USA - Delaware. Delaware's death penalty was upheld as constitutional today, paving the way for executions - on hold since May 2006

Delaware's death penalty was upheld as constitutional today, paving the way for executions -- on hold since May 2006 -- to resume. In its 47-page opinion, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals warned Delaware about "the worrisome course it appears to have taken at times" in executions. "The record before us reflects an occasional blitheness on Delaware's part that, while perhaps not unconstitutional, gives us great pause. We remind Delaware not only of its constitutional obligation ... but also of its moral obligation to carry out executions with the degree of seriousness and respect that the state-administered termination of human life demands," Circuit Judge D. Michael Fisher wrote on behalf of the panel. Attorney Michael Wiseman of the Federal Community Defender's office in Philadelphia - which represents Delaware's 18 death-row inmates in the class-action lawsuit - declined to comment, saying he was still reviewing the opinion. (see also May 9, 2006, February 23, 2007, June 11, 2007, September 30, 2008).