Publications & Testimony

Nebraska’s Death Penalty Repeal Bill Falls One Vote Short A mea­sure to repeal Nebraska​’s death penal­ty and replace it with a sen­tence of life with­out parole fell one vote short of mov­ing to the sec­ond of three stages in con­sid­er­a­tion by the uni­cam­er­al leg­is­la­ture. It was the first time the full leg­is­la­ture had debat­ed the death…

Montana Assistant Attorney General Calls for Death Penalty Repeal 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…

The leg­is­la­ture defeat­ed a 2007 bill that would have made the death penal­ty manda­to­ry for those who mur­der law enforce­ment offi­cers.Missouri became the 16^th state to ban the exe­cu­tion of inmates with men­tal retar­da­tion. The Missouri bill, signed by Gov. Bob Holden on July 2, but not effec­tive until August 28, is not retroac­tive to those cur­rent­ly on death row. However, the…

Minnesota Committee Votes Down Death Penalty Following two hours of tes­ti­mo­ny includ­ing rep­re­sen­ta­tives of crime vic­tims and death row exonerees, the Minnesota Senate Crime Prevention and Public Safety Committee vot­ed 8 – 2 against rein­stat­ing the death penal­ty, con­tin­u­ing near­ly a cen­tu­ry with­out the sen­tence on the state’s…

Michigan Lawmakers Reaffirm State’s Longstanding Ban on Capital Punishment In a vote uphold­ing the state’s long­stand­ing abo­li­tion of the death penal­ty, Michigan law­mak­ers refused to sup­port a mea­sure that would have put cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment before state vot­ers in a ref­er­en­dum. The vote fell 18 short of the 2/​3 required for passage.

Massachusetts Again Votes Overwhelmingly Against Reinstating Death Penalty After over an hour of debate, the Massachusetts House of Representatives over­whelm­ing­ly reject­ed an attempt to rein­state the death penal­ty. Prior to the 110 – 46 vote, Governor Deval Patrick had vowed to veto the bill if it were approved. The bill was sim­i­lar to one sub­mit­ted by for­mer Governor Mitt Romney as a…

NEW VOICES: Law Enforcement Officials Gather in Maryland to Oppose Death Penalty Corrections offi­cials, pros­e­cu­tors and police chiefs recent­ly gath­ered in Annapolis, Maryland, to voice sup­port for a leg­isla­tive mea­sure that would repeal the state’s death penal­ty.​“It is a human sys­tem, and because it is fal­li­ble and because it is human, it makes mis­takes. Executions make…

Victims and Law Enforcement Support Kentucky Death Penalty Review Legislation to estab­lish a com­mis­sion to exam­ine Kentucky’s death penal­ty and report its find­ings to the General Assembly has gained sup­port from for­mer law enforce­ment offi­cials and vic­tims’ fam­i­ly mem­bers. The bill, pro­posed by Rep. Tom Burch, would require the task force to review whether capital…

All Death Sentences Overturned in Kansas — The Kansas Supreme Court found that the state’s death penal­ty law is flawed and the sen­tences of the state’s four death row inmates will have to be decid­ed again. Kansas’s law allowed a death sen­tence if the aggra­vat­ing fac­tors pre­sent­ed by the pros­e­cu­tor were equal to the mit­i­gat­ing factors presented…

Indiana Bars Execution of Juvenile Offenders - Indiana became the 16^th state to for­bid the death penal­ty for those who were under 18 years-of-age at the time of their crime. Gov. Frank O’Bannon signed SB 426 on March 26. The law also requires judges to fol­low juries’ unan­i­mous sen­tenc­ing rec­om­men­da­tions. (Associated Press, 3/​26/​02.) Federal death penal­ty law similarly…