Articles
Items: 111 — 120
Aug 23, 2011
How Preconceptions and Bias May Have Led to Wrongful Convictions of West Memphis Three
In a recent op-ed in the L.A. Times, Professor Jennifer L. Mnookin (pictured) of the UCLA Law School provided an analysis of how preconceptions and biases toward the unconventional suspects known as the West Memphis Three may have led to their wrongful convictions and a death sentence in Arkansas in 1994. Because of the grisly nature of the murders, investigators decided early on that it was probably related to satanic cult rituals.
Read MoreJun 17, 2011
EDITORIALS: Texas Inmate With IQ of 62 Faces Imminent Execution
A recent editorial in the Houston Chronicle highlights the case of Texas death-row inmate Milton Mathis, whose IQ of 62 places him well below the threshold for intellectual disability (formerly called “mental retardation”). Mr. Mathis faces execution on June 21, despite the 2002 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Atkins v. Virginia, which banned the execution of inmates with intellectual disabilities. The Chronicle noted,…
Read MoreMay 23, 2011
EDITORIALS: Philadelphia Inquirer — “Juries Know Better”
A recent editorial in the Philadelphia Inquirer concludes the public is ready to scrap the death penalty in Pennsylvania, even if the legislature is not. According to the editorial, juries opted for the death penalty in just 3% of first-degree murder cases over the past four years: “Pennsylvania juries clearly are more comfortable with the alternative sentence of life without parole, which assures that first-degree murder convicts will waste away…
Read MoreMay 02, 2011
EDITORIALS: Birmingham News Calls for Moratorium on Alabama’s Death Penalty
A recent editorial in the Birmingham News called on Alabama lawmakers to pass legislation that would require a three-year moratorium on imposing death sentences and carrying out executions, giving the state time to address flaws in the death penalty system. The editorial outlined five reasons why legislators with various positions should be united in such an effort. The paper…
Read MoreApr 22, 2011
NEBRASKA EDITORIAL: Instead of a new means of capital punishment, the Legislature should get rid of it
Days after the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that the electric chair was unconstitutional, a Lincoln Journal Star editorial urged the state to reconsider the death penalty: “Instead of rushing to pass a new means of capital punishment, the Legislature should take this opportunity to finally get rid of the death penalty.” Nebraska was the only state to retain the electric chair as its sole means of execution. The paper noted that it was the right time to take a broader look at the death…
Read MoreMar 10, 2011
EDITORIALS: Illinois Death Penalty Repeal Called a “Victory for Justice”
An editorial in the Chicago Sun-Times applauded Illinois Governor Pat Quinn for signing the bill abolishing the death penalty. The editors wrote, “We’ve learned that the system makes too many mistakes to entrust it with the ultimate power of capital punishment. We’ve learned that legal safeguards can be pushed aside when emotions are high after a heinous crime. We’ve learned that political ambition sometimes blinds those in power to the weaknesses of…
Read MoreMar 02, 2011
EDITORIALS: Chicago Tribune Urges Governor to Sign Death Penalty Repeal Bill
A recent editorial in the Chicago Tribune urged Gov. Pat Quinn to sign the bill to end the death penalty in Illinois. The paper noted that former Gov. Bill Richardson signed a similar bill in New Mexico, despite previously saying he supported the death penalty when he came into office. Richardson said that his mind was changed after studying the issue and seeing “too many mistakes” and evidence that the punishment was applied…
Read MoreFeb 10, 2011
EDITORIALS: Baltimore Sun – Death Penalty “Inherently Inhumane”
A recent editorial in the Baltimore Sun urged Gov. Martin O’Malley to work toward repealing the death penalty in Maryland. The paper suggested that changes in the composition of the state Senate might make the General Assembly more receptive to ending capital punishment. There have also been concerns raised about lethal injections on the the state and national level. But it was the fundamental unfairness and high costs of the death penalty that…
Read MoreFeb 01, 2011
EDITORIALS: National Papers Raise Concerns About Lethal Injection
Recent editorials in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times called into question the current use of lethal injection in executions, in light of the decision by the sole U.S. manufacturer of a key drug used by almost all states to stop its production. Hospira Inc. was the only U.S. producer of sodium thiopental, the main anesthetic used in lethal injections, but the company said international concerns about the death penalty prompted its halt. The shortage of the drug…
Read MoreJan 03, 2011
EDITORIALS: Major Papers Around the Country Tracked DPIC’s Year End Report
The information and analysis in DPIC’s recent 2010 Year-End Report were reported in hundreds of media outlets around the country. Among the papers writing editorials on the trends cited in the report were the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Colorado’s Aurora Sentinel. The Times’ editorial, “Still Cruel, Less Usual,” noted, “A report released this…
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