A new law review arti­cle by inter­na­tion­al death penal­ty expert Mark Warren con­cludes that the reten­tion of cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment in the United States dis­tances the nation from its clos­est allies ​“in ways both sym­bol­ic and tan­gi­ble, and the costs of that iso­la­tion are ris­ing steadi­ly.” Warren’s arti­cle, Death, Dissent, and Diplomacy: The U.S. Death Penalty as an Obstacle to Foreign Relations, exam­ines a broad range of con­cerns, includ­ing treaty com­pli­ance and glob­al secu­ri­ty. Warren notes that in recent years, world lead­ers have become increas­ing­ly vocal about their oppo­si­tion to the death penal­ty, and that the U.S. now finds itself on the wrong side of a fun­da­men­tal human rights issue. Warren notes that some recent Supreme Court deci­sions nar­row­ing the scope of the death penal­ty, as well as state efforts to iden­ti­fy flaws in the sys­tem, are steps in the right direction. 

(13 William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal 309 (2004)). See International Death Penalty. See also, Resources.

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