Publications & Testimony

In its recent study of Ohio’s death penalty, the Associated Press found that of the 1,936 capital indictments filed statewide from 1981 – 2002, about 50% ended in plea bargains. Of those cases, 131 people who pleaded guilty in exchange for escaping the death penalty were charged with killing multiple victims. By contrast, 196 of the 274 people who were sentenced to death row during the same 21-year time span were convicted of killing a single victim. The AP’s Ohio findings were similar to figures…

Death row inmates from around the country will present a $5,000 college scholarship to Zach Osborne, the brother of a 4‑year-old murder victim, who plans to attend East Carolina University to pursue a career in law enforcement. The scholarship is an annual award given by those on death row who participate in the publication of “Compassion,” a newsletter that provides a forum for communication between convicted offenders and murder victims’ families. Each year, a murder victim’s family member is…

A recent investigation led by a former Justice Department official reported that analysts at the Houston Crime Lab fabricated findings in at least four drug cases, including one in which a scientist failed to conduct testing before issuing conclusions to support police suspicions — an illegal practice known as “drylabbing.” The report contains some of the most serious allegations made yet against the Houston Crime Lab and is the first to criticize the lab’s largest division, controlled…

In a proposed amendment to its penal code, Indian leaders are seeking to implement a change that would end the nation’s death penalty even “in the rarest of rare” cases. The amended Indian Penal Code would abolish the death penalty and replace it with a strict life without the possibility of parole measure. Currently, the nation’s life sentence statute only requires imprisonment for 14 years. The decision to seek an official end to capital punishment fulfills a pledge made by the chairman of…

On May 31, 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to consider the constitutionality of Kansas’ death penalty law. The current statute requires that a death sentence be imposed when a jury finds that the aggravating and mitigating circumstances surrounding the crime have equal weight (i.e., a tie results in death). When reviewing Michael Marsh’s death sentence in 2004, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled that the state’s statute was unconstitutional, holding that the above process did not comport with…

The North Carolina House of Representatives will soon vote on a two-year moratorium on executions in the state while the death penalty is studied. A moratorium bill passed the full Senate in 2003, but had been previously blocked from coming to a vote in the House. The House Judiciary Committee will likely consider the moratorium measure on Tuesday, May 31. The committee’s approval could mean a full House vote on the legislation as early as that same day. The full House is then required to…

By a vote of 104 – 37, members of the Texas House of Representatives tentatively approved the sentencing option of life-without-parole in death penalty cases, an historic action that puts the state closer to including a sentencing alternative offered in nearly every death penalty state. The House is expected to give final passage to the measure on May 25 and the Texas Senate, which passed similar legislation earlier this year, is expected to approve an amended measure before sending the bill to…

In its annual report on human rights around the world, Amnesty International noted the abolition of the death penalty in five nations in 2004. Last year, Bhutan, Greece, Samoa, Senegal and Turkey joined a growing list of countries that have abandoned capital punishment for all crimes. The report stated that such changes are positive signs, noting: “Global activism is a dynamic and growing force. It is also the best hope of achieving freedom and justice for all humanity.” The report covers 149…

The May/June issue of Foreign Policy magazine includes an article on the death penalty in Japan by Charles Lane, Supreme Court reporter for The Washington Post. Lane notes that Japan’s death penalty is shrouded in secrecy and culminates in executions outside of all public view. He provides readers with a rare look inside this system and compares that country’s policies with U.S. practices and international trends. The article, “A View to a Kill,” notes that although death sentences are…