22 Quotes by Richard Dieter

What's needed is some growing evidence from the states that they want to ban executing minors. More state governors and legislatures have to weigh in. They need some momentum in the next year or two for the justices to say, now is the time to decide this.

Lethal injection is the only method being used now, for all practical purposes. The chemicals are almost the same in all the states, and they're being challenged in all the states.

New Jersey has stopped all executions. Four stays of execution have been granted on this issue in various states. The US supreme court has taken a case related to this issue.

Someone, either a judge or a jury, must determine beyond a reasonable doubt that government has proven an aggravating factor beyond guilt.

This stage of the penalty phase was probably harder for the government, but that was before he took the stand and connected all the dots for the jury.

This seems to be cobbled together in short notice and without significant review. It's not absolutely essential that each person be executed on time, if there's this kind of uncertainty. I find it somewhat amazing that they could have a judge change the procedure and then change it again all while this person's not knowing even how he's going to be executed.

Every lawyer worth his salt is putting in a lethal injection challenge.

Florida's all alone out here. That's something that usually gets the (U.S.) Supreme Court's attention. Sometimes you want to preempt that and change your own law before the Supreme Court steps in and you have no law.

Fees go up. What makes this case high is not 2005, however, but how unusual a case it was.