The United States, with its mixed record on the death penalty, is about to take a closer look at the issue this autumn with two cases before the Supreme Court and three referendums on state ballots in the November election.
In the two death penalty cases before the court, both from Texas, one examines information given to jurors while the other questions whether the state properly measured intellectual capability of the accused.
"The Supreme Court cases this fall are addressing the brokenness of the judicial system," said Karen Clifton, executive director of the Catholic Mobilising Network to End the Death Penalty.
