Why am I not surprised? Justice Alito was the swing vote today in a decision that upheld Kansas's death penalty law that the Kansas Supreme Court had ruled unconsitutional.

Justices split 5-4 in the term's oldest case, which was argued in December before Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's retirement. A new argument session was held in April so that Alito could break a deadlock.....The state law says juries should impose death sentences if aggravating evidence of a crime's brutality and mitigating factors explaining a defendant's actions are equal in weight.

Justice David H. Souter, writing for the liberals, said the law was "morally absurd."...Souter said that "in the face of evidence of the hazards of capital prosecution," maintaining a system like the one in Kansas "is obtuse by any moral or social measure."

Via How Appealing: You can access the oral argument transcripts here and here. Additional information about the case is available at this link.