Harsh Economist editorial on capital punishment in the US:

These small signs of a rethink will be welcomed by all those people, including The Economist, who do not share the affection for the death penalty held by so many Americans. To those outside the United States, that country’s love of executions is surprising: surprising to find such a tolerant place in the same camp as China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Congo (the only four countries to execute more people); surprising to find such a religious place addicted to a habit that most religious leaders abhor; surprising, too, to find the crucible of liberty decried in so many international reports on human rights.