Publications & Testimony

Dr. Orin Guidry, president of the 40,000-member American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), issued a public statement strongly urging members to ​“steer clear” of any participation in executions by lethal injection. In a four-page ​“Message from the President,” Guidry noted that anesthesiologists have been ​“reluctantly thrust into the middle” of the legal controversy over lethal injections. In recent months, the procedures being used around the United States have been challenged because they may…

The Anniston Star Section: Opinion July 2, 2006 Author: Richard C. Dieter Special to The Star In deciding a narrow issue about an obscure part of Kansas’ death penalty law, the Supreme Court last week revealed a chasm of differing opinions regarding the fundamental reliability of capital punishment in this country. Although the opposing views were widely divergent and sharply expressed, the court did us all a service by identifying the key problem that may decide the future of the death…

On June 28, 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court decided two consolidated cases involving the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. In both cases, the foreign nationals were arrested but not informed by police officers of their consular rights under the Convention to ask that their respective consulates be notified of their detention. The Court concluded that statements made by foreign nationals do not need to be suppressed, even though the defendants were not informed of their consular rights. The…

Just weeks after Ohio struggled for more than 90 minutes to find a suitable vein in Joseph Clark’s arm to administer lethal injection drugs, the state has decided to implement new regulations aimed at ensuring smoother procedures during executions. In a report prompted by problems encountered during Clark’s execution, Ohio prisons Director Terry Collins told Gov. Bob Taft that execution teams will now make every effort to locate two injection sites prior to an execution and will use a new…

Below are summaries from two U.S. District Court decisions regarding problems with lethal injection procedures in Arkansas and Missouri. The court in Arkansas granted a stay of execution for Don Davis to allow further investigations into the lethal injection procedures. In Missouri, in Michael Taylor’s case, the District judge put all executions in the state on hold until changes are made in the state’s execution protocols. Nooner v. Norris, No. 5:06CV00110 SWW U.S. District Court for the…

Dr. Deepak Chopra recently wrote that continuing use of the death penalty in the U.S. is irrational because it does not deter crime, risks innocent lives, and isolates the U.S. among the majority of First World nations that have chosen to abandon capital punishment: The U.S. has isolated itself among First World countries by allowing the death penalty — 123 countries have abolished it completely, or in practice never use it, a few permitting it under extreme circumstances. Of the 50 countries…

In a 5 – 4 decision that revealed a deep division among the Justices over the fairness of capital punishment, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Kansas’s death penalty statute on June 26. In Kansas v. Marsh, the Court held that juries may be required to sentence a defendant to die when there is an equal weight of mitigating and aggravating evidence. The ruling overturns a Kansas Supreme Court decision that found the practice unconstitutional because it violated the Eighth Amendment’s protection…

The Death Penalty Information Center held its 10^th Annual Thurgood Marshall Journalism Awards at the National Press Club on Monday, June 26. This year’s award recipients were Jacqui Lofaro and Victor Teich of Justice Productions for their documentary ​“The Empty Chair,” and reporter Robert Nelson of the Phoenix New Times for his coverage of death row exoneree Ray Krone. Lofaro and Teich received this year’s Award for excellence in the television broadcast category. Their documentary, ​“The Empty…

Members of the New York Assembly’s Codes Committee recently voted 13 – 5 against a bill to reinstate the death penalty, a vote that revealed a growing bi-partisan opposition to capital punishment. Last year’s vote on the same measure was 11 – 7. New York’s death penalty was overturned in 2004 by the state’s highest court. A number of Assembly members have said they no longer support the death penalty because of growing evidence that it risks innocent lives and because the state now has the…