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If he had a "mixed record" in the lower courts on the death penalty, he should never have been nominated.

Read the article at Post #29. Alito does not have a "mixed record", he just appears to be very cautious when it comes to death penalty cases. By that I mean that he doesn't just rubber stamp them, he is very much toward the end of allowing every aspect of a Death Penalty case to be heard.

Also, his ruling here of returning a case claiming "Crual and Unusual punishment" is right in line with his previous rulings. From the article at post 29:
"He was on a three-judge panel that ordered a new penalty hearing in a York County case, and this year, he was part of a panel that upheld a ruling that a death sentence was unconstitutional. In two cases involving convicted murderers serving life sentences, he sent cases back for lower-court hearings so defendants could raise jury issues."

As this shows, he has upheld Cruel and Unusual cases in the past. In the past, his upholding the rulings ensured that it went to the SCOTUS, in this ruling he is telling the 8th Circuit to look at it thoroughly. That means that the case will come back before the SCOTUS again.

Another telling quote from the article at post 29:
"Lawyers familiar with the Third Circuit said that when it comes to death-penalty cases, Alito doesn't bend over backward to find errors just because it is a capital case - and he doesn't shy away from granting relief when he believes it is appropriate."

IOW, this ruling is very much in line with Alito's past rulings on Death Penalty cases, and we should expect more rulings of this type from him. It does not show that he is going to immediately align himself with the Liberals, it shows that he is not a straight IDEOLOGUE and that he looks at every single case as its own entity, and rules on each cases own merits. IOW, he is doing exactly what we have been asking for in a justice.

One final note, I want to point out to those attacking Antiguv -- he is the one who posted the article on Alito. Antiguv may be a little gruff in his manner, but he has made some valid arguments so far -- he is explaining his position and his concerns. I do not lump him in with the crybabies that were screaming we are doomed earlier in this thread.