Publications & Testimony

Chief Judge William Wilkins of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4^th Circuit recently spoke about the death penalty to a gathering at the Charleston School of Law in South Carolina. He commented that decision-makers will have to evaluate whether the punishment is worth its increasing financial costs. But he also noted how difficult it is for a politician to speak openly about this issue: “I think politically, you’re not going to find a candidate running on ‘Let’s do away with the death…

“Reflective Glass” is a new book by death row inmate G. Wilford Hathorn. The book is a collection of fifteen essays that deal with life on Texas’ death row from a prisoner’s perspective. The essays describe many aspects of death row life: the pain of losing friends through execution, the medical treatment of prisoners, the monotony of living in a tiny cell, and the interaction with guards. Reflective Glass can be ordered from Maria Augusteijn, P.O. Box 7982, Colorado Springs, CO 80933 – 7982.

DPIC’s Lethal Injection Page “Volunteers” and the Need for Court Review A sentencing that “shocks the conscience” A recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9^th Circuit underscored the responsibility that all courts, and particularly the federal courts, have in ensuring that constitutional principles are upheld. FACTS Robert Comer was convicted of murder and other offenses at a trial in Arizona in 1988. He was not in the courtroom during his trial. At the sentencing phase of his…

The New School in New York City is sponsoring a research conference entitled “Punishment: The U.S. Record” to be held November 30 and December 1, 2006. The conference will cover all aspects of imprisonment and punishment in the U.S., but some speakers will focus on the death penalty. In particular, John Donohue III will examine recent deterrence studies and David Garland will discuss the function that capital punishment serves in society. Other speakers at the conference include U.S. Senator…

A federal District Court judge ruled that Missouri’s proposed changes to its lethal injection process still do not meet the constitutional requirments under the Eighth Amendment. Judge Fernando Gaitan ruled on September 12 that Missouri may use a doctor in good standing to preside over executions rather than requiring a board-certified anesthesiologist, as he first ordered in the case of Michael Taylor. However, other aspects of Missouri’s new protocol still do not sufficiently protect against…

Back From The Dead: One woman’s search for the men who walked off America’s death row is the story of 589 former death row inmates who, through a lottery of fate, were given a second chance at life in 1972 when the death penalty was abolished. Joan Cheever, a former editor of the National Law Journal, who also represented a death row inmate in Texas, traveled the country interviewing inmates who had been condemned to death but whose sentences were reduced to life when the U.S. Supreme Court…

The Justice Minister of Rwanda, Tharcisse Karugarama, announced that the country will likely pass a law by December 2006 ending capital punishment. This move would allow Rwanda to try suspects charged with atrocities in the 1994 war who are currently in countries that refuse to extradite prisoners if they face the death penalty. Karugarama said that abolition was necessary in order to achieve a sense of closure. Unless the country abolishes the death penalty, countries like Belgium, the…

According to a Bureau of Justice Statistics Report released on September 10, violent crime in the United States decreased slightly in 2005, continuing a decade-long trend in fewer victimizations. Comparing two-year periods, violent crime was lowest in the Northeast region of the country in 2004-05, and that region also experienced the largest decrease in violent crime from 2002-03 to 2004-05. Since 1993, violent crime has decreased by about 58% in the U.S. The BJS survey of crime victimization…

Two of Texas’s main newspapers have called for an independent investigation into the case of Ruben Cantu, who was executed in Texas in 1993. New evidence revealed in the Houston Chronicle earlier in the year has thrown considerable doubt on the guilt of Cantu. Susan Reed, the District Attorney of Bexar County where Cantu was tried, has refused to step down as head of the county’s investigation, even though, as a judge, she signed Cantu’s death warrant, an apparent conflict of interest. The…

According to a Bureau of Justice Statistics study released September 6, more than half of all prison and jail inmates, including 56% of state prisoners, 45% of federal prisoners, and 64% of local jail inmates have mental health problems. The study was based on reporting of symptoms by inmates rather than through medical diagnosis. Among state prisoners with mental problems, 43% had symptoms of mania, 23% had major depression, and 15% had psychotic disorders. Having mental health problems was…