U.S. District Judge
Micheal A. Ponsor sat on the bench in 2000 to hear the first capital case in Massachusetts history after a lapse of more than 50 years. In his newly
published novel, The Hanging Judge,
he offers up a view from a judge's perspective of a federal death penalty trial. “A compelling
tale, with a cast of vividly drawn characters and a plot that twists and turns,”
his work has been described as both entertaining and informative.* A perfect
summer read.
Summer reading
aside, the subject of the use of the death penalty in our country deserves
serious consideration. Since 2007, the United Nations General Assembly has
adopted four resolutions calling on its member States to establish a moratorium
on the use capital punishment with a view to its abolition. On June 28, 2013,
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called the minority of UN member States where the procedure is
still practiced to increase transparency and allow a serious debate on the
subject.
“Massachusetts Law About the Death Penalty” can provide links to information to engage you in this
debate. The use of the death penalty in Massachusetts state cases was declared unconstitutional in 1984 in Commonwealth v. Colon-Cruz. Capital punishment is still an option in federal cases heard in Massachusetts.
*Jonathan Harr,
author of A Civil Action.