In capital cases, what is mitigating evidence?

It's a tough world we live in. But when the toughness, the injustice, is supported by U.S. policy, then the suffering we see others endure is ours to suffer with them. This isn't God's doing. It's our doing, and so it is up to us to recognize the wrongs done in our name and, as best we can, stand against them.

In this vein, here's an article from Mother Jones about eight men who committed murders and in turn were executed by the state. The question is: If you were on the jury and given these biographies, would you have voted for the death penalty?

It's a tough read. Most of these men were brutalized as children. I did not finish the biographies. But it is an important article and worth our attention, our prayer and our action.