Publications & Testimony

In a dissent from a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit allowing Missouri’s execution of Michael Taylor on February 26, three judges sharply criticized the secrecy of Missouri’s lethal injection protocol as a violation of Taylor’s right to due process. The dissenters would have stayed the execution to allow Taylor to obtain information about the source of the execution drugs: “Because Taylor seeks to determine whether the drug to be used in his execution will result in…

Dr. Allen Ault, the former warden for Georgia’s executions, recently spoke about the lingering psychological effects of carrying out the death penalty. Ault, who retired in 1995, said, “I still have nightmares. [Execution is] the most premeditated form of murder you can possibly imagine and it stays in your psyche forever.” He said he felt guilt after the electrocution of a mentally disabled juvenile offender, who developed a deep sense of contrition during his 17 years on death row and whose…

According to a recent study by Professor Katherine Beckett of the University of Washington, jurors in Washington are three times more likely to recommend a death sentence for a black defendant than for a white defendant in a similar case. The disparity in sentencing occurred despite the fact that prosecutors were slightly more likely to seek the death penalty against white defendants. Nicholas Brown, general counsel to Washington Governor Jay Inslee, said, “It’s positive to see that…

On March 3, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Hall v. Florida, a case addressing the strict standard for intellectual disability that Florida uses to determine if inmates are exempt from execution. Under the Court’s 2002 decision in Atkins v. Virginia, individuals with intellectual disabilities (mental retardation) are constitutionally barred from receiving the death penalty. The decision “le[ft] to the State[s] the task of developing appropriate ways to enforce the…

County administrators in Washington state say a single death penalty case could cause bankruptcy in their county. Court costs are paid at a county level, meaning a lengthy and expensive death penalty trial can seriously threaten the county’s ability to pay for other priorities. Jim Jones, the former president of the Washington County Administrative Association, said several counties told him, “If we had a death penalty case, and had to pay $1 million (in legal costs), we’d go bankrupt.” If the…

One of the strongest accounts pointing to the execution of a probably innocent man in recent times concerns the case of Carlos DeLuna, who was executed in Texas in 1989. In a forthcoming book, The Wrong Carlos: Anatomy of a Wrongful Execution, Professor James Liebman of Columbia Law School describes his investigation into the case, along with a team of students. The investigation uncovered serious problems in DeLuna’s case, including faulty eyewitness testimony and the police’s failure to…

In an editorial supporting Washington Governor Jay Inslee’s recently-announced death penalty moratorium, the News Tribune (Tacoma) said its editorial board “has grown increasingly uncomfortable with capital punishment in recent years, and we now share Inslee’s feeling that Washington should move beyond it.” The paper said the governor’s decision “forced a welcome new discussion” of capital punishment. While acknowledging the heinousness of many crimes, the editorial disagreed that killing is…

Support for the death penalty has fallen sharply by 23 percentage points since 1996, reaching its lowest level in almost two decades, according to a recent poll by the Pew Research Center. The 2013 poll also found a 10 point drop in just the last 2 years in respondents who say they “strongly favor” the death penalty, from 28% to 18%. The percentage of Americans who say they oppose the death penalty has risen to 37%. In 2011, Pew asked respondents about the reasons behind their views on the…

As a key New Hampshire committee voted overwhelmingly (14 – 3) to repeal the death penalty, a number of legislators explained why they had changed their minds on this issue. Criminal Justice Committee Chair Laura Pantelakos (pictured) said racial inequities in the system led her to change her vote, citing different outcomes in recent cases for a black and a white defendant. Pantelakos, who has a grandson about to become a police officer, asked, “Why is a police officer’s life more valuable than…