Judge rules against death penalty

A US judge dealt a significant blow to supporters of capital punishment last night, ruling that the law governing the death penalty in federal cases is unconstitutional.

Judge William Sessions, a district judge in Vermont, ruled that the Federal Death Penalty Act of 1994 denied defendants their right to due process and the right to confront and cross-examine witnesses, as protected under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments of the US Constitution.

"Capital punishment is under siege," Judge Sessions noted. His ruling, on its own, did not have the power to halt judicial executions although it will probably hold up the system. It is likely to be appealed all the way to the Supreme Court, at which point it could force Congress to rewrite the law.

Most significantly, Judge Sessions added to the growing pressure on the US government to address the flaws in the system of capital punishment. Two members of the Supreme Court have expressed deep misgivings about the fairness of capital trials, and many states have slowed down or halted their execution rate.

Judge Sessions' ruling came after US district judge Jed Rakoff declared the federal death penalty unconstitutional in a ruling in New York in July, calling it tantamount to "state-sponsored murder of innocent human beings".

Federal executions were reintroduced last year after a 40-year gap. The first man to be put to death under the 1994 law was Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber.