statute.

• In Ohio, as detailed in this article, the Sixth Circuit yesterday granted habeas relief to a death row defendant on he grounds of ineffective assistance of counsel.  TalkLeft has potent posts on the ruling here and here, and How Appealing has coverage and a link to the opinion here.

• In Georgia and Texas, however, the machinery of death keeps humming along with little fanfare or attention.  Both states had executions Tuesday night.  This article provides the basic details on Georgia’s execution of Timothy Carr, the 37th person put to death by Georgia in the modern death penalty era.  This article provides the basic details on Texas’s execution of Troy Kunkle, the 338th person put to death by Georgia in the modern death penalty era.