Publications & Testimony

A broad spectrum of religious leaders from Wisconsin issued a joint statement regarding their views on the death penalty on October 14. The statement follows: ‘Simply put, we cannot support the death penalty’ Posted: Oct. 14, 2006 There are many articulate and compelling arguments for rejecting the death penalty referendum on the Nov. 7 ballot. We will not rehearse those arguments here. As religious leaders, we wish to present a straightforward, values-based argument. We believe that it is…

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal from Texas death row inmate LaRoyce Smith even though they had reviewed his case once before. On October 6, 2006, the Court granted certiorari to decide whether the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals had applied the wrong standard after the Supreme Court had sent Smith’s case back to them earlier. The dispute does not involve Smith’s 1991 conviction for the murder of a Taco Bell manager in Dallas. Rather the Supreme Court held (7 – 2) in 2004 that…

Edward Johnson is a former FBI Agent who currently oversees investigative work for the Union County (NJ) Prosecutor’s Office. He recently expressed his personal opinions about the state’s death penalty. He concluded that in New Jersey public opinion may now have moved to the point where the death penalty will be abolished. He noted, in part: Quite frankly, it’s the time lag between conviction and execution that militates against any deterrent effect. Even in states with an active death…

At a joint press conference held by the European Commission (EC) and the Council of Europe, Vice-President Franco Frattini of the EC stated that “the administration of State killing via the judicial system serves no useful purpose in preventing crime but can have a brutalising effect on societies that inflict it”. Their press release marking this occasion noted that considerable progress has been made towards abolishing the death penalty: There [has] been constant progress towards worldwide…

As part of DPIC’s ongoing mission to serve the public with analysis and information on issues concerning capital punishment, we have developed a resource center for students. This page will assist students wishing to do explore issues surrounding the death penalty. There are ideas for debates and research papers as well as links to connect students with academic resources on capital punishment. The new link answers frequently asked questions, such as DPIC’s stance on the death penalty and how…

Part One (Part Two Follows) October 9^th, 2006 10 days ago, by a vote of 65 to 34, Congress passed the Military Commissions Act of 2006 (MCA). To facilitate the prosecution of detainees that the Bush Administration “disappeared” into secret CIA custody for several years, Congress created a system of justice that is far inferior to that of the federal courts and courts-martial. And not only did Congress give the Administration much of what sought in terms of substandard justice, it also allowed…

Capital Punishment Research Initiative: The Future of Innocence by Richard C. Dieter (October 6 – 7, 2006)

Corey Maye was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of a police officer in Prentiss, Mississippi, on the day after Christmas in 2001. The police officer was part of a drug raid on a neighbor’s apartment. Maye claims that the police broke into his duplex unannounced and that he fired his gun in defense of himself and his 18-month-old daughter. Mississippi Circuit Court Judge Michael Eubanks recently ruled that Maye was entitled to a new sentencing hearing because his defense counsel…

A Los Angeles Times article on the recent hearings in federal District Court regarding the California’s lethal injection process was entitled “The Chaos Behind California Executions.” Excerpts from the article follow: “Operational Procedure No. 770,” the state’s name for execution by lethal injection, is performed in a dark, cramped room by men and women who know little, if anything, about the deadly drugs they inject under extreme stress. … Witnesses depicted executions by lethal injection…

On October 10^th, 2006, John Grisham’s first non-fiction book, The Innocent Man, will be released. The book is the compelling true story of Ron Williamson, a former hometown baseball hero of Ada, Oklahoma, who was convicted in 1988 of raping and murdering Debbie Carter. In 1999, Williamson was exonerated of the crime after serving eleven years on death row. In the context of this case, Grisham addresses many of the fundamental issues that surround the death penalty in the United States. He…