Publications & Testimony
Items: 4921 — 4930
Feb 22, 2007
NEW RESOURCE: Religion and the Death Penalty Web Page
The Death Penalty Information Center’s new Religion and the Death Penalty Web page is now available online. In recent years, a growing number of religious organizations have participated in the nation’s death penalty debate. The purpose of this new Web page is to provide access to information regarding the efforts of these faith groups and to highlight recent developments related to religion and the death penalty. The page features official religious statements on…
Read MoreFeb 21, 2007
Maryland Governors call for Abolition of the Death Penalty
MARYLAND GOVERNORS CALL FOR ABOLITION OF…
Read MoreFeb 21, 2007
Third World Congress Against the Death Penalty
The Third World Congress Against the Death Penalty took place in Paris from February 1 – 3, 2007. During this time, Paris welcomed hundreds of death penalty experts and activists from around the world, including numerous U.S. representatives who provided a broad overview of capital punishment trends in the U.S. Among the American panelists who participated in the…
Read MoreFeb 19, 2007
Vatican Says Death Penalty Is “Affront to Human Dignity”
In a position paper issued this month during the World Congress Against the Death Penalty in Paris, the Vatican said that the death penalty “is not only a refusal of the right to life, but it also is an affront to human dignity.” Echoing the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the paper noted that while governments have an obligation to protect their citizens,“today it truly is difficult to justify” using capital…
Read MoreFeb 19, 2007
NEW VOICES: Former State Prosecutor Questions Value of Capital Punishment
Former Connecticut state prosecutor and legal analyst Susan Filan recently stated that the death penalty is not an appropriate sentence, particularly when the crime appears to be a heinous violation of the sanctity of life . In her commentary posted on…
Read MoreFeb 16, 2007
Why two mothers back death penalty repeal
by Vicki Schieber and Carolyn Leming Feb. 16, 2007 The GazetteWe write as mothers who have been scarred by the death penalty.Our stories are very different, but they are both stories of justice gone wrong. They are stories that convince us the capital punishment system in Maryland and across the country is broken…
Read MoreFeb 14, 2007
New Mexico House Approves Death Penalty Repeal Bill
The New Mexico House of Representatives has approved legislation that would repeal the death penalty and replace it with a sentence of life without parole. Supporters of the measure say that it will save taxpayers an estimated $3 million a year, money they contend would be better spent on helping victims’ families. They also note that capital punishment could result in an innocent person being executed, does not deter murder, and is unfairly…
Read MoreFeb 14, 2007
NEW RESOURCES: The Possible Innocence of Troy Davis
A new report issued by Amnesty International focuses on the case of Georgia death row inmate Troy Davis to illustrate the issue of innocence and the legal hurdles that death row inmates face in seeking judicial relief. The report — ‘Where is the justice for me?’ The case of Troy Davis, Facing Execution in Georgia — notes that Davis has been on death row for 15 years for a murder that he maintains he did not commit. Many of the state’s witnesses against Davis…
Read MoreFeb 14, 2007
Virginia Man Could Face Execution Despite Ineffectual Representation
Christopher Scott Emmett could face execution in Virginia before the end of the year despite the fact that his legal representation fell short of decades-old American Bar Association standards, according to an investigation by McClatchy Newspapers reporter Stephen Henderson. Emmett was sentenced to death in 2001, and his story was among the 73 cases reviewed recently in the McClatchy series. During the…
Read MoreFeb 14, 2007
PUBLIC OPINION: Poll Reveals Kansans Prefer Life Without Parole
A recent Kansas poll found that nearly two-thirds of respondents said they prefer a sentence of life in prison without parole in which the offenders would work in prison to pay restitution to the victims’ families as an alternative to the death penalty. The poll also revealed that many Kansans think capital punishment is handed out unfairly. Fifty-seven percent of respondents said they believe that some people are executed while others serve prison time for…
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