Publications & Testimony

The costs of the death penalty are a key factor affecting the quality of representation in capital cases in at least three states. Lack of representation in parts of the death penalty process has been cited recently in courts in Georgia, Alabama, and Utah. Budget problems at the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council have prevented payments to lawyers since March 1, according to an official at the Council. Defense attorneys say the states’ inability to meet the costs associated with capital…

The Florida Supreme Court reduced a death sentence to life without parole because of the defendant’s serious mental illness. The court noted that this was “one of the most documented cases of serious mental illnesses this court has reviewed.” In its decision rejecting the trial judge’s death sentence for Christopher Offord (pictured), the justices unanimously held that the death penalty was a disproportionate punishment due to Offord’s long-standing mental problems. Medical records show that…

In an important ruling, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has thrown out the death sentence of Kenisha Berry, who was sentenced to death in 1998 for the murder of her infant son, Malachi. The 5 – 4 decision stated that Jefferson County prosecutors misstated the special issue presented to jurors regarding Berry’s likelihood of being a future danger to society, one of the key questions Texas jurors consider when they are deliberating a death sentence. Berry’s attorneys argued that there was…

Last year, prosecutors in two neighboring Arizona counties, Pima and Maricopa, sought the death penalty at dramatically different rates, a fact that has many questioning the arbitrary nature of the state’s death penalty. Though just five years ago it had the highest rate of death penalty cases in the nation, Pima County now ranks among the lowest. County Attorney Barbara LaWall sought the death penalty for 1 of 65 accused murderers last year, but in bordering Maricopa County, 44 of 89…

With a number of executions of inmates who have waived their appeals approaching in the U.S., Amnesty International has released a new report, “Prisoner-assisted homicide — more ‘volunteer’ executions loom.” The report addresses the fact that about 12% of executions in the U.S. since the death penalty was reinstated have been of inmates who gave up appeals that would have extended their time on death row. The report looks at some of the possible reasons for the large number of volunteers…

“Towards the Abolition of the Death Penalty in Africa: A Human Rights Perspective” is a new book by Lilian Chenwi that examines the history of capital punishment in Africa and the continent’s emerging trend away from the death penalty. In her book, Chenwi details the impact that both international human rights organizations and international treaties have had on shifting African views about capital punishment. This resource includes chapters on the history and current state of capital…

California has proposed new lethal injection procedures that attempt to satisfy the concerns raised by U.S. District Court Judge Jeremy Fogel, who found that the state’s previous practice was unconstitutional. The new protocol does not change the existing three-drug cocktail and will not require a doctor’s participation in executions. Defense attorneys for Michael Morales, whose appeal led to the state’s current moratorium on executions, said the new protocol “fails to conform to the standards…

A new Web page launched by the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty features information about four men who have been executed but who may have been innocent. The site, based on NCADP’s report “Innocent and Executed: Four Chapters in the Life and Death of America’s Death Penalty,” provides an in-depth look at the strong post-execution innocence claims that have surfaced in the cases of Cameron Todd Willingham, Carlos DeLuna, and Ruben Cantu, all of Texas, and Larry Griffin of…

Byron Halsey, who narrowly escaped a death sentence in New Jersey in 1988, had his conviction vacated after DNA tests pointed to another man as the assailant. Halsey’s defense attorneys from the New York-based Innocence Project and the Union County District Attorney’s Office had asked a state judge to grant a joint motion to vacate Halsey’s conviction for the sexual assault and murder of two young children. The motion states that DNA testing on several key pieces of evidence used to convict…

Acclaimed author John Grisham recently told The Kansas City Star that the death penalty should be “abolished forever” in the United States. “I think the system is so badly flawed that all executions should be stopped… . Let’s start with the basic concept of a fair trial. We are so far away from that in every state in this country,” said Grisham, an attorney whose views on capital punishment started to shift when he wrote “The Chamber,” a novel that deals with an execution. Grisham’s most recent…