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Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

The Hill

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Christopher Wray’s big mistake: Why it was wrong for the FBI head to step down 

Wray should have stayed and tried to uphold the rule of law for as long as he could. That is exactly what he is asking his subordinates at the FBI to...

previous day 6

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

Arizona AG panders on the death penalty  

It is a serious mistake for Arizona to restart the machinery of death and for other states to cling to capital punishment.

09.12.2024 5

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

Democrats' hard 2024 lesson: Demographic change and identity politics aren't enough 

As the 2024 election results showed, identity is loose-fitting, rather than a surefire predictor of political attitudes and behavior. 

02.12.2024 10

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

Don't just pardon turkeys — use Thanksgiving to spare lives on death row 

This Thanksgiving, governors should use their sovereign power to put down the executioner’s axe.

25.11.2024 6

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

A right to life, but not to die — it’s not just women’s bodies MAGA wants to control 

What just happened in West Virginia is unprecedented.

18.11.2024 10

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

Voters rejected a 'woke' America — time for Democrats to listen and learn

Kamala Harris’s version of freedom was a caring kind of freedom, but it was also a technocratic, policy wonk kind of freedom — and many Americans...

11.11.2024 8

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

What does Donald Trump's return mean for the death penalty? 

Abolitionists will have to play defense at the federal level, and plot a long-term strategy for ending the death penalty in the United States. 

07.11.2024 10

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

Biden's ‘garbage’ gaffe could elect Trump and do lasting damage to his party 

Last week, President Biden seemed to call Trump supporters "garbage," prompting a wave of faux outrage and callbacks to Hillary Clinton's 2016 "basket...

04.11.2024 7

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

Should we allow prisoners on death row to volunteer for execution? 

A gruesome crime, a cruel penalty. Some might think justice was done. But was it?

28.10.2024 20

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

The punishment doesn’t fit the crime when it comes to the felony murder rule 

It is time for the United States to do what almost every other democratic nation has already done: abolish the felony murder rule. 

22.10.2024 8

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

The callous injustice of Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito 

However the Richard Glossip case comes out, Wednesday’s proceeding offered a chilling reminder that Justices Thomas and Alito want to undo our...

15.10.2024 10

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

The candidates’ response to Hurricane Helene tells voters all they need to know 

When Americans go to the polls in November, they will have an opportunity to choose whether they want a president who will put aside politics when...

08.10.2024 10

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

JD Vance is a con artist, and the debate proved it 

JD Vance’s debate performance was an elaborate ruse, whether he was talking about himself or his running mate, Donald Trump.

03.10.2024 30

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

Marcellus Williams’s execution was a tragedy — hopefully the last of its kind 

What happened to Marcellus Williams fits a sad pattern in this country's use of capital punishment.

27.09.2024 40

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

In 2020, Trump complained the election was rigged. This time, he’s doing the rigging.  

If Trump loses, Americans need to buckle up and ready themselves for a post-election period every bit as difficult and damaging to democracy as what...

25.09.2024 30

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

Watch live: FCC commissioner testifies before House on Biden policies

Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr and other officials are slated to testify about Biden administration policies Thursday morning before...

19.09.2024 9

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

JD Vance’s Machiavellian lies should be a warning to us all 

That politicians lie is hardly news — do the ends justify the means?

19.09.2024 7

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

Trump’s special treatment is just further proof: Not everyone is equal before the law 

Donald Trump has tied the legal system in knots, using his status as a former president and a current presidential candidate as a tool to delay and...

16.09.2024 9

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

Trump's all over the place on abortion. Or maybe he just doesn’t care. 

Neither what Trump said about IVF nor about Florida’s six-week abortion ban this week should have shocked anyone.

03.09.2024 20

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

Living under the shadow of an unjust death sentence: The story of Marcellus Williams 

An innocent person entered a plea just to avoid a death sentence he doesn’t deserve; now, he is stopped from proving his innocence by the...

28.08.2024 10

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

Why the Harris campaign is betting on hope in a time of pessimism 

Michelle Obama told the DNC that hope is making a comeback” — Democrats hope she's right. 

22.08.2024 10

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

Why is it so hard to correct mistakes on death row? 

The fact that there are so many roadblocks erected to prevent success in freeing falsely convicted inmates from death row, and that it takes so long...

19.08.2024 7

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

Chaos is coming: Americans must act now to protect the vote from interference  

Democrats and everyone who cares about the survival of American democracy need to prepare now for what will unfold after the votes have been counted...

12.08.2024 4

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

Trump's Adin Ross interview played into Democrats' efforts to paint him as weird

Former President Trump used an interview with internet personality Adin Ross to claim that Caracas, Venezuela, is a very safe place to live, despite...

