A Judge's Regret

In a recent interview with NPR, former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens is candid about his work on the court. When asked if he regrets any decisions in his thirty-four years as associate justice, Stevens says only one, when he and others upheld the death penalty in 1976.

While it is remarkable (and telling of his constancy) that among hundreds of decisions, he regrets but one—a likely inconsequential one at that, given the majority of 6:3 on that morbid decision—it is also a sad reminder of one of the ugliest sides of the American judicial system: it's perpetuation of state-sponsored murder—a most cruel and unusual punishment—that has cost hundreds of (sometimes innocent) Americans their life.

Here's a part of his interview.