Entries by Death Penalty Information Center
News
Apr 13, 2007
Supreme Court to Hear Arguments on Whether Texas Man is Mentally Competent to be Executed
On Wednesday, April 18, at 1 PM, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Panetti v. Quarterman. This case focuses on the question of whether an inmate must have a rational understanding of his crime and why he is being punished prior to execution, or whether mere awareness of his situation is sufficient for mental competency. For a fuller description of the case, see Supreme Court (Pending 2007 cases). This page includes links to some of the legal briefs filed…
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Apr 12, 2007
Virginia Man Pleads Guilty to Crime that Sent an Innocent Man to Death Row
Kenneth Tinsley pleaded guilty on April 11 to the 1982 rape and capital murder of a Culpeper woman — a crime for which another man, Earl Washington Jr., spent nearly a decade on death row and was nearly executed. Tinsley admitted to the rape of Rebecca Lynn Williams, a 19-year-old mother of 3, and conceded that DNA and other evidence could have proved his guilt of her…
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Apr 11, 2007
North Carolina Death Penalty to Remain in Limbo for Foreseeable Future
Challenges to the constitutionality of North Carolina’s lethal injection procedures have put executions on hold, and it appears they will remain that way for the foreseeable future. Though some lawmakers are pushing for a legislative “fix” to questions raised about the procedures, Governor Mike Easley and Democratic lawmakers — who control the legislature — have no plans to end the execution standstill prior to clear court action. “The legislature isn’t going to be able to move in any…
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Apr 09, 2007
NEW RESOURCES: “Trials Under the Military Commissions Act”
Amnesty International has released a new report entitled “Justice Delayed and Justice Denied? Trials under the Military Commissions Act.” This report examines whether proceedings under the revised U.S. Military Commissions Act will comply with international standards, especially when the death penalty is sought. In particular, it explores the rights of detainees under international human rights law, the Geneva Conventions and the U.S. Constitution. (Amnesty International,…
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Apr 06, 2007
EDITORIAL: Pennsylvania Paper Declares State’s Death Penalty “Useless”
The Sentinel newspaper of Pennsylvania is the latest paper to editorially conclude that the death penalty should be abolished. Shortly after it published an investigative piece outlining the ineffectiveness of Pennsylvania’s death penalty, the newspaper editorialized that the state’s capital punishment laws are “useless” and that the “pendulum is swinging away from Pennsylvania’s position on a law it cannot even execute.” The Central Pennsylvania-based newspaper noted that capital…
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Apr 06, 2007
Possibly Mentally Retarded Man to be Executed in Texas, Where Almost All 2007 Executions Have Occurred
If James Lee Clark is executed in Texas on April 11, he will be the 12th Texas inmate executed out of 13 executions nationwide in 2007. According to some psychological tests, Clark has an IQ of 68 or lower, which is one of the common criteria for mental retardation. Clark’s defense team has asked the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and Texas Governor Rick Perry to halt the execution because of the likelihood that Clark suffers from mental…
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Apr 05, 2007
OFFICIAL MISCONDUCT: Alabama Pathologist’s Results Called into Question
From 1999 to 2004, Dr. Johnny Glenn was the only forensic pathologist performing autopsies in the poorest part of Alabama. He was assisted only by lab technicians as he performed hundreds of autopsies annually, including at least one death penalty case. After his abrupt departure, it was discovered that Glenn routinely put aside his notes and often failed to finish final reports or diagrams that are crucial to death investigations. Two of his former colleagues say that Glenn was…
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Apr 04, 2007
MULTI-MEDIA: “Justice Talking” on National Public Radio Addresses Death Penalty Issues
“Justice Talking” on National Public Radio recently addressed current death penalty issues, including an examination of the controversy surrounding lethal injections. The program, which is available online, featured an overview of the U.S. death penalty by professor John Blume, founder and director of the Cornell Death Penalty Project at Cornell University, and an interview with Deborah Denno, a professor of law at Fordham University who is one of the nation’s leading scholars on the…
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Apr 03, 2007
Pennsylvania Commission to Study Wrongful Convictions
Pennsylvania has convened a commission of judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, law enforcement officers and victims’ advocates to study the causes of wrongful convictions and make recommendations for preventing them in the state. Forensic errors, mistaken eyewitness identifications and false confessions have led to wrongful convictions around the nation, including 9 people from Pennsylvania who have been exonerated by DNA evidence. The commission of 40 members was sponsored…
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Apr 02, 2007
North Carolina May Have Misled Federal Judge About Execution Procedures
In 2006, U.S. District Judge Malcolm J. Howard allowed two men to be executed by lethal injection after prison officials indicated that a physician and a nurse at the execution would monitor a type of brain-wave machine to ensure that the inmates were unconscious and not in pain when the paralyzing and heart-stopping drugs were injected. However, a deposition given in November 2006 by Central Prison warden Marvin Polk (pictured) is now raising questions about whether the judge was misled. In…
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