Publications & Testimony

Gov. Ernie Fletcher of Kentucky commuted the death sentence of Jeffrey D. Leonard for the 1983 murder of a Louisville store clerk before leaving office. Governor Fletcher reduced Leonard’s death sentence to life without parole. He had been convicted under the name of James Earl Slaughter. The Governor noted in his commutation that Leonard was not provided with adequate representation and that Leonard’s attorney did not even know his client’s real name during the trial. The governor’s general…

After hours of debate and testimony, the New Jersey Senate today approved bill S‑171 which will replace the state’s death penalty with a sentence of life without parole. The measure was approved by a vote of 21 – 16 and now moves to the State Assembly, where approval is also expected in a vote on Thursday. The governor has indicated he will sign the bill into law, making New Jersey the first state to legislatively abolish the death penalty in over 40 years. Around the country, the death penalty…

Today, December 10, 2007, the New Jersey Senate will vote on a bill (Senate Bill 171) to replace the death penalty with the sentence of life without parole. Earlier, the New Jersey Death Penalty Study Commission held extensive public hearings that culminated in a report calling for an end to the death penalty. The Commission consisted of a wide range of perspectives, including law enforcement, victims, and attorneys. Some of the key findings of the report included: Abolition of the death…

On December 5, a Tennessee jury acquitted Michael Lee McCormick of the 1985 murder of Donna Jean Nichols, a crime for which McCormick spent 16 years on death row. In his first trial, the prosecution introduced hair evidence from Nichols’ car that the FBI said matched McCormick. DNA testing later found that the hair did not match McCormick and this evidence was not permitted in the new trial. McCormick’s attorney, Karla Gothard said after the trial, “We have been living with this case for years…

In a recent editorial entitled “The Myth of Deterrence,” the Dallas Morning News pointed to the many reasons why the death penalty does not deter murders: a majority of murders can be classified as irrational acts, and the perpetrators are unlikely to have considered the possibility of a death sentences before and during the crime; those who commit premeditated murder are also unlikely to consider the possibility of capital punishment because it is so unlikely to be carried out. “No rational…

By an 8 – 4 vote on Dec. 3, the New Jersey Senate Budget Committee voted to advance a bill to replace the death penalty with a sentence of life in prison without parole. The bill would make New Jersey the first state to legislatively abolish the death penalty since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. Senator Raymond Lesniak, the bill’s sponsor, cited a recent case of wrongful conviction in New Jersey when explaining his support for abolishing the death penalty. He stated…

New Hampshire, Wyoming House Pass Bills to Ban Juvenile Death Penalty Less than a month after the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it will reconsider the constitutionality of the death penalty for juvenile offenders, two state legislative bodies have passed measures to ban the practice. The New Hampshire Senate passed its bill to ban the execution of those who were under the age of 18 at the time of their offense on February 19, 2004. The measure now moves to the House, where a committee…

B. Orser, “Lifting the Fog Around Anesthesia,” Scientific American, June 2007 Thomas, Evan and Brant, Martha “Injection of Reflection,” Newsweek, November 10, 2007 Weinstein, Harry and Dolan, Maura “The Chaos Behind California Executions” Los Angeles Times (October 2, 2006) Guidry, Orin “Message From the President: Observations Regarding Lethal Injection” American Society of Anesthesiologists (June 30, 2006)

DNA Exonerations Lead to Key Policy Changes Throughout the U.S. In the wake of more than 200 exonerations based on DNA evidence, including some wrongfully convicted death row prisoners, jurisdictions throughout the U.S. are enacting key policy reforms that add safeguards to protect against wrongful convictions and provide inmates with better access to crucial evidence during appeals. All but eight states now give inmates varying degrees of access to DNA evidence that might not have been…