From the capital politics desk

While the hot legal issue in death penalty ligation centers on lethal injection protocols (highlights here), a number of news stories from across the US spotlight that the same old political battles over capital punishment rage on:

• This Reuters article surveys the national death penalty pulse and suggests that there is "political paralysis" and "political murkiness" surrounding capital punishment issues.

• This article from Iowa highlights the escalating political spat over efforts to bring capital punishment to the state.

• This article from North Carolina details the arguments made by defense lawyers to the state's House Select Study Committee on Capital Punishment.