Publications & Testimony

A new comprehensive study of 200 innocence cases, all involving people who were exonerated by DNA evidence, found that erroneous identification by eyewitnesses, faulty forensic evidence, inaccurate informant testimony, and false confessions were the key problems that led to these serious mistakes. The research — which included 14 death penalty cases — also found that courts performed miserably in identifying cases of innocence, and that those exonerated were more likely to be members of…

In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court decided in Ring v. Arizona that the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee of a jury trial included the determination of whether sufficient aggravating factors existed to make a defendant eligible for the death penalty. Now, five years later, the man at the center of this case — Timothy Ring — has been re-sentenced to life without parole. Ring’s case is among 27 Arizona death penalty cases affected by the Supreme Court’s ruling and re-examinated by the Arizona Supreme…

Uneven Justice: State Rates of Incarceration by Race and Ethnicity is a new report by The Sentencing Project that examines the racial and ethnic dynamics of incarceration in the U.S. with tables by state and by race. The report notes that African Americans are incarcerated at nearly 6 times the rate of whites and Hispanics are incarcerated at nearly double the rate of whites. One in nine (11.7%) African American males between the ages of 25 and 29 is currently incarcerated in a prison or jail.

UPDATE: After less than one hour of deliberation, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles granted Troy Anthony Davis a 90-day stay of execution. The stay means Davis’ execution will be on hold while the board weighs the evidence presented as part of his request for clemency. (Associated Press, July 16, 2007). Today (July 16), on the eve of Georgia’s scheduled execution of Troy Anthony Davis (pictured), the state’s Board of Pardons and Paroles will consider whether Davis should be granted…

On July 11, South Dakota carried out its first execution in 60 years, marking only the 15^th time the state has carried out a death sentence since 1877. The state executed 25-year-old Elijah Page after he dropped all appeals and volunteered to die by lethal injection. Page was only 18 at the time of his crime and had a long history of being abused. During his trial, the presiding judge noted, “Most parents treated their pets better than your parents treated you.” Page’s decision to drop his…

A new book by Charles D. Flores details his personal experience as an inmate on Texas’ death row. The book, Warrior Within: Inside Report on Texas Death Row, provides a first-hand account of Flores’ death penalty trial and his experiences awaiting execution. It explores his quest to learn more about the law as he fights to prove his innocence and win his freedom. In the book, Flores writes, “I started to comprehend what it meant to be on death row. I was beginning to understand it was a race…

Bexar County District Attorney Susan Reed recently issued a report finding that Ruben Cantu (pictured) was guilty of the crime for which Texas executed him in 1993. However, critics have noted that Reed was formerly a judge who handled Cantu’s appeal and set his execution date, raising a conflict of interest in conducing an investigation of his guilt. Moreover, many who are familiar with the case doubt Reed’s conclusions and say the report’s findings do not add up. Critics of Reed’s report say…

A new report from the Charlotte School of Law on mental illness and the death penalty reveals that obstacles entrenched within the criminal justice system impede efforts to identify those with severe mental illness and treat them fairly. The report, “Mental Illness and the Death Penalty in North Carolina: A Diagnostic Approach,” is based on a 2006 symposium hosted by the law school. It examines scientific studies of mental illness and provides an overview of laws established to protect those…

Since 2000, 50 people have had their death sentences reversed in Pennsylvania as courts found serious legal errors in the inmates’ original trials. The number of reversals nearly equaled the number of people added to the state’s death row during the past 7 years and have come from a variety of courts. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued about 20% of the reversals, 50% of the death sentences were overturned by state trial judges during the next stage of review, and another 30% of the reversals…