Publications & Testimony

Items: 4711 — 4720


Nov 20, 2007

NEW VOICES: Former Texas Warden Reconsiders the Death Penalty

Jim Willet, for­mer war­den of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s Walls Unit where Texas exe­cu­tions take place, recent­ly described his expe­ri­ences to the Dallas Observer as emo­tion­al­ly dif­fi­cult for him. As war­den dur­ing 1998 – 2001, three of the busiest years for Texas’ death cham­ber, Willet over­saw 89 exe­cu­tions.​“The first time is unbe­liev­able,” he told the Observer.​“You have this healthy per­son – this per­son who was able to just jump up on the gur­ney – and…

Read More

Nov 19, 2007

ARBITRARINESS: In the Leading Execution State, Many Receive Probation for Murder

In a recent inves­ti­ga­tion pub­lished in The Dallas Morning News, researchers found that 120 defen­dants con­vict­ed of mur­der in Texas between 2000 and 2006 received only a sen­tence of pro­ba­tion. In Dallas County, twice as many con­vict­ed mur­der­ers were sen­tenced to pro­ba­tion as were sent to death row. Typically in these cas­es, a defen­dant pleads guilty to mur­der, receives pro­ba­tion, and, with good behav­ior, can have the mur­der charged wiped from his or her record. …

Read More

Nov 16, 2007

United Nations Calls for a Global Moratorium on Executions

United Nations Calls for Moratorium on Executions A res­o­lu­tion for a glob­al mora­to­ri­um on exe­cu­tions was passed on Nov. 15 by the UN General Assembly’s Third (Human Rights) Committee by a vote of 99 – 52, with 33 absten­tions. The General Assembly is expect­ed to endorse the deci­sion in a ple­nary ses­sion in December. Similar res­o­lu­tions were intro­duced in 1994 and 1999 but were either nar­row­ly defeat­ed or with­drawn. The resolutions calls…

Read More

Nov 16, 2007

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​“gold stan­dard” for cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment.State Representatives cit­ed high costs and the pos­si­bil­i­ty for human error as rea­sons for reject­ing the bill. Rep. Sean…

Read More

Nov 14, 2007

Supreme Court Review of Lethal Injections Attracts Advocates from Many Disciplines

In addi­tion to the main brief sub­mit­ted by the Petitioner in Baze v. Rees, sev­er­al ami­cus curi­ae briefs have been filed in sup­port of the inmates from Kentucky who are chal­leng­ing the con­sti­tu­tion­al­i­ty of lethal injec­tions as prac­ticed in their state before the U.S. Supreme Court. The case is like­ly to be heard in January 2008 and decid­ed by June. It appears that exe­cu­tions around the coun­try have been put on hold pend­ing the Court’s deci­sion. The ami­cus (“friend of…

Read More

Nov 13, 2007

North Carolina Court Cites False Testimony and Official Misconduct in Granting New Trial to Death Row Inmate

Superior Court Judge Robert Ervin ruled that North Carolina death row inmate Glen Edward Chapman is enti­tled to a new tri­al based on ample evi­dence that he was wrong­ly con­vict­ed. Judge Ervin said that law enforce­ment offi­cials with­held evi­dence, used false tes­ti­mo­ny, and mis­placed or destroyed impor­tant doc­u­ments that could have sup­port­ed Chapman’s inno­cence claim. The judge’s order also revealed that Chapman’s defense attor­neys did not adequately…

Read More

Nov 09, 2007

New Jersey Lawmakers to Vote on Abolishing Death Penalty

New Jersey Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts, Jr. (pic­tured) has announced that on December 13 mem­bers of the Assembly will vote on whether to reduce the state’s most severe pun­ish­ment to life in prison with­out parole. A spokes­woman for Senate President Richard J. Codey said the Senate is like­ly to take sim­i­lar action before the leg­isla­tive ses­sion ends on January 8, though a date has not been set for the vote. If approved by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Jon Corzine, who…

Read More

Nov 09, 2007

Freed Death Row Inmates Call for Moratorium on Executions in North Carolina

Eighteen for­mer death row inmates from around the coun­try recent­ly toured North Carolina and called for a mora­to­ri­um on exe­cu­tions. The tour, one of the largest of its kind and orga­nized by People of Faith Against the Death Penalty and Witness to Innocence, includ­ed speak­ing engage­ments in church­es and pub­lic audi­to­ri­ums, as well as a ral­ly in front of North Carolina’s Legislative Building. Two leg­is­la­tors, Rep. Pricey Harrison and Sen. Eleanor Kinnaird,…

Read More

Nov 08, 2007

NEW RESOURCE: American Journal of Criminal Law to Feature Article on Effective Counsel

In a forth­com­ing arti­cle in the American Journal of Criminal Law, John H. Blume of Cornell Law School explores recent Supreme Court deci­sions that affect the guide­lines for effec­tive coun­sel for cap­i­tal defen­dants. Blume notes in​“It’s Like Déjà Vu All Over Again: Williams V. Taylor, Wiggins V. Smith, Rompilla V. Beard and a (Partial) Return to the Guidelines Approach to the Effective Assistance of Counsel” that despite the recog­ni­tion by researchers, lit­i­ga­tors, and judges of…

Read More