Publications & Testimony

A new requirement that every death sentence be reviewed and approved by China’s highest court has resulted in a sharp decline in executions there. A spokesman for the Supreme People’s Court in China said that lower courts are reporting a 10% drop in executions during the first five months of 2007. Human rights experts estimate that China executes 10,000 — 15,000 people each year, more than the rest of the world combined, but officials do not release specific numbers to the public. In recent…

According to a new report and opinion poll issued today by the Death Penalty Information Center, the American public is losing confidence in the death penalty as doubts about innocence and the purpose of capital punishment increase. The report, A Crisis of Confidence: Americans’ Doubts About the Death Penalty, is based on a recent national opinion poll conducted by RT Strategies and commissioned by DPIC. “Public confidence in the death penalty has clearly eroded over the past 10 years, mostly…

In a recent editorial, the Los Angeles Times voiced concerns about a Louisiana Supreme Court decision upholding the death sentence of Patrick Kennedy for the rape of his 8‑year-old stepdaughter. The paper said the Louisiana court’s decision to allow the death penalty in such cases could lead states to seek the death penalty for other non-murder crimes, a development that would worsen an already dysfunctional death penalty system. The editorial noted: The United States is virtually alone among…

Although the Supreme Court struck down race-based strikes of potential jurors more than two decades ago in Batson v. Kentucky, the decision has fallen short of its goal. For example, in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, a recent study has revealed that potential black jurors are struck three times as often as white jurors in the parish. This does not include the jurors struck for being unable to follow death penalty law by the judge. A Louisiana Crisis Assistance Center review of 390 felony jury…

The League of Women Voters of Florida is urging Governor Charlie Crist to continue the moratorium on executions and to consider alternative sentences. In a letter from Florida League President Dianne Wheatley-Giliotti to Governor Crist, the organization noted that concerns about fairness, innocence, costs, and public safety have led them to question the value of capital punishment. In their call for a moratorium, the League stated: Dear Governor Crist: The League of Women Voters of Florida…

Just days after a federal judge in California ruled that executions in that state must remain on hold as the lethal injection procedures are carefully considered, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8^th Circuit held that lethal injection executions in Missouri may resume because their procedures do not violate the 8^th Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel, who is presiding over the ongoing legal challenges in California, said there are a number of…

Just weeks before Texas is scheduled to execute Cathy Henderson (pictured) for the murder of a child that she was babysitting, the medical examiner whose testimony helped send her to death row has said he no longer stands by his original opinion that the child’s death resulted from an intentional act on Henderson’s part. In light of new scientific evidence showing that Brandon Baugh’s death could have resulted from an accidental fall, retired Travis County chief medical examiner Roberto Bayardo…

In a guest column published in the Jurist, former FBI Director William S. Sessions underscored the importance of making DNA testing available for those facing execution. He also encouraged states to thoroughly review their capital punishment systems and to make reforms to ensure greater reliability. DNA testing, he noted, has revealed that police often do not have the right suspect in serious crimes. In about 25% of the cases where DNA was available and a suspect had been arrested, testing…

The latest issue of Scientific American contains an article about the science of anesthesiology, noting that “the medical specialty of anesthesiology has evolved into a sophisticated art form.” The magazine reports that the scientific understanding of how anesthetic drugs actually work and how to make them better has lagged behind most other areas of drug development, a shortcoming that has resulted in safety concerns. Episodes of awareness during operations while under general anesthesia, even…

The League of Women Voters of Florida is urging Governor Charlie Crist to continue the moratorium on executions and to consider alternative sentences. In a letter from Florida League President Dianne Wheatley-Giliotti to Governor Crist, the organization noted that concerns about fairness, innocence, costs, and public safety have led them to question the value of capital punishment. In their call for a moratorium, the League stated: Dear Governor Crist: The League of Women Voters of Florida…