Publications & Testimony
Items: 4821 — 4830
Jul 25, 2007
News Series Highlights Problem of Lost and Destroyed Evidence, Wrongful Convictions
In continuing a series that DPIC had highlighted earlier, the Denver Post has featured more than a dozen news articles and a series of online videos, providing an in-depth look at the handling of crucial biological evidence gathered during criminal investigations. “Trashing the Truth: The Hidden Story of Lost Evidence” examined the nationwide problems with evidence storage, the destruction of evidence, and the relationship between missing evidence…
Read MoreJul 24, 2007
NEW RESOURCES: Updated Historical Execution Database Provides Unique Look At History of the Death Penalty in the U.S.
An updated version of the “Espy File,” a database of executions in the United States and the earlier colonies from 1608 to 2002, is now available on DPIC’s Web site. This resource provides detailed information about each of the 15,269 executions recorded during this period and offers a unique glimpse into the history of the death penalty in the U.S. For example, about 15% of those executed received the death penalty for crimes other than murder, including 277…
Read MoreJul 23, 2007
Florida Judge Orders Halt to Executions Over Lethal Injection Problems
Judge Carven Angel of Florida’s Circuit Court has ordered a halt to executions because of concerns that the state’s new lethal injection protocols do not adequately address problems exposed in the state’s last execution. The new protocols were created after Florida’s botched execution of Angel Diaz in December 2006. The execution took more than 30 minutes after two tries, and then-governor Jeb Bush ordered a review of the process. Judge Angel’s oral order to stop…
Read MoreJul 23, 2007
NEW RESOURCES: Destroyed DNA Evidence Blocks Possible Exonerations
A recent four-part series in the Denver Post about evidence in criminal cases detailed how police departments across the U.S. store and dispose of crucial biological evidence. The Post examined 10 states in which authorities destroyed biological evidence in nearly 6,000 rape and murder cases during the past decade. The investigation also revealed that over the past 30 years, destruction of DNA evidence in 28 states has undermined efforts by at least 141…
Read MoreJul 23, 2007
NEW RESOURCES: New Study Examines Causes of Wrongful Convictions
A new comprehensive study of 200 innocence cases, all involving people who were exonerated by DNA evidence, found that erroneous identification by eyewitnesses, faulty forensic evidence, inaccurate informant testimony, and false confessions were the key problems that led to these serious mistakes. The research — which included 14 death penalty cases — also found that courts performed miserably in identifying cases of innocence, and that those…
Read MoreJul 19, 2007
Arizona’s Death Penalty Five Years After Supreme Court’s Ring Decision
In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court decided in Ring v. Arizona that the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee of a jury trial included the determination of whether sufficient aggravating factors existed to make a defendant eligible for the death penalty. Now, five years later, the man at the center of this case — Timothy Ring — has been re-sentenced to life without parole. Ring’s case is among 27 Arizona death penalty cases affected by the Supreme Court’s ruling and…
Read MoreJul 19, 2007
NEW RESOURCE: “Uneven Justice: State Rates of Incarceration by Race and Ethnicity”
Uneven Justice: State Rates of Incarceration by Race and Ethnicity is a new report by The Sentencing Project that examines the racial and ethnic dynamics of incarceration in the U.S. with tables by state and by race. The report notes that African Americans are incarcerated at nearly 6 times the rate of whites and Hispanics are incarcerated at nearly double the rate of whites. One in nine (11.7%) African American males between the ages of 25 and 29 is currently…
Read MoreJul 18, 2007
ARBITRARINESS: Woman Faces Federal Death Sentence While Triggerman Receives 17 Years
Donna Moonda (pictured) is facing the federal death penalty in Ohio for hiring a man to kill her husband. The person who actually shot and killed the victim, Damian Bradford, received a sentence of only 17.5 years in exchange for his testimony against Moonda. Moonda and Bradford were convicted in separate trials of orchestrating and carrying out the plot to kill Dr. Gulam Moonda in an alledged effort to share his estate. The two defendants met in a drug…
Read MoreJul 16, 2007
Questions of Innocence Remain as Georgia Board Considers Davis’ Clemency Request
UPDATE: After less than one hour of deliberation, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles granted Troy Anthony Davis a 90-day stay of execution. The stay means Davis’ execution will be on hold while the board weighs the evidence presented as part of his request for clemency. (Associated Press, July…
Read MoreJul 12, 2007
South Dakota’s First Execution in 60 Years Involves Young “Volunteer”
On July 11, South Dakota carried out its first execution in 60 years, marking only the 15th time the state has carried out a death sentence since 1877. The state executed 25-year-old Elijah Page after he dropped all appeals and volunteered to die by lethal injection. Page was only 18 at the time of his crime and had a long history of being abused. During his trial, the presiding judge noted,“Most parents treated their pets better than your parents treated…
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