Publications & Testimony

A statement approved during this week’s meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) calls for an end to the death penalty in the United States and notes that the death penalty ​“contributes to a cycle of violence in our society that must be broken.” The statement, drafted by the USCCB Domestic Policy Committee, is the first comprehensive statement focused on the death penalty by the Catholic bishops of the United States in 25 years. It is part of the wider ​“Catholic Campaign to…

The Bureau of Justice Statistics released its latest report on the status of the death penalty in the U.S., Capital Punishment, 2004, on November 13. According to the report, the nation’s death row population, executions, and the number of people given death sentences last year all declined. There were 3,315 people on state and federal death rows at the conclusion of 2004, 63 fewer than in 2003. Last year, 125 people were sentenced to death, the fewest since 1973. Twelve states executed 59…

According to the North Carolina News & Record, death sentences in the state have significantly declined since the 2001 enactment of legislation that allows defendants to plead guilty to first-degree murder and receive a sentence of life without parole rather than go to trial and risk the death penalty. Juries are also returning fewer death sentences. The paper argues that the emergence of the life-without-parole alternative should result in a reconsideration of the sentences of those already on…

In a ruling that criticized the state for concealing a $500 payoff to a key state witness in a 1997 death penalty case, the Georgia Supreme Court unanimously upheld a lower court decision ordering a new trial for Willie Palmer. During Palmer’s original trial, his attorneys had asked prosecutors to disclose any deals with state witnesses. At that time, they were only told about a plea bargain with Palmer’s nephew, who had testified during the trial that he assisted his uncle in the killings of…

On November 7, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear cases in two areas that could have broad implications for many defendants facing the death penalty. In Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, No. 05 – 184, the Court will rule on the constitutionality of the military tribunals established by President Bush following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. A U.S. District Court had halted the military trial of Salim Ahmed Hamdan, who had been captured in Afghanistan, because the trial violated domestic law and…

In an editorial in its Sunday, November 6 edition, the Birminham News announced that ​“After decades of supporting the death penalty, the editorial board no longer can do so.” The paper cited both practical and ethical reasons for the change in its stance: “[W]e have come to believe Alabama’s capital punishment system is broken. And because, first and foremost, this newspaper’s editorial board is committed to a culture of life… . We believe all life is sacred. And in embracing a culture of life…

A recent Dayton Daily News video editorial urged Ohio Governor Bob Taft to grant clemency to John Spirko, an Ohio death row inmate scheduled to be executed on November 15. The video states that Spirko’s case was plagued with gaps and inconsistencies, and that he may actually be innocent. The video was partly shot inside Ohio’s ​“death house” in Lucasville prison. To view the video on the Web, click here. (Dayton Daily News, Nov. 4, 2005). See Innocence and Clemency. Update: At the request of…

In an article about the approaching 1,000^th execution in the U.S., Tarrant County prosecutor Alan Levy and Harris County District Attorney Charles Rosenthal addressed the current state of the death penalty and the impact of growing concerns about the issue of innocence: Levy, who heads the criminal division of the Tarrant County D.A.’s office, said that he often wonders whether the executions that have taken place have been worth the expense, controversy, and time: ​“It’s a pretty clumsy…

The Federal Death Penalty Resource Counsel Project reported that only 5 of the 22 juries that heard federal capital cases imposed death sentences in the past year. During John Ashcroft’s term as Attorney General from 2001 to 2005, 18 of the 63 juries in capital cases returned death sentences. Some members of Congress have proposed easing the rules for obtaining death sentences in federal cases, allowing the government to seek the death penalty repeatedly if the jury is not unanimous for either…

An Appeal Court of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico recently held that it would be unconstitutional to extradite Juan Melendez Cruz to Pennsylvania if he faces a possible death sentence. The court referred to the issue as one involving the fundamental right to life. In July 2003, Philadelphia District Attorney spokeswoman Cathie Abookire confirmed that Melendez Cruz, a Puerto Rican native, could face the death penalty in Pennsylvania. Melendez Cruz’s attorney, Eileen Diaz, argued that…