http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org The Death Penalty Information Center is a non-profit organization serving the media and the public with analysis and information on issues concerning capital punishment. The Center was founded in 1990 and prepares in-depth reports, issues press releases, conducts briefings for journalists, and serves as a resource to those working on this issue. The Center is widely quoted and consulted by all those concerned with the death penalty. http://deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=2760 George Kogan, a former Florida Supreme Court Justice who has also served as a prosecutor, defense attorney, and trial judge, spoke out about Florida’s death penalty system. As the co-chair of the Constitution Project’s bipartisan Death Penalty Committee, he states that, “Florida’s system of capital punishment is broken,” and “Florida’s justice system fails on many fronts.” While reviewing multiple flaws in Florida’s capital system, he points out that “Florida has become the holder of a dubious distinction: more individuals convicted of murder (22) have been exonerated from our death row than any other in the country." The Constitution Project’s Death Penalty Committee, composed of both death penalty supporters and opponents, has recently produced more than 20 recommendations for the reform of the system. Kogan argues that Florida should immediately adopt those recommendations, adding that until that happens, “Governor Crist should order a stay of all executions pending a statewide review of his state’s death penalty.” Thu, 03 Jul 2008 17:00:21 EST http://deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=2759 Legal scholar Cass Sunstein and researcher Justin Wolfers recently joined in an op-ed piece in the Washington Post responding to the U.S. Supreme Court’s citation of their work in Baze v. Rees, the decision that approved lethal injection and opened the way to recent executions. Justice Stevens had cited Wolfer’s research as evidence of the lack of deterrence of the death penalty while Justice Scalia cited Sunstein’s writings indicating a “a significant body of recent evidence that capital punishment may well have a deterrent effect, possibly a quite powerful one.” Both Sunstein and Wolfers say the Justices “misread the evidence” to “support their competing conclusions on the legal issue.” They explained the nuances of the evidence on deterrence and the death penalty and how no study on the topic can support a strong conclusion. “The best we can say is that homicide rates are not closely associated with capital punishment.” They added, “In short, the best reading of the accumulated data is that they do not establish a deterrent effect of the death penalty.” Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:48:22 EST http://deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=2758 On June 30th, the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice released a 107-page report on the state’s capital punishment system, calling it “dysfunctional” and a “broken system.” The Commission, chaired by former Attorney General John Van de Kamp, came to the conclusion that California would save hundreds of millions of dollars if capital punishment was eliminated. The report states, “The families of murder victims are cruelly deluded into believing that justice will be delivered with finality during their lifetimes.” It adds, “The strain placed by these cases on our justice system, in terms of the time and attention taken away from other business that the courts must conduct for our citizens, is heavy.” Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:13:53 EST http://deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=2754 A recent law review article argues that capital defendants' right to expert assistance would grow stronger through the revitalization of the 1983 Supreme Court decision in Ake v. Oklahoma. The author explains that recent court decisions and the revised American Bar Association Guidelines for the Appointment and Performance of Defense Council in Death Penalty Cases “offer the hope that the theoretical entitlement of Ake will be fully realized.” As a result, the article argues that one of two outcomes will result at the state level; “1) capital defendants will receive a fully-litigated, fair trial consistent with the principles set for the by the Supreme Court and the ABA and/or 2) some states will be unable to bear the financial burden of a fully-implemented Ake, and they will either reduce the number of capital cases pursued or they will cease pursuit of the death penalty all together.” The article examines the Ake promises in theory and why it has historically been under-utilized, offers evidence that Ake is in the process of being revitalized, and then discusses the “impact that this trend will likely have on all capital cases.” Mon, 30 Jun 2008 11:30:34 EST http://deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=2753 According to a new study by the Associated Press, there has been a sharp drop in the use of the death penalty in Ohio as prosecutors are taking advantage of a new law allowing them to seek a sentence of life without parole without first pursuing the death penalty. The sentence of life without parole used to be only an option for jurors weighing an alternative to a death sentence. According to the AP, “Prosecutors around Ohio, citing the ability to pursue harsh punishment without going through the complication and expense of a death penalty case are starting to take advantage of the 2005 law,” and the “number of death penalty indictments sought statewide dropped 32 percent from 2004 to 2007 . . . .[T]he number of life without parole sentences rose by more than two-thirds in the three years since the law took effect compared with the three years before, when 45 inmates entered prison with the permanent life sentence." Fri, 27 Jun 2008 10:05:45 EST http://deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=2752 On June 25, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional a Louisiana statute that allowed the death penalty for the rape of a child where the victim did not die. In Kennedy v. Louisiana, the Court held that all such laws, where the crime against an individual involved no murder or intent to murder, were not in keeping with the national consensus restricting the death penalty to the worst offenses. As a result, the only two people sentenced to death for this crime in the modern capital punishment era no longer face execution. Both were sentenced under the Louisiana statute that was found unconstitutional. Today, no one is on death row for any offense not involving murder. Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:32:42 EST http://deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=2751 The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on June 24 to hear two death penalty cases, both from Tennessee. The first case, Cone v. Bell, No. 07-1114, focuses on whether federal courts can consider issues that state courts dismissed on state procedural grounds. The petitioner, Gary Cone, had claimed that his use of drugs mitigated his guilt in the underlying murder of which he was accused. The prosecution at trial denied that there was any evidence of the defendant's drug use, and Cone was sentenced to death. It was shown later that the district attorney’s files contained evidence confirming Cone's extensive drug problem, and Cone maintains that such evidence should have been released to the defense in discovery. F.B.I. files also showed evidence of Cone’s drug use. However, when Cone requested a new trial and tried to present this new evidence to the Tennessee courts on appeal, the courts ruled that he had made the claim of withheld evidence earlier and lost. Hence, his present claim was dismissed as duplicative, rather than being reviewed on the basis of the new evidence he was presenting. Tue, 24 Jun 2008 17:38:54 EST http://deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=2750 A former Pennsylvania police chief was sentenced to life without parole on June 20, 2008, for the murder of his 31-year old ex-wife after the victim's family spoke against a death sentence at the penalty hearing. The district attorney had planned to seek the death penalty against Richard Curran, just as he had for every murder case in the last 13 years. However, Bonnie Smith, the victim’s mother, testified at the penalty phase that her family wanted him to be given life in prison. “Smith made the request to the court after reading a prepared statement on behalf of the victim’s family and an emotional letter from Tina Curran’s 10-year-old daughter, Caitlyn.” After hearing the wishes of the victim’s family, the Northumberland County District Attorney Tony Rosini dropped his plan to seek the death penalty and requested that Curran receive life in prison. Rosini stated he believes justice was served in the case and the punishment was appropriate for the crime. Richard Curran expressed remorse for his actions and thanked the family for helping spare his life. Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:29:31 EST