Publications & Testimony

More than a decade after juvenile offender Martin Soto Fong and two other men were tried and sentenced to death in Arizona, questions about Fong’s guilt linger and are underscored by the fact that he is the only one of the three men to remain convicted of the crime. The prosecutor who won their convictions, Kenneth Peasley, was disbarred last year for intentionally eliciting false testimony to win capital murder convictions in the re-trials of Soto’s co-defendants, Christopher McCrimmon and…

The Reverend Carroll Pickett, former chaplain on death row in Texas: Ninety-five times, I personally walked a man who was sentenced to die to the death chamber in Texas. From the very first person executed by lethal injection, through 16 years of walking those eight steps from the holding cell in the death house to the impeccably clean gurney in the death chamber, I led a man — some were older, some convicted in their teens, some mentally ill, some very hardened by life and, I fully know, some…

A variety of legal experts and national organizations have expressed strong concerns about a bill introduced in Congress that would greatly limit federal review of death penalty cases. The American Bar Association called for rejection of the legislation: S. 1088 should not be enacted. Its primary effect would be to insure that the federal courts did not hear compelling claims – including claims of actual innocence. Any possible gain in speed would be offset by the certain loss of justice. As…

Following an investigation indicating that Missouri may have executed an innocent man for the 1980 murder of Quintin Moss, New York Times columnist Bob Herbert wrote that the case was filled with problems that are typical of wrongful convictions in capital cases. Herbert stated that St. Louis circuit attorney Jennifer Joyce has taken “the extraordinary step of officially reopening a murder investigation after the defendant was executed,” adding that it is difficult to prove that an innocent…

A year-long investigation by the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund has uncovered evidence that Larry Griffin may have been innocent of the crime for which he was executed by the state of Missouri on June 21, 1995. Griffin maintained his innocence until his death, and investigators say his case is the strongest demonstration yet of an execution of an innocent man. The report notes that a man injured in the same drive-by shooting that claimed the life of Quintin Moss says Griffin was not…

The U.S. Supreme Court granted a last minute stay for Robin Lovitt, who was scheduled for execution at 9 PM on Monday (July 11) in Virginia. The Court did not give a reason for the stay, but Lovitt stated that he would have been able to show his innocence if state officials had not destroyed DNA evidence from his case after his trial. (See item below posted July 8). (Associated Press, July 11, 2005). See also Innocence.

A bill proposed by Rep. Daniel Lungren of California and Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona would strip the federal courts of much of their power to decide whether death row inmates have been given a fair trial and could result in the execution of innocent defendants. The bill is entitled the Streamlined Procedures Act of 2005. The Washington Post editorialized about the measure: Stop This Bill Sunday, July 10, 2005; Page B06 CONGRESS HAS a novel response to the rash of prisoners over the past few years…

Robin Lovitt is scheduled for execution on July 11 in Virginia despite doubts about his guilt and the state’s weak and circumstantial case against him. Lovitt’s attorneys maintain that DNA testing of evidence in his case would prove that he is not guilty of the 1998 murder of Clayton Dicks, but the tests are not possible because a court clerk mistakenly destroyed the evidence. Columnist Margaret Edds of the The Virginian-Pilot recently wrote about the upcoming execution and the doubts that…

A number of states are grappling with the question of whether the lethal injection drug Pavulon, also known as pancuronium bromide, paralyzes a condemned inmate’s muscles in a way that masks horrific pain felt during an execution, a side-effect that experts say could violate of the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. The Tennessee Supreme Court heard arguments about this issue in a death row case in June 2005 and a similar case is expected to reach the Kentucky Supreme Court…

Retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s evolving skepticism about capital punishment has played a significant role in a number of key decisions regarding the death penalty throughout her 24 years on the U.S. Supreme Court. During public appearances in recent years, she has often mentioned her concerns about innocence and the need to protect a capital defendant’s constitutional right to adequate representation. In a 2001 speech she stated, “Serious questions are being raised about whether the…