Entries by Death Penalty Information Center

Retired Washington State Supreme Court Justice Robert F. Utter recently wrote an opinion piece arguing that the continued use of the death penalty fails to serve justice, public safety or the public purse — and should be abandoned. Justice Utter resigned from the high court after 23 years in 1995 because of his concerns about the death penalty. Justice Utter wrote recently in the Seattle Times, “My original reasons for resignation still apply. I then stated: ‘I believe society has a right to…

The New Mexico Senate voted on March 13 to repeal the death penalty and replace it with a sentence of life without parole. The vote was 24 – 18. The House of Representatives had previously voted in favor of repeal. The bill will now go to New Mexico’s Governor Bill Richardson for his signature. He has not announced whether he will sign the bill, but has indicated a new openness to the repeal effort. Many victims’ families members in New Mexico had supported the repeal. If signed into law, New…

Several legal authorities and public officials are calling on Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear to suspend the death penalty pending resolution of the state’s budget crisis. Kentucky’s public defender system will exhaust its current budget by May 21 with two months remaining in the fiscal year, forcing it to shut down. “The budget shortfall creates a likelihood that counsel will be unavailable or unable to properly proceed, thereby jeopardizing prosecutions and resulting in flawed, unreliable…

Citing the costs of seeking the death penalty, Louisiana prosecutors are “cutting way back,” according to State Attorney General Buddy Caldwell. A former district attorney, Caldwell compared trying a capital case to “playing on a $100-a-roll table instead of a nickel or dime table.” He explained that he could try a second-degree murder case for $15,000 to $20,000 instead of $250,000 to put a death-penalty defendant on trial. Caldwell said the cost of expert witnesses and investigators was one…

In a recent opinion poll conducted by Elon University in North Carolina, less than half of those polled believe that the the death penalty is the “most appropriate punishment for first degree murder.” When the same question was asked in 2005, 61% chose the death penalty as the appropriate sentence. In 2009, that number had dropped to 48%, the same percentage recorded in the University’s 2007 poll. “I would imagine the difference in opinion on our surveys is somewhat attributable to a…

Senator Carolyn McGinn of Kansas (pictured) recently published an op-ed calling for an end to the death penalty because it is too costly and does not benefit the people. Sen. McGinn, a Republican from Sedgwick, is the sponsor of a bill that would replace the death penalty with a sentence of life without parole. She explained that in light of the state’s budget deficit, Kansas is looking at ways to reduce government spending. “One policy change being considered is whether the death penalty is…

On March 4, the Maryland Senate reached a compromise on a death penalty repeal bill by amending the bill so as to restrict capital prosecutions. The proposed revision to the state’s death penalty statute would preclude murder cases where the only evidence is eyewitness testimony and, in turn, require DNA evidence, videotaped evidence, or a voluntary videotaped confession. Sen. Jamie Raskin, a Montgomery County Democrat and proponent of death penalty repeal, said his support of the Senate…