Allen's attorneys said they immediately would appeal Leonard's ruling to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver. But Edmondson said the judge made the right decision. Leonard's ruling said the evidence showed the board received significant written materials, heard arguments from both sides and rendered its decision. So central is the issue, apparently, that capital punishment was the sole subject that a delegation of French legislators wished to discuss when they made a pilgrimage to Austin last summer to meet George W Bush. Of course the Germans, the Italians and others are in the game, too.
Italian companies buy expensive advertising space to knock America.
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung has even argued that the supranational International Court of Justice might ultimately be used to prevent these acts of American barbarism. Of course, it is not so simple. In sophisticated Europe, clear majorities in some countries, such as Britain, actually favour it. The mild-mannered Swedes are divided. The sanctimonious French outlawed the death penalty only in 1981.