Publications & Testimony

The Republican (Springfield, MA) July 21, 2004 Editorial Most of the world agrees on this much: A civilized nation does not execute its young. Virtually every nation in the world shares this fundamental standard of decency, even some nations with histories of human rights violations. In this spirit, 48 nations asked the Supreme Court this week to end the execution of people in the United States for crimes they committed before they turned 18. Briefs were also filed by 18 Nobel Peace Prize…

The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, CA) July 21, 2004 Editorial Fact: The United States is just one of five countries in the world that allows the execution of juveniles. Opinion: This nation has many reasons to be proud. But this is not one of them. Solution: Two years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court invoked the concept of “evolving standards of decency” and used that to abolish capital punishment for mentally retarded criminals. That same standard should be expanded to include the execution of…

Miami Herald July 21, 2004 Editorial OUR OPINION: ABOLISH THE DEATH PENALTY FOR JUVENILE OFFENDERS The United States should follow the majority in this country and the rest of the world and abolish the death penalty for offenders who committed their crimes as juveniles. That’s what a chorus of advocates — among them the American Bar Association, Nobel Prize winners, former U.S. diplomats and 48 countries — told the U.S. Supreme Court this week in friend of the court briefs. Executing…

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev, medical experts, and 48 nations are among those who filed friend-of-the-court briefs on Monday (July 19) urging the U.S. Supreme Court to end the juvenile death penalty. The Court is scheduled to hear arguments this fall in Roper v. Simmons, a case that will determine the constitutionality of executing juvenile offenders. The U.S. is one of only a handful of nations around the world that continues to permit the…

The New York League of Women Voters has urged state lawmakers not to attempt a “quick fix” solution to the state’s flawed death penalty law. “We now have a unique opportunity to re-examine the use of the death penalty in New York,” said Marcia Merrins, president of the League of Women Voters. In June 2004, the New York Court of Appeals declared the state’s death penalty unconstitutional. The League of Women’s Voter’s, which plans to host a series of capital punishment forums throughout New York…

The award-winning documentary “Deadline,” which takes viewers directly into the emotional and legal storm surrounding former Illinois Governor George Ryan’s extraordinary decision to commute the death sentences of all those on death row, will air on NBC during a special 2‑hour “Dateline” program at 8 p.m. on July 30^th. The Big Mouth Productions documentary has gained widespread critical acclaim and it was featured at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. During filming, the program’s producers had…

A study conducted by the U.S. Navy and Yale University found that eyewitness testimony is often largely inaccurate, even when victims get a long look at violent criminals, and police and juries may be giving this evidence too much credibility. After a unique study of 509 Navy and Marine officers undergoing high-level and low-level stress during elite hostage survival training at Fort Bragg, N.C., researchers discovered that few of the participating top officers could accurately identify their…

European Union foreign ministers have urged Iraq’s interim government not to reinstate capital punishment as it continues to develop the nation’s justice system. “The European Union reconfirms its opposition to the death penalty in all cases,” the ministers said in a draft statement to Iraq Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari. “The message has been very clear … We have this policy, and we will maintain this policy,” said Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot at a news conference with Zebari. The…

The Death Penalty Information Center has new Web resources to assist educators and those following recent court developments related to capital punishment: 1) DPIC’s revised Educational Curriculum on the Death Penalty is an excellent tool for TEACHERS planning to involve their students in the upcoming national focus on juveniles and the death penalty. See also DPIC’s Web page on Roper v. Simmons and an overview of the Juvenile Death Penalty. 2) The Supreme Court recently added three death…