Publications & Testimony

A Chicago Tribune investigation set for release this weekend will reveal groundbreaking evidence that Texas may have executed an innocent man in 1989. The defendant, Carlos DeLuna, was executed for the fatal stabbing of Texas convenience store clerk Wanda Lopez in 1983. New evidence uncovered by reporters Maurice Possley and Steve Mills casts doubt on DeLuna’s guilt and points towards another man, Carlos Hernandez, who had a record of similar crimes and repeatedly confessed to the murder.

In the wake of numerous lawsuits challenging current lethal injection procedures and a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that makes it easier for those on death row to file such claims, medical experts have identified alternative protocols that would be less risky to the prisoner but more difficult for witnesses to observe. ​“There’s an innumerably long list of medications that can be given to cause someone to die,” said Dr. Mark Dershwitz, a professor of anesthesiology at the University of…

According to the FBI’s Preliminary Uniform Crime Report for 2005, all regions of the country experienced a rise in murder rates in 2005. The Midwest had the largest increase (5.8%) and the West had the smallest increase (3.2%). Based on the increases reported by the FBI and the previous year’s murder rates, the South again had the highest murder rate in the country— 6.9 murders per 100,000 people — followed by the West (5.9), Midwest (5.0) and the Northeast (4.4). The rates for forcible rape were…

The League of Women Voters of the United States has adopted an official national policy calling for abolition of the death penalty. During the organization’s 47^th biennial national convention in Minneapolis, delegates adopted policy language stating, ​“The League of Women Voters of the United States supports the abolition of the death penalty.” The League of Women Voters has more than 130,000 members and supporters. It is a non-partisan political organization that encourages the informed and…

July 2, 2006 will mark the 30^th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Gregg v. Georgia, an historic ruling that upheld newly crafted death penalty statutes and signaled the beginning of the modern era of capital punishment. This milestone presents the public with an opportunity to examine the application of the death penalty over the past three decades and to test whether the Court’s expectation of a fairer and less arbitrary system of capital punishment has been fulfilled. As…

The U.S. Supreme has expanded the ability of death row inmates to challenge their convictions in federal court based on DNA evidence produced long after their trials. The ruling marks the first time that the Justices have considered the new evidentiary technology of DNA evidence when re-examining a death sentence. In its 5 – 3 decision, the Court held that new evidence, including DNA test results, raised sufficient doubt to merit a new hearing in federal court for Tennessee death row inmate Paul…

Recent editorials in The Washington Post and Roanoke Times praised Virginia Governor Tim Kaine’s decision to delay the execution of Percy Walton in order to ensure that he is sane enough to execute. The papers noted that Kaine’s decision, which drew criticism from some death penalty advocates, demonstrated ​“competence in lawfully applying the death penalty” and was ​“courageous.” The Washington Post noted: Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D), a devout Catholic and principled opponent of the…

The U.S. Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that death row inmates seeking to challenge lethal injection as a method of execution after they have exhausted their regular appeals may pursue the issue as a civil rights claim. Though the decision in Hill v. McDonough did not answer the broader question regarding whether the chemicals used in lethal injections around the nation are unconstitutional because they may cause excruciating pain, it does permit inmates to challenge lethal injection using…

A new report issued by the American Bar Association’s Death Penalty Moratorium Implementation Project found that Alabama’s death penalty fails to meet fundamental ABA standards of fairness and accuracy. An eight-member assessment team assembled in Alabama by the ABA was so troubled by its findings that it called for a moratorium on executions in the state. The team urged lawmakers to take action to ensure effective representation at every stage of the capital process, to protect innocent people…

South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford and Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry have signed into law legislation that allows proseuctors to seek the death penalty for repeat child molesters. The new South Carolina law allows a death sentence if the accused has been twice convicted of raping a child younger than 11-years-old. It also sets a 25-year mandatory minimum prison sentence for some sex offenders, mandates that people convicted of criminal sexual conduct in the first degree wear an electronic…