In response to Tuesday's ruling by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which overturned U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff's July decision holding the federal death penalty unconstitutional due to errors in the system that have resulted in more than 100 wrongful death penalty convictions, Lawrence Goldman, president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said that the Supreme Court should show courage and address the reversal of the Rakoff death penalty decision:

"The Second Circuit feels bound by precedent, but Judge Rakoff instead felt bound by the reality that innocent people will die under the current system."

"Across the country, 102 persons sentenced to death have been freed, many on incontrovertible scientific evidence of their innocence. Judge Rakoff's courageous decision recognized that there is more to go on now than in previous challenges: that the newly discovered evidence behind the spate of recent exonerations now proves that the killing of innocent persons by our flawed death penalty machine is inevitable. He was not wrong in concluding that these flaws amount to a violation of due process."

"Several Justices have shown concern for the same issues that led Judge Rakoff to reach his conclusions. We hope the Supreme Court will take this case and address these concerns as soon as possible. Innocent lives hang in the balance."

"NACDL is the preeminent organization in the United States advancing the mission of the nation's criminal defense lawyers to ensure justice and due process for persons accused of crime or other misconduct. A professional bar association founded in 1958, NACDL's more than 10,000 direct members -- and 80 state and local affiliate organizations with another 28,000 members -- include private criminal defense lawyers, public defenders, active U.S. military defense counsel, law professors and judges committed to preserving fairness within America's criminal justice system."

For an analysis of the opinion, go here. You can access the opinion directly here.

Update: Long Story, Short Pier has some comments critical of the reversal.