A New Primal Scene: Derrida and the Scene of Execution

As we know, the United States is an exception. Of the 195 independent states that are members of the United Nations or have observer status, 140 have abolished the death penalty in one form or another: 104 of them (53 percent) have abolished the death penalty for all crimes (in these states, no crime is punishable by death), seven of them (4 percent) have abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes (that is, only crimes committed in exceptional circumstances are punishable by death, such as crimes committed in time of war), and twenty-nine of them (15 percent) have abolished the