Former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens has written a powerful essay against the death penalty in the next edition of The New York Review of Books. The essay was published tonight online and you can read it here. Stevens' essay is actually a review of Peculiar Institution: America's Death Penalty in an Age of Abolition by David Garland.
I admit that I've seen cases over the years where I quietly thought that I'd want to be the executioner. Wesley Allan Dodd comes to mind. There have been others, too. But Stevens, in his essay, eloquently captures the primary reason I oppose the death penalty—our society's inability to justly administer the ultimate exercise of state power. Read Stevens' argument for yourself. See if you agree.
Tim is a former member of the Seattle City Council (2008-2017). He served as the city’s 55th mayor for 71 days after the previous mayor resigned in 2017 and served as a deputy mayor in Mayor Bruce Harrell’s administration (2022-2025). Tim was the lead architect of the Seattle Preschool Program, first adopted by Seattle voters in 2014 and since renewed and expanded. He focused much of his work as a public official on the critical birth-to-five years of a child’s life, stronger police effectiveness and accountability, economic development, and building the common good. While serving as mayor in 2017, Tim negotiated an agreement with Seattle Public Schools to replace Memorial Stadium at Seattle Center (originally built in 1949). The new stadium will open in the Fall of 2027.
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