Willie James Pye Executed

The case involves a kidnapping, rape, and murder. The issue is not if Willie James Pye should have been punished. 

Pye did deny he did it but rather unconvincingly. At best, some of the details might be wrong. This does matter, since details factor into the punishment.

Here's an extended profile by an excellent reporter who does this for a living.

There is an allegation that Georgia has too high of a test in place to show intellectual disability. The media challenged the secrecy of the execution protocols. 

Three of the original jurors now oppose his execution, including because of fear he did not get adequate representation. The 11th Circuit (not a liberal circuit) originally granted that. But, a full panel overturned them on procedural grounds.  

The timing of the reversal also resulted in some bad luck. The state put a COVID-related moratorium in place. The profile I linked at the top explains how he lost out because the reversal took too long.

Other procedural concerns are also raised. The litigation continued to the night of the execution.  There should be a national policy to end appeals (unless something unexpected arises) within twenty-four or forty-eight hours before the execution. 

There is also the ongoing question (at least for me) of what legitimate public purpose remains to execute people after a long period (here after nearly thirty years).  

As Breyer once noted:

First, a lengthy delay in and of itself is especially cruel because it subjects death row inmates to decades of especially severe, dehumanizing conditions of confinement. Second, lengthy delay undermines the death penalty's penological rationale.

The intellectual disability and COVID matter factored in two Hail Mary SCOTUS appeals that dropped late afternoon or early evening on the execution day.

SCOTUS (again) waved off the appeals with no statements or dissents on record. Formally, we can't say "no one dissented" since all that is necessary is a majority to decide. Nonetheless, if no one dissents on the record, it is like a noise in the woods with no one around.  I am not a fan of this policy.

Justice Sotomayor previously was somewhat more likely to dissent or drop statements of concern while discussing why she did not dissent. The liberals, particularly Sotomayor and Jackson, have a few times dissented.

Not enough in my opinion, including when there were serious concerns. I think this was a borderline case but Georgia’s high test for intellectual disability specifically is both concerning and novel. My preference would be a brief statement in each case. It is an execution. There are only about twenty a year. It is not too much to ask.

Georgia executed him.

General Thoughts

I have a strong opposition to the death penalty. After closely examining the cases involved a couple of years ago, it was fairly easy to find a notable problem in nearly every case above and beyond simply being against the death penalty.

I looked into each execution that year and did a bit of a “deep dive.” I did not ignore the crimes. The crime factors into the whole story. But, the person did not merely receive a long prison sentence. The person was executed (a few times the state tried but failed).

This case has multiple problems. I especially find it pointless on a basic level to execute someone after nearly thirty years. The fact the death penalty continues to have problems goes to my basic opposition. It seems so arbitrary. That is bad on a moral and constitutional basis.

Some people express heavy disgust when an execution occurs. I am not quite there. As deaths go, I can find others -- including state-related -- that disgust me more.

There are specific cases where the execution appears particularly problematic. This one is not the "worst of the worst" in that sense. The intellectual disability is not blatant, for instance, though serious enough to raise red flags.

This doesn't take Georgia off the hook. It is helpful for one's blood pressure to realize that wrongs come in different forms.

This includes exactly how The Lottery known as the death penalty system (twenty or so a year among thousands of eligibles) takes place. More to come in April.