Publications & Testimony

An investigation by The Washington Post and 60 Minutes has cast doubt on at least 250 criminal cases in which the defendant was convicted based on FBI bullet-lead test evidence. Since the early 1960s, the FBI has used a technique called comparative bullet-lead analysis on an estimated 2,500 cases, many of which were homicide cases prosecuted at state and local levels. Comparative bullet-lead analysis, based on the assumption that all bullets in one batch will be chemically similar, examines the…

Jim Willet, former warden of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s Walls Unit where Texas executions take place, recently described his experiences to the Dallas Observer as emotionally difficult for him. As warden during 1998 – 2001, three of the busiest years for Texas’ death chamber, Willet oversaw 89 executions. “The first time is unbelievable,” he told the Observer. “You have this healthy person – this person who was able to just jump up on the gurney – and you’ve said, ‘Kill this person,’…

In a recent investigation published in The Dallas Morning News, researchers found that 120 defendants convicted of murder in Texas between 2000 and 2006 received only a sentence of probation. In Dallas County, twice as many convicted murderers were sentenced to probation as were sent to death row. Typically in these cases, a defendant pleads guilty to murder, receives probation, and, with good behavior, can have the murder charged wiped from his or her record. The News began researching…

United Nations Calls for Moratorium on Executions A resolution for a global moratorium on executions was passed on Nov. 15 by the UN General Assembly’s Third (Human Rights) Committee by a vote of 99 – 52, with 33 abstentions. The General Assembly is expected to endorse the decision in a plenary session in December. Similar resolutions were introduced in 1994 and 1999 but were either narrowly defeated or withdrawn. The resolutions calls on countries to: Progressively restrict the use of the…

After over an hour of debate, the Massachusetts House of Representatives overwhelmingly rejected an attempt to reinstate the death penalty. Prior to the 110 – 46 vote, Governor Deval Patrick had vowed to veto the bill if it were approved. The bill was similar to one submitted by former Governor Mitt Romney as a “gold standard” for capital punishment. State Representatives cited high costs and the possibility for human error as reasons for rejecting the bill. Rep. Sean F. Curran, D‑Springfield…

A recent Newsweek article by Evan Thomas and Martha Brant compares the historical search for humane methods of execution with the current decline in the use of the death penalty in the U.S.: The new reluctance to punish by killing is part of a historical trend. There was a time when death and torture were spectator sports, when crowds flocked to see prisoners drawn and quartered or beheaded. In some parts of the world, flogging and stoning are still public spectacles. But in the 19^th century…

In addition to the main brief submitted by the Petitioner in Baze v. Rees, several amicus curiae briefs have been filed in support of the inmates from Kentucky who are challenging the constitutionality of lethal injections as practiced in their state before the U.S. Supreme Court. The case is likely to be heard in January 2008 and decided by June. It appears that executions around the country have been put on hold pending the Court’s decision. The amicus (“friend of the court”) briefs…

Superior Court Judge Robert Ervin ruled that North Carolina death row inmate Glen Edward Chapman is entitled to a new trial based on ample evidence that he was wrongly convicted. Judge Ervin said that law enforcement officials withheld evidence, used false testimony, and misplaced or destroyed important documents that could have supported Chapman’s innocence claim. The judge’s order also revealed that Chapman’s defense attorneys did not adequately represent him during his trial, and that expert…

New Jersey Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts, Jr. (pictured) has announced that on December 13 members of the Assembly will vote on whether to reduce the state’s most severe punishment to life in prison without parole. A spokeswoman for Senate President Richard J. Codey said the Senate is likely to take similar action before the legislative session ends on January 8, though a date has not been set for the vote. If approved by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Jon Corzine, who opposes the death…