Publications & Testimony

North Carolina Governor Mike Easley signed a bill into law that requires pros­e­cu­tors to share their files in all felony cas­es. The bill was approved in the wake of alle­ga­tions that pros­e­cu­tors with­held evi­dence in the cap­i­tal mur­der tri­al of Alan Gell, who was lat­er exon­er­at­ed and freed from death row. The new open dis­cov­ery statute requires dis­trict attor­neys to open their inves­tiga­tive files in felony cas­es to defense lawyers who request such access pri­or to tri­al. The law requires…

An op-ed appear­ing in the Arizona Republic and authored by Dr. Mark Wellek, past pres­i­dent of the American Society for Adolescent Psychiatry, and Carol Kamin, cur­rent pres­i­dent of the Arizona Chapter of the Children’s Action Alliance, echoed grow­ing nation­al con­cerns about the cul­pa­bil­i­ty of juve­nile offend­ers who face cap­i­tal charges despite sci­en­tif­ic evi­dence that they may be less cul­pa­ble than adult offend­ers. Wellek and Kamin not­ed: ​“American soci­ety has many gray areas. Our many…

The…

Decided June 24,…

The Sun News (Myrtle Beach,…

In Alameda County, California, pros­e­cu­tors announced that they will not seek the death penal­ty against Richard Dean Wilson because it is unlike­ly that a jury would return a death sen­tence. State authories say the deci­sion to seek a life sen­tence for Wilson avoids a cost­ly death penal­ty case and saves tax­pay­er dol­lars from financ­ing a lengthy tri­al with an uncer­tain out­come. Wilson plead­ed no con­test to the mur­der of Angela Marie Bledsoe. Prosecutor Jim Anderson not­ed, ​“This was the best…

The California Supreme Court is ask­ing the state’s attor­ney gen­er­al’s office to explain why Fred Freeman’s death sen­tence should not be reversed on alle­ga­tions that a now-deceased Superior Court Judge col­lud­ed with pros­e­cu­tors to ensure a cap­i­tal con­vic­tion by elim­i­nat­ing poten­tial Jewish jurors. The Supreme Court issued the show cause order after Freeman’s attor­neys filed a claim stat­ing that Freeman was denied a fair tri­al because Judge Stanley Golde alleged­ly told prosecutors to…

Friday, July 30, 2004: VOL 305 30 JULY 2004 599 CREDIT:…

By Mary Beckmanwww​.sci​encemag​.orgCrime, Culpability and the Adolescent BrainThis fall, the U.S. Supreme Court will con­sid­er whether cap­i­tal crimes by teenagers under 18 should get the death sen­tence; the case for lenien­cy is based in part on brain studies.When he was 17 years old, Christopher Simmons per­suad­ed a younger friend to help him rob a woman, tie her up with elec­tri­cal cable and duct tape, and throw her over a bridge. He was…

The Philadelphia…