Publications & Testimony

On May 20, twenty-seven former judges and prosecutors from across the political spectrum filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of Georgia death row inmate Troy Davis. Signers of the amicus brief include Larry Thompson (Deputy Attorney General of the United States, 2001 – 2003), former Congressman Bob Barr (R‑GA; U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, 1986 – 1990); William S. Sessions (Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1987 – 1993), and John Gibbons (former…

On May 18, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in two death penalty cases. Both cases are likely to be argued in the fall. The Court accepted the defendant’s petition in Wood v. Allen (No. 08 – 9156), a case from Alabama. Holly Wood claimed ineffective assistance of counsel, mental retardation, and discrimination in the jury selection process during his trial. After the trial, state and defense experts found that Wood, with an IQ below 70, had serious deficits in intellectual functioning…

Daniel Wade Moore was acquitted of all charges by a jury in Alabama on May 14. Moore was originally found guilty of the murder and sexual assault of Karen Tipton in 2002. The judge overruled the jury’s recommendation of a life sentence and instead sentenced him to death in January 2003, calling the murder one of the worst ever in the county. A new trial was ordered in 2003 because of evidence withheld by the prosecution. A second trial in 2008 ended in a mistrial with the jury deadlocked at 8 – 4…

James Fry, a former Dallas County Assistant District Attorney, changed his mind about the death penalty after learning that he successfully prosecuted an innocent man for rape. The defendant, Charles Chatman, was cleared 27 years later by DNA. In an op-ed in the Dallas Morning News, Fry asks, “For years, Texas has led the nation in the number of executions. Why don’t we now strive to lead the nation in a new direction: reforming a justice system in urgent need of reform?” Fry continued, “For…

Missouri’s Republican House Majority Leader Steven Tilley says Governor Jay Nixon should commute the death sentence of Dennis Skillicorn, who is scheduled to be executed on May 21. Citing revelations that another suspect committed the murder while Skillicorn was unaware of the murder plan, Tilley said, “Certainly, that would be enough reasonable doubt for me that I would be very concerned if this state executed that individual.” Tilley’s suggestion to the Governor was made during Missouri’s…

The state of Tennessee has dropped all charges against Paul House, a death row inmate first convicted in 1986. House was accused of the rape and murder of Carolyn Muncey based largely on circumstantial evidence. DNA evidence used against him at trial was later found to belong to Muncey’s husband. In House v. Bell, the U.S. Supreme Court considered the new DNA tesing and questions about blood stains on House’s clothes. In 2006, the Court held that no reasonable juror would have found House…

On March 8, Connecticut held a legislative hearing about what should be done with the state’s death penalty. The Judiciary Committee has already approved a bill to abolish capital punishment. Connecticut has carried out only one execution since 1973, and that was with an inmate who waived his appeals and volunteered for execution. The Chief State’s Attorney, Kevin T. Kane submitted a proposal to reform the system, but it would curtail the appeals process used to protect against mistakes. Kane…

A bill to repeal the death penalty and use the funds saved to investigate unsolved murder cases in Colorado was defeated in the state senate by a vote of 18 – 17 on May 6. The House had earlier approved the bill by a vote of 33 – 32. On May 4, the senate had approved an amendment, dropping the repeal of the death penalty and funding the cost of investigating cold cases through a $2.50 fine to convicted felons. However, the conference committee restored the repeal provision and the senate rejected…