Vice President, National District Attorneys' Association
District Attorney for Clatsop County, Oregon and Vice President of the National District Attorneys' Association; co-author of Debating the Death Penalty
PROFILE
Joshua Marquis
Guest
FROM Joshua Marquis
To the Point
Time for a Change in the Death Penalty? Because death is the ultimate penalty—the one that cannot be revoked--the administration of capital punishment is always under review. The US Supreme Court has created a de facto moratorium for the next few months in most states by taking up the constitutionality of states' standards of lethal injection. The American Bar Association says this is the time to review other problems with capital punishment, ranging from investigation to trial and conviction. It's completed a three-year study of eight sample states and concluded that the death-penalty process is "deeply flawed" and "rife with irregularity." Are cops, prosecutors, judges and juries biased in favor of death? Is there racial discrimination? Do poor defendants get good lawyers? We look at the pros and cons.
Recommended
To the Point
The Trump agenda: where's the beef? President Trump says big things are happening. After celebrating a House bill on health care, he doesn’t yet have Senate agreement. With James Comey’s public testimony scheduled tomorrow, the President today tweeted his selection of a new FBI Director. Is the Chief Executive all style and no substance? Later, terror attacks in Iran and conflicting claims about who’s behind them.
To the Point
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?
To the Point
The longest US war: Will Trump send more troops to Afghanistan? The Trump White House is divided over the Pentagon's request for more troops in Afghanistan—where the US has been fighting for the past 16 years. Is there a formula -- either for "victory" or a political settlement? Is there an end in sight for America's longest war?
To the Point
Trump's new look at civil rights and global warming President Trump is reportedly ready to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. We look at the possible consequences. On the second half of the program, we hear about cuts in Obama-Era civil rights programs called for by the Trump Administration's first budget plan.