Publications & Testimony

On Dec. 1, 2010, the New Hampshire Death Penalty Study Commission released its report to the governor. The majority (12 – 10) report recommended neither the abolition nor the expansion of the death penalty. The report did find that there is an added cost for the death penalty as compared to a life without parole sentence: “There is a significant difference in the cost of prosecution and incarceration of a first degree murder case where the penalty is life without parole as compared with the cost…

Gregory Wilson is scheduled for execution in Kentucky on September 16, despite having been represented by woefully unqualified and unprepared attorneys in his death penalty trial. It took over a year for the trial judge to find an attorney to take Wilson’s case. Wilson was indigent, and the maximum state fee for a capital-murder representation was $2,500. The judge even put a note on his courthouse door, saying: “PLEASE HELP. DESPERATE. THIS CASE CANNOT BE CONTINUED AGAIN.” Eventually, two…

Montana Assistant Attorney General John Connor has voiced support for a legislative measure that would abolish capital punishment in his state. Stating his belief that the death penalty does not deter crime and is expensive, Connor told the Montana House Judiciary Committee, “It seems to me to be the ultimate incongruity to say we respect life so much that we’re going to dedicate all our money, all our resources, our legal expertise and our entire system to try and take your life… . Frankly, I…

The FBI recently released the latest version of its Uniform Crime Reports: Crime in the United States 2005. The report showed that the murder rate in 2005 (5.6 murders per 100,000 people) was the same as in 2001, with little change in the intervening years. Death sentences, executions and the size of death row all declined during this period. As in previous years, the South had the higherst murder rate, 6.6, among the 4 geographical regions. Over 80% of the executions in the country have…

The Maryland Commission on Capital Punishment voted on November 12 to recommend the abolitiion of the death penalty in the state. In a 13 – 7 vote, the Commission cited the possibility that an innocent person could be mistakenly executed, as well as geographical and racial disparities in how it is used. Benjamin Civiletti, the chair of the commission and a former U.S. attorney general, said, “It’s haphazard in how it’s applied, and that’s terribly unfair.” The Chairman also shared that he does…

Date Type Title Released By 12/15/2011 Press Release DPIC’s Year End Report: Death Sentences Drop Well Below 100; Lowest Number Since Capital Punishment was Reinstated in 1976 Death Penalty Information Center 12/6/2011 Press Release Two Year Assessment of Death Penalty Procedures Prompts Call for Suspension of Executions in Kentucky American Bar Association 12/6/2011 Press Release Administration of Justice Troubling in Kentucky; Report Highlights Flaws in System Kentucky Coalition…

Less than a month after the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it will reconsider the constitutionality of the death penalty for juvenile offenders, two state legislative bodies have passed measures to ban the practice. The New Hampshire Senate passed its bill to ban the execution of those who were under the age of 18 at the time of their offense on February 19, 2004. The measure now moves to the House, where a committee hearing and vote are expected in the coming weeks. The Wyoming House also…

Alabama The 11^th Circuit denied a stay of execution and dismissed the lethal injection challenge of Luther Williams, who was then executed on Aug. 23, 2007. Williams v. Allen (11^th Cir. Aug. 21, 2007). The governor granted a 45-day stay to Tommy Arthur, who was to be executed on Sept. 27, 2007, to allow time for the state’s new lethal injection protocol to be implemented. The state proceeded with the planned execution of Daniel Siebert to occur on Oct. 25, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for…