“For a moment last year, it looked as if the Obama administration was moving toward a history-making end to the federal death penalty,” the New York Times reports.

“But the idea never gained traction, and Mr. Obama has seldom mentioned the death penalty review since. Now, as the Supreme Court considered arguments Wednesday over whether lethal injection, as currently administered, was unconstitutional, the obstacles the Obama administration faced provide vivid examples of just how politically difficult the debate remains.”