Publications & Testimony
Items: 5011 — 5020
Nov 14, 2006
NEW VOICES: Life Without Parole Offers Prosecutors, Jurors, and Victims an Acceptable Alternative to the Death Penalty
Prosecutors in Utah have stated that the sentencing option of life without parole has been very helpful in giving jurors and family members of victims a viable alternative to the death penalty. Salt Lake County District Attorney David Yocom noted that life without parole is often a better option to present to jurors:“It’s a tool for juries as well as prosecutors and defense attorneys, too,” Yocom said.“It’s an alternative to avoid asking a jury of 12 people to make…
Read MoreNov 14, 2006
Supreme Court Justices Raise Issue of Time on Death Row
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld California’s death penalty law in a 5 – 4 decision on Nov. 13 in Ayers v. Belmontes. The majority held that the state’s law allowed the jury to consider all appropriate mitigating evidence. The decision reversed the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, which had overturned Belmontes death sentence. The dissent, consisting of Justices Stephens, Breyer, Ginsburg and Souter, however, disagreed, contending that the jury…
Read MoreNov 10, 2006
Ruling Expected Soon on Lethal Injection Controversy
Federal District Court Judge Jeremy Fogel is expected to rule soon on a challenge to the lethal injection process in California, the state with the largest death row in the country. Extensive hearings with national experts were conducted earlier in the year and some testimony raised serious concerns about the supervision and reliability of the execution process. Final responses to Judge Fogel’s supplementary questions after the close of the hearings were due on…
Read MoreNov 09, 2006
NEW VOICES: Former Death Row Warden Calls for Clemency on Eve of Execution
The former warden of the Virginia prison that houses the state’s death row inmates has called for clemency for a man about to be executed on November 9. Page True was warden of the Sussex I State Prison and knew death row inmate John Schmitt for over 4 years.“The crime was just terrible,” True said,“but there’s a lot worse inmates that I’ve dealt with in my 36 years in prison systems than…
Read MoreNov 08, 2006
Author of Wisconsin Death Penalty Referendum Says Law Has No Chance of Passing
Nov 07, 2006
Judge Carolyn King
DPIC’s Lethal Injection Page Federal Judge Carolyn Dineen King Speaks on the Death Penalty at Red Mass October 4, 2006 marked the annual liturgy held for members of the legal profession called the Red Mass. This year’s keynote speaker in Corpus Christi, Texas, was Judge Carolyn Dineen King of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. She chose to speak about the death penalty from both a legal and moral point of view, while…
Read MoreNov 07, 2006
NEW VOICES: “Death penalty isn’t the justice I seek”
Bonita Spikes’ husband was murdered 12 years ago. She now works to end the death penalty in Maryland. She recently wrote about her perspective on capital punishment in the Baltimore Sun. She…
Read MoreNov 03, 2006
Death Sentence Upheld Despite Abysmal Representation
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld the conviction and death sentence of a death row inmate on a tie vote (7 – 7), despite the fact that the defendant was represented by an attorney who did not even learn his client’s true name. The defense lawyer misled a reviewing court about his experience in capital cases and has been indicted for perjury. The defendant, who was tried in Kentucky as James Slaughter but whose real name is Jeffrey Leonard, is…
Read MoreNov 02, 2006
Clemency Urged for Mentally Ill Man in North Carolina
At a press conference on November 1, the North Carolina Black Leadership Caucus called for the governor to commute the death sentence of Guy LeGrande. Le Grande is scheduled to be executed on December 1. He was allowed to represent himself at his 1996 murder trial, despite the fact that he claimed to be hearing messages from Oprah Winfrey and Dan Rather through television sets. His defense lawyer, Jay Ferguson, said LeGrande falsely believes he has already…
Read MoreNov 01, 2006
INTERNATIONAL: China Moves to Sharply Restrict Use of Death Penalty
China has adopted new rules that will require all death sentences to be reviewed by the Supreme People’s Court, the country’s highest court. In the past, China has been consistently listed as the leading country in the world in carrying out executions. The current reforms are a response to domestic and international criticism that cited China’s widespread and arbitrary use of the death penalty. In addition, Chinese courts have been embarrassed in recent years when…
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