Articles

In an editorial highlighting public support for the sentencing option of life without parole in death penalty cases and the need to take steps to protect against executing innocent people, USA Today recently stated that life without the possibility of parole is a “fitting replacement” for the death penalty. The editorial praised the historic enactment of a life without the possibility of parole statute in Texas and other recent activities around the nation that seek to address problems with…

Newspaper editorials from papers in Texas and other areas of the country praised the Supreme Court’s ruling in the case of Thomas Miller-El and criticized the way in which the death penalty has been implemented in Texas. Miller-El was granted a new trial in light of strong evidence of racial bias during jury selection at his original trial. Editorial excerpts follow: New York Times [Miller-El] is an important ruling that reiterates to all courts the importance of keeping discrimination out of…

The May/June issue of Foreign Policy magazine includes an article on the death penalty in Japan by Charles Lane, Supreme Court reporter for The Washington Post. Lane notes that Japan’s death penalty is shrouded in secrecy and culminates in executions outside of all public view. He provides readers with a rare look inside this system and compares that country’s policies with U.S. practices and international trends. The article, “A View to a Kill,” notes that although death sentences are…

In the course of its research, DPIC collects relevant death penalty articles that have appeared in print and on media Web sites. Our collection certainly does not contain all such articles, nor do we claim that it represents the “best” articles. It is only a representative sample of the extensive coverage given to capital punishment in print in a particular year. For those interested in examining this coverage, we have prepared an index of the articles from 2004 in PDF format. For more…

A recent Los Angeles Times editorial called on California lawmakers to impose a moratorium on executions until a state commission charged with examining the fairness and accuracy of California’s death penalty laws can finish its work. The paper noted that a similar review led by New York state lawmakers resulted in findings that effectively ended capital punishment in that state for this year. The editorial stated: Many Californians, lawmakers as well as voters, share those concerns (as…

Just days before the scheduled execution of Donald Beardslee in California, the Los Angeles Times has called for his clemency while questioning the even-handedness of the whole system. The editorial concludes that the death penalty is a “lie” to the people of California: Donald Beardslee was 38 years old in 1981 when he shot one woman and strangled and slashed another in San Mateo County, retaliation for a soured drug deal. He is now 61. So many years have passed since a jury sentenced him to…

Chicago Sun-Times October 26, 2004 Editorial In 1993, 17-year-old Christopher Simmons and Charlie Benjamin, 15, broke into the home of Shirley Crook. They bound her hands, covered her face with duct tape, took her to a railroad trestle spanning the Meramec River outside St. Louis. There they hog-tied her with electrical wire and pushed her into the water. Benjamin was too young to be sentenced to death, but Simmons wasn’t. He was scheduled to be executed on May 1, 2002. An appeal to the…

Daily Targum (Rutgers University) October 20, 2004 Editorial The Supreme Court is looking into “evolving standards of decency” in considering where it stands on continuing the practice of sentencing juveniles to the death penalty. As of Oct. 13, the court heard arguments over a 2003 Missouri Supreme Court decision that said executing a person who had committed a murder when he was 17 would violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. Other than the United…

Sedalia (MO) Democrat October 19, 2004 Editorial Juveniles sometimes commit horrific crimes, some unimaginable even for adults. But all nations of the world except two — the United States and Somalia — refuse to put youthful offenders to death. Even Iran and Congo have repudiated the practice in recent years. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in a Missouri case that may lead to the banning of executions in this country for those who commit such crimes before they turn…

Minnesota Daily October 19, 2004 Editorial Last week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Roper v. Simmons, which will re-evaluate whether the state may continue executing juveniles. Because the death penalty itself is immoral, the Court must terminate this more particular evil. The only state interest the death penalty serves is the public’s sadistic need for retribution (a civilized word for “revenge”). The death penalty has never been found to deter crime. In an attempt to ensure…