Richard Dieter Quotations

This seems to be cobbled together in short notice and without significant review. It's not absolutely essential that each person be executed on time, if there's this kind of uncertainty. I find it somewhat amazing that they could have a judge change the procedure and then change it again all while this person's not knowing even how he's going to be executed.

What's needed is some growing evidence from the states that they want to ban executing minors. More state governors and legislatures have to weigh in. They need some momentum in the next year or two for the justices to say, now is the time to decide this.

There's now considerable public skepticism about whether all those being executed are really guilty and that has cast doubt on the whole system.

Sometimes you get the wrong person. Sometimes you are driven by prejudices.

Lethal injection is the only method being used now, for all practical purposes. The chemicals are almost the same in all the states, and they're being challenged in all the states.

It would be counterproductive to force the issue, then have a 5-4 vote that juveniles can be executed, ... The issue then may not be revisited for a long time. It may be a better thing for the issue to percolate, for states to ban executing minors on their own, instead of being forced to by the courts.

There's still debate, but it doesn't frame the issue as strongly as someone who's saying the statute is unfair or begging for his life.

Florida's all alone out here. That's something that usually gets the (U.S.) Supreme Court's attention. Sometimes you want to preempt that and change your own law before the Supreme Court steps in and you have no law.

Every lawyer worth his salt is putting in a lethal injection challenge.

This is a proper action for the governor to take. It's not right to shy away from a difficult question or even shy away from reopening cases when there is a chance that something new might be learned.