Letter from the editor.OUR COVER STORY EXAMINES the wrenching debate in the U.S. over the death penalty. Part of our series on the Constitution, the article looks at recent legal challenges to capital punishment capital punishment, imposition of a penalty of death by the state. History Capital punishment was widely applied in ancient times; it can be found (c.1750 B.C.) in the Code of Hammurabi. , including whether current execution methods constitute "cruel and unusual punishment Such punishment as would amount to torture or barbarity, any cruel and degrading punishment not known to the Common Law, or any fine, penalty, confinement, or treatment that is so disproportionate to the offense as to shock the moral sense of the community. ." THE CONSTITUTION PLAYS a starring role in Times Past as well: We look back at Gerald Ford, who rose, without being elected, to America's two highest offices, as prescribed by the 25th Amendment. As President, Ford helped calm the nation following the Watergate scandal. TURNING TO IRAN Iran (ērän`, ĭrăn`), officially Islamic Republic of Iran, republic (2005 est. pop. 68,018,000), 636,290 sq mi (1,648,000 sq km), SW Asia. The country's name was changed from Persia to Iran in 1935. , we explore recent protests by university students against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, which could signal growing disenchantment dis·en·chant tr.v. dis·en·chant·ed, dis·en·chant·ing, dis·en·chants To free from illusion or false belief; undeceive. [Obsolete French desenchanter, from Old French, with his hard-line rule. |
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