Publications & Testimony

District Attorney Paul Connick has agreed that Ryan Matthews, a juvenile offender on Louisiana’s death row, deserves a new trial. Matthews has maintained his innocence since his arrest. Attorneys for Matthews will use the retrial as an opportunity to present new DNA evidence that they believe exonerates their client. Testing of seven DNA profiles gathered as part of key evidence in the case excludes Matthews as the offender, and several point to the guilt of another man, Rondell Love. After…

San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris has announced that she will seek a life without parole conviction for David Hill, who is accused of murdering a city police officer. Harris, who ran for office promising not to seek the death penalty, said that in cases such as this it is “natural to feel that we should have an eye for an eye” but argued “life without the possibility of parole is a severe consequence.” Harris stated that death penalty cases in California typically drag on for years…

A bipartisan measure to eliminate the juvenile death penalty in Florida has passed the Senate Criminal Justice Committee and is now on its way to the full Senate for consideration. The measure was introduced by Republican Senator Victor Crist, a death penalty supporter who notes that young people are different because they don’t have the same understanding of consequences as an adult. .The bill also has support from the state’s top law enforcement officers, Florida Attorney General Charlie…

Unlike officials in some states who dismissed a recent ruling from the International Court of Justice, U.S. President George W. Bush gave credence to the decision by calling Mexican President Vincente Fox on Tuesday to discuss the ruling and possible next steps regarding 51 Mexican foreign nationals on death row in the U.S. In its ruling, the World Court ordered the United States to review the convictions and sentences of 49 Mexican foreign nationals to determine the appropriate remedy for the…

Portsmouth (NH) Herald April 14, 2004 Editorial “In no event shall any person under the age of 18 years at the time the offense was committed be culpable of a capital murder.” This is the entire text of Senate Bill 513. It is the simplest of statements, but if passed by the New Hampshire House it will have the most profound of effects. This state remains one of only 19 that permits the execution of juveniles. While no juvenile has ever been put to death in this state — and, in fact, there…

A federal court has ordered a new sentencing hearing for Robert Marshall after determining that his trial attorney failed to adequately represent him at his 1986 trial. In its ruling, the court noted: “This is not a case where, after reasonable investigation, Zeitz (the attorney) determined that it was tactically a better choice not to put on a mitigating case. Rather, it is a situation where Zeitz inadequately prepared for the penalty phase and put on no mitigating evidence because he had none…

Shreveport (LA) Times April 13, 2004 Editorial The U.S. Supreme Court in October will take up the issue of capital punishment for those who committed crimes while juveniles. But the Louisiana Legislature need not wait on the justices to ban such executions. Louisiana is in the minority when it comes to the death penalty for those under the age of 18, and the numbers are shrinking. Thirty-two states already ban the death penalty for juveniles; 43 have never used it for young offenders…

In a recent opinion piece published in The Miami Herald, former First Lady Rosalynn Carter called on Florida and other states that continue to sentence juvenile offenders to death to abandon the practice, noting that it “violates current principles of American justice.” Carter stated that America could soon be the last nation on Earth to execute juvenile offenders, and that the U.S. is one of only two nations that have not ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Tallahassee Democrat April 12, 2004 Editorial By Sheila S. Hopkins Children are different from adults. That is why society does not allow them to buy tobacco or alcohol, own a handgun, serve in combat or vote. With few exceptions, a general rule of law is that parents have an obligation to financially support their children until age 18 when they would be considered adults. The Florida Catholic Conference joins other voices supporting the passage by the Florida Legislature of SB 224 and…

Orlando Sentenial April 12, 2004 Editorial We support the death penalty — for adults. But it’s wrong for Florida to consider executing people for crimes they committed before age 18. Yet a measure in the Florida Legislature intended to reserve capital punishment for convicts older than 18 has been twisted by a House subcommittee. It allows the execution of people who committed crimes when they were 17. It’s incumbent that reasonable lawmakers set the age limit at 18. Reserving the death…