Publications & Testimony

A two-year study of 11 wrongful conviction cases in Virginia found that mistaken eyewitness identification is the major reason innocent people have been convicted in the state. The report’s recommendations note that Virginia could dramatically reduce the number of wrongful convictions through a series of reforms, such as changing a variety of police procedures, relaxing the state’s 21-day rule to allow evidence of innocence to be considered beyond this time restriction, ensuring that…

Recently, various victims and relatives of victims have testified before state legislatures concerning the death penalty. In Connecticut, a woman who had been attacked by convicted murderer Michael Ross, testified that she nevertheless opposes his execution. And in North Carolina, the sister of a man who was murdered in 2003 urged state legislators to reconsider the death penalty. Vivian Dobson, who was attacked by Ross in 1983, said that the death penalty re-traumatizes victims’ family…

Bill Pelke tells of the life-altering transformation that occurred after his 78-year-old grandmother was murdered by four teen-aged girls in his book, Journey of Hope…From Violence to Healing. Though at first he supported the death penalty for 15-year-old Paula Cooper, one of the young girls who had murdered his grandmother in her home for $10 and an old car, he later opposed her execution and successfully fought to have Cooper’s death sentence overturned. The book follows his personal journey…

The Florida Supreme Court has vacated James Floyd’s 1985 conviction and death sentence, ruling that critical evidence was withheld by the prosecution and that the evidence might have been enough to change the verdict at trial. In its 4 – 2 decision, the Court ruled that the prosecutor’s failure to inform Floyd’s defense counsel that an eyewitness had seen two white men entering the victim’s home on the day of the murder and saw them leave in a suspicious manner approximately one hour later…

The Death Penalty Information Center Web site contains summaries of the issues in upcoming Supreme Court arguments related to the death penalty, as well as summaries of recent Supreme Court decisions. Upcoming Arguments March 28, 2005: Medellin v. Dretke — See DPIC’s Summary April 19, 2005: Bradshaw v. Stumpf — See DPIC’s Summary April 26, 2005: Bell v. Thompson — See DPIC’s Summary Recent Decisions Brown v. Payton — See DPIC’s Summary Roper v. Simmons — See DPIC’s Summary See also…

A recent article in the Western New England Law Review examines ways in which the rules of evidence and procedures at capital sentencing trials are less rigorous than those applied at the guilt-phase of the trial. In capital sentencing hearings, evidence is permitted that would not be admissible to prove guilt. The defendant does not receive traditional trial protections at the sentencing trial. For example, hearsay may be received by the jury during sentencing, but is generally inadmissible at…

An Oklahoma County District Judge has determined that Osbaldo Torres, a Mexican foreign national who was once on Oklahoma’s death row, should have been told before his trial that he had a right to contact his home country’s consulate. Judge Twyla Mason Gray also found that Torres had ineffective counsel at his trial. Her findings stem from a December hearing held at the request of the State Court of Criminal Appeals. The appeals court wanted Judge Gray to hear evidence about Torres’…

U.S. Senator Rick Santorum, an outspoken conservative Catholic from Pennsylvania, is re-examining his views on capital punishment. In response to the announcement by the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops concerning their new Campaign to End the Use of the Death Penalty, Santorum said, “I felt very troubled about cases where someone may have been convicted wrongly. DNA evidence definitely should be used when possible. I agree with the pope that in the civilized world … the application of the…

A national poll of Roman Catholic adults conducted by Zogby International found that Catholic support for capital punishment has declined dramatically in recent years. The Zogby Poll was released on March 21, 2005 at a press conference of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops as it announced a new Campaign to End the Use of the Death Penalty. The poll revealed that only 48% of Catholics now support the death penalty. Comparable polls by other organizations had resgistered a 68%…

America Without the Death Penalty: States Leading the Way provides a comprehensive review of the conditions that resulted in twelve U.S. states not having capital punishment. The book looks at factors such as economic conditions, public sentiment, mass media, population diversity, murder rates, and the regional history of executions, that led to abolition in those states. The book’s authors, Professors John F. Galliher, Larry W. Koch, David Patrick Keys, and Teresa J. Guess, provide an in-depth…