Comment Re:extradition (Score 1) 146
Why would rewriting the treaty make a difference to the ability to provide the assurance?
No U.S. law specifies who is authorized to waive the death penalty associated with this treaty. Including the treaty itself. Even if there were a law separate from the treaty, it would not be binding on the states over state crimes.
However, the Constitution grants the Senate the authority to ratify treaties, so if they specified who could waive the death penalty *in the treaty* then it would be binding on both the federal and state governments.
As the treaty is written now, the only consequence of the death penalty clause is that the U.K. can refuse extradition without breaking the treaty.