Speculations about the future and the present have a bearing on the relevance of past rulings on capital punishment. If the American death penalty is deemed to be cruel or unusual right now, it ceases to be legal.Yeah, but what do speculations on the future have to do with logical inferences concerning the present justice system?
Mainly, though, I was just trying to give a full answer to your question. I was also trying to address the unspoken point that if the government does it, then it must be legal, which I thought might be where the discussion was heading.