We Do Not Consecrate The Flag By

The Quest For Freedom, Dignity, And The Rights Of Man Will Never End.

At Bottom, The Battle Has Been Waged On Moral Grounds. The Country Has Debated Whether A Society For Which The Dignity Of The Individual Is The Supreme Value Can, Without A Fundamental Inconsistency, Follow The Practice Of Deliberately Putting One Of Its Members To Death.

We Do Not Consecrate The Flag By Punishing Its Desecration, For In Doing So, We Dilute The Freedom This Cherished Emblem Represents.

One Area Of Law More Than Any Other Besmirches The Constitutional Vision Of Human Dignity. . . . The Barbaric Death Penalty Violates Our Constitution. Even The Most Vile Murderer Does Not Release The State From Its Obligation To Respect Dignity, For The State Does Not Honor The Victim By< Emulating His Murderer. Capital Punishment's Fatal Flaw Is That It Treats People As Objects To Be Toyed With And Discarded. . . . One Day The Court Will Outlaw The Death Penalty. Permanently.

More Fundamentally, However, The Answer To Petitioners' Objection Is That There Can Be No Impairment Of Executive Power, Whether On The State Or Federal Level, Where Actions Pursuant To That Power Are Impermissible Under The Constitution. Where There Is No Power, There Can Be No Impairment Of Power.