Taking stock of death's recent decline

The National Law Journal has this article on recent death penalty developments entitled "More Lawmakers Take a Stand Against Death Penalty: Eleven states react to bad convictions, botched executions." Here is how it begins:

A perfect storm of problematic executions, wrongful convictions and recent court rulings against the practice of lethal injection has led a growing number of states to challenge the death penalty through lawsuits and legislative action. 

Adding still more to the momentum are a public backlash against the cost of capital cases and the development of more effective defense techniques, such as mitigation specialists who humanize death row inmates. 

Eleven states have halted some or all executions -- including Florida and Maryland in December -- and more lawmakers have been speaking out against the death penalty.