09.08.2024 4

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

New report highlights the absence of mercy when clemency is considered in capital cases

Utah officials denied clemency to Taberon Honie, who is scheduled to be executed on Aug. 8 for the stabbing death of his girlfriend's mother in 1998,...

05.08.2024 5

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

What will Biden’s lame-duck legacy be? 

Before he leaves office, President Biden should ramp up his use of the pardon power to empty the federal death row. 

29.07.2024 4

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

Death row is not a science lab, and we should not experiment on inmates 

the state of Utah, long known for its embrace of the firing squad, is planning to use a previously untried drug combination in a lethal injection of...

22.07.2024 6

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

Did you read the Republican Party’s 2024 platform? You should. 

ignoring the Republican platform would be a mistake.

15.07.2024 9

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

After 200 death row exonerations, will we finally put an end to the death penalty? 

While people who commit serious crimes deserve severe punishment, no one should tolerate a system that takes shortcuts and ends up punishing people...

11.07.2024 10

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

The right wants revolution; the left is just going in circles 

Steve Bannon's Second American Revolution combines an embrace of Christian nationalism with a program to put “American Citizens First.” What is...

08.07.2024 6

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

Biden says he’s a defender of democracy. America disagrees.  

President Biden has made preserving and protecting American democracy a central issue in his campaign for re-election. But his promise to preserve a...

01.07.2024 4

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

Texas sentencing is out of date: No one can predict future crimes, even on death row 

It is long past time for Texas to get out of the business of predicting future dangerousness in making life and death decisions. 

23.06.2024 20

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

Unshackled by ethics, protected by partisans: The Supreme Court is out of control 

In the Washington of today, even calls for ethics and transparency in our governmental institutions trigger partisan reflexes.  

17.06.2024 10

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

Speeches won’t save American democracy  

President Biden is trying to show cynical, irreverent Americans that their fates and ways of life are tied to the survival of democracy and the values...

10.06.2024 20

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

The Trump verdict is a vindication of the American jury system 

Twelve ordinary citizens were called on to judge the former president under the glare of a national and international spotlight.

03.06.2024 30

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

Death row gone rogue: It’s time to regulate lethal injection drugs 

If this country is going to continue carrying out lethal injection executions, they should be subject to exacting scrutiny. 

28.05.2024 20

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

The crisis of confidence in higher education will not end with the student protests 

Even as student protesters take down their encampments and go home for the summer, colleges and universities are left with much work to do if they are...

20.05.2024 30

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

Trump’s ‘Sore Loser Syndrome’ is spreading throughout the Republican Party 

Today, refusing to say whether they will accept the 2024 election results has become a staple among Republican leaders seeking favor with Trump and...

13.05.2024 40

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

America needs to get ready now for post-election chaos in November 

Over the next several months, voters need to make clear that they do not want a repeat of 2020. And in November, Americans need to go to the polls and...

06.05.2024 30

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

Hey, SCOTUS — your hypocrisy is showing 

Thursday was not a good day for American democracy.  

29.04.2024 50

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

Americans who want to protect democracy need to stand up for public libraries 

Public libraries, once considered the backbone of America’s civic infrastructure, are under attack.

22.04.2024 30

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

Arizona’s bizarre abortion decision 

The Arizona Supreme Court decision was not just a political bombshell — it was legally bizarre.  

15.04.2024 40

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

Missouri case shows that even people sentenced to death can be rehabilitated  

From the time he was sentenced, Brian Dorsey’s story was a powerful antidote to despair. It calls on all of us not to give up hope, even for those...

09.04.2024 10

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

The Supreme Court is playing grammar games with people's lives  

The court’s decision in the Pulsifer case is more than an English teacher’s nightmare. It guts a key section of the First Step Act. 

25.03.2024 6

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

The courts will not save us from Donald Trump 

Recent legal developments in Trump’s various cases should have made it clear that no one — no judge, no jury — is coming to save us or to rescue...

18.03.2024 30

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

Biden’s State of the Union speech missed the mark on crime  

If Biden is going to win their votes, he will have to move the fear of crime to the top of his agenda.

11.03.2024 10

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

Clarence Thomas’s conflict is clear — he must recuse himself from the Trump immunity case 

How will Thomas respond to these urgent appeals?  

04.03.2024 40

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

President Biden, don't allow DC’s crime problem to become Democrats’ problem in 2024 

If Joe Biden wants to win, he will need to take on the crime issue.

26.02.2024 10

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

With Trump, the future of reproductive rights is on the ballot 

If Trump is re-elected, he will not rest with Dobbs. He will go after reproductive rights everywhere.  

19.02.2024 20

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

What South Carolina’s execution dilemma says about America’s death penalty 

What happens in a state that authorizes the death penalty but has no legal means of carrying it out?

12.02.2024 30

The Hill

Austin Sarat, Opinion Contributor

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