30 June 2010 :

Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan is reaffirming her support for the death penalty, saying its constitutionality is "established law." Under questioning by Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin at her confirmation hearing, Kagan says she has a different outlook than her mentor, the late Justice Thurgood Marshall, who dissented in every death penalty case based on moral grounds. Kagan says she believes the death penalty is "settled precedent going forward" and generally should not be disrupted.