Statement of Gregory Wiercioch, counsel for Juan Garza,
June 19, 200, following Mr.Garza's execution.

     Someday, this precise savagery will end. But not today.

     Someday, the Ashcroft Death Penalty Report will placed on the same shelf that holds the Dred Scott decision and Plessy v. Ferguson as a shameful attempt to justify
the unjustifiable.  But not today.

     Someday, the United States will respect international law even when it requires us to alter our own practices. But not today.

     Today, we bear witnesses to the expanding circle of victims and violence that the death penalty creates: Juan Garza's execution has left his four children fatherless. I do not have an answer when asked about the families devastated by Juan Garza's crimes. But I do know that this not the answer. I do know that justice does not demand death.

     Today, President Bush had the last word. But he will not have the final say on the death penalty.  History will.

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