Attorney U S General

Attorney general nominee John Ashcroft, facing what he called a "machine gun of charges" at the start of his Senate confirmation hearing, declared Tuesday that "the law is supreme" and vowed to resign if his personal beliefs ever prevented him from upholding it. The former Missouri senator also pledged to respect Roe vs. Wade and related abortion decisions as "the settled law of the land," and to protect all Americans from discrimination without regard to race, gender or disability.

Attorney general nominee John Ashcroft, facing what he called a "machine gun of charges" at the start of his Senate confirmation hearing, declared Tuesday that "the law is supreme" and vowed to resign if his personal beliefs ever prevented him from upholding it. The former Missouri senator also pledged to respect Roe vs. Wade and related abortion decisions as "the settled law of the land," and to protect all Americans from discrimination without regard to race, gender or disability.

On Nov. 9, 1987, the Supreme Court was faced with a clear-cut decision. William W. Thompson sat on Oklahoma's Death Row, awaiting execution for a murder he committed when he was 15 years old. Could the state put Thompson to death, or is it cruel and unusual punishment to execute someone so young?