While 2019 DDPers have been more concerned with the health of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, one of her old co-workers has slipped out the back door. John Paul Stevens served as a Supreme Court justice between 1975 and 2010, the third-longest tenure on record. Appointed to the court by Gerald Ford (who called the move one of the best decisions of his presidency), Stevens was a moderate Republican with some liberal leanings. He supported free speech, was a dissenter in the Bush vs Gore recount case and became convinced of the need to amend the Second Amendment. He remained active well into his dotage and was still writing op-ed columns in support of gun control as recently as last year.
John Paul Stevens
April 20, 1920 – July 16, 2019
Died aged 99 (two hits)