Testimony, Resolutions, Statements, & Speeches

The Medical Society of New Jersey recently approved a resolution calling upon the American Medical Association (AMA) to advocate for the "abolition of capital punishment by each jurisdiction in the United States of America ... and replace it with life in prison without the possibility of parole." Among the stated rationales for the resolution, the society noted that "Numerous reports document pernicious and recurring errors and other fallibilities associated with the judicial process of capital punishment as currently imposed that include flawed testimony provided by medical scientists." The Society also pointed to the fact that New Jersey had recently abolished the death penalty.  Currently, the American Medical Association Code of Medical Ethics states: "A physician, as a member of a profession dedicated to preserving life when there is hope of doing so, should not be a participant in a legally authorized execution."  The New Jersey delegation is scheduled to speak for the resolution at the AMA's annual meeting in June 2010.

http://blog.nj.com/njv_raymond_lesniak/2009/02/the_road_to_justice_and_peace.html

On June 16, 2008, the Council of the European Union (EU) meeting in Luxembourg released a statement on General Affairs and External Relations. The document contained a restatement of its 1998 Human Rights Guideline on the death penalty. The Council, consisting of almost all Foreign Ministers in the EU, stated that it “reaffirms that working towards universal abolition of the death penalty constitutes an integral objective of the EU’s human rights policy.” The Council reasserted the “opposition of the European Union to the death penalty in all cases and in all circumstances.

The League of Women Voters of Florida is urging Governor Charlie Crist to continue the moratorium on executions and to consider alternative sentences.

The Death Penalty Information Center's new Religion and the Death Penalty Web page is now available online. In recent years, a growing number of religious organizations have participated in the nation's death penalty debate. The purpose of this new Web page is to provide access to information regarding the efforts of these faith groups and to highlight recent developments related to religion and the death penalty.