Hoof-and-Mouth Disease

As the wrangling over the venue of John Lee Malvo’s trial continues, we are often reminded that the U.S. is one of only a handful of nations with the death penalty and (in some states) part of an even smaller subset that executes juveniles. These litanies fail to recognize that the practical difference between a codified death penalty and an institutional indifference to rigorous investigation of officer-involved fatalities is rather slim.