New York
A judge has declared the federal death penalty law unconstitutional, saying it created an “undue risk of executing innocent people.” U.S. District Court Judge Jed Rakoff based his decision this week on research concerning dozens of inmates who had been sent to death row, only to be cleared later by DNA or other evidence. The flaws made the death penalty tantamount to “state-sponsored murder of innocent human beings,” Rakoff said. Prosecutors are expected to appeal. They had planned to seek the death penalty for two men—Alan Quinones and Diego Rodriquez—being tried before Rakoff on drug-related murder charges. For now, Rakoff’s ruling only affects that case.
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