Publications & Testimony

The report from the New Jersey Death Penalty Study Commission that called for an end to the state’s death penalty was prepared by a group of individuals representing a wide variety of viewpoints and experience. The members of the Commission were: Governor Jon S. Corzine appointed: Eddie Hicks, a member of Murder Victims Families for Reconciliation; Kathleen Garcia, a member of the New Jersey Crime Victims’ Law Center; the Reverend M. William Howard, Jr., of Bethany Baptist Church in Newark…

EXECUTION REPRIEVES Gov. Ted Strickland of Ohio granted temporary reprieves to three inmates scheduled for execution in the next 5 weeks in order to allow more time to consider whether clemency should be granted: Kenneth Biros, James Filiaggi, and Christopher Newton. (Jan. 19, 2007). See Clemency. MENTAL COMPETENCY The Indiana Supreme Court has stayed the January 19 execution Norman Timberlake pending the outcome of Panetti v. Quarterman in the U.S. Supreme Court. Panetti concerns the standard…

After extensive public hearings, the New Jersey Death Penalty Study Commission issued a report on January 2 calling for an end to the state’s death penalty and replacing it with a sentence of life without parole. The 13-member Commission was appointed by the state legislature, which also placed a moratorium on all executions until a report was prepared. The report cited the risks of executing the innocent, the high costs of the death penalty, and society’s evolving standards of decency in…

Total: 464 Jurisdiction of Execution Total Number Executed Military 150 State 132 Federal 65 Territorial 52 Indian Tribunal 33 Unknown 32 Method of Execution Total Number Executed Hanged 333 Shot 69 Lethal Injection 14 Electrocution 13 Asphyxiation 7 Other 28 Place of Execution Total Number Executed MA 79 CA 63 AR 54 OK 41 MN 40 OR 25 CT 20 NY 12 AL 11 NC 10 AZ 10 AK 6 WA 9 MI 7 RI 6 OH 6 NV 6 GA 6 TX 5 SD 5 MT 5 MO 5 IL 4 VA 3 PA 3 WY 3 ME 3 LA 3 UT 2 TN 2 KS 2 NJ 2 NE 1 MS 1 MD 1 KT 1 ID 1…

Texas Court Rejects Presidential Order in Death Penalty Case The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rebuffed President Bush’s order that Texas courts review the cases of Mexican foreign nationals who were sentenced to death without the benefit of their rights under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. Writing for the court, Judge Michael Keasler, stated: “We hold that the President has exceeded his constitutional authority by intruding into the independent powers of the judiciary.” Judge…

Vatican Says Death Penalty Is “Affront to Human Dignity” In a position paper issued this month during the World Congress Against the Death Penalty in Paris, the Vatican said that the death penalty “is not only a refusal of the right to life, but it also is an affront to human dignity.” Echoing the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the paper noted that while governments have an obligation to protect their citizens, “today it truly is difficult to justify” using capital punishment when other…

Wounds That Do Not Bind: Victim-based Perspectives on the Death Penalty, a book by James R. Acker and David Reed Karp, examines how family members and advocates for victims address the impact of capital punishment. The book presents the personal stories of victims’ family members and their interactions with the criminal justice system. It also examines the relevant areas of legal research, including the use of victim impact evidence in capital trials, how capital punishment affects victims’…

Murdering Myths: The Story Behind the Death Penalty, a book by Judith W. Kay, uses the personal experiences of both crime victims’ families and those on death row to examine America’s beliefs about crime and punishment. Noting that researchers have raised questions about the execution of innocent people, racial bias in sentencing, and capital punishment’s failure to act as a deterrent, Kay asks why Americans still support the death penalty. She uses interviews with those most closely impacted…

Murder Victims’ Families for Human Rights released a report entitled “Creating More Victims: How Executions Hurt the Families Left Behind”(2006). Families of the executed are victims, too, according to the new report, which draws upon the stories of three dozen family members of inmates executed in the United States and demonstrates that their experiences and traumatic symptoms resemble those of many others who have suffered a violent loss. “I don’t think people understand what executions do to…