Publications & Testimony

On June 4, Georgia has scheduled the execution of Curtis Osborne. (UPDATE: Osborne was executed on June 4.) Osborne’s own defense lawyer at trial was racially biased against him and failed to do the most basic investigation that might have saved his client’s life. The attorney repeatedly referred to Osborne with a racial epithet, saying, “that little n____r deserves the chair.” At the time of the murder that sent Osborne to death row, he was suffering from mental problems and his family had a…

Based on statements from the District Attorney’s office, it appears that Texas wrongly convicted Michael Blair and sentenced him to death in 1994 for the sexual assault and murder of 7‑year-old Ashley Estell. The case led to the passage of “Ashley’s Laws” to increase punishments for such offenses. Collin County District Attorney John Roach announced that new DNA tests show no physical evidence linking Blair to the crime. The only forensic evidence that pointed to Blair for the kidnap-murder was…

The Georgia Pardons and Parole Board commuted Samuel Crowe’s death sentence to life without parole just two and a half hours before his scheduled execution on May 22, 2008. The five-member Board’s statement said, “After careful and exhaustive consideration of the request, the board voted to grant clemency.” The Board had heard from several people who knew Crowe, including pastors and a former corrections officer, who said, “I felt like if they released him that morning he would never get in any…

In a potential death penalty case in Houston, Texas, a jury sentenced Juan Quintero to life without parole on May 20 for the murder of a police officer. One juror, Tiffany Moore, described her experience as very emotional, “I was torn up. I was crying… .I still feel we came to the right decision,” she said. “We could never bring Rodney back. I feel very sad for the family, losing a loved one.” Moore added that the sentencing phase was more difficult for the jury than the guilt-innocence…

A federal judge in Delaware extended a stay on all executions in the state on May 15, 2008, pending an evidentiary hearing scheduled for June. One execution in Delaware was stayed by the same judge, District Court Judge Sue L. Robinson (pictured), in May 2006, pending a determination of the constitutionality of the state’s use of lethal injection. In 2007, the impact of the eventual ruling in that case was extended to all of the state’s death row inmates. The stay of execution was prompted by a…

Earl Berry is scheduled to be executed on May 21 in Mississippi, despite evidence that he has mental retardation. Judicial review of this evidence has been denied because his former lawyers failed to file the evidence in a timely fashion. This would be the second execution since the U.S. Supreme Court approved Kentucky’s method of lethal injection on April 16. Last month, a psychologist concluded that Berry had an IQ of 75 or below and “significantly sub-average intellectual functioning and …

Maryland Governor O’Malley signed legislation creating a commission to study the death penalty on May 13. The Maryland Commission on Capital Punishment is mandated to reflect on all sides of the issue and its members will include representatives from law enforcement, a prosecutor, a public defender, and family members of murder victims. The commission begins its work in July and should submit its findings by December 15, 2008. The following representatives will serve on the commission: Two…

William Neukom, the President of the American Bar Association, recently wrote about the death penalty in conjunction with a visit to Duke University Law School in North Carolina, where he addressed the graduating class. In an op-ed, Mr. Neukom noted that the ABA had closely studied the death penalty systems of eight states and found repeated failures to meet minimum standards advocated by the ABA. He renewed the call of the ABA for a halt to executions until these problems are addressed…