Publications & Testimony

Federal prosecutors dropped charges against Darrell Rice shortly before he was to face capital charges for two murders in Shenandoah National Park. New forensic evidence cast doubt on the case against Rice, despite the fact that Attorney General John Ashcroft had made a public announcement of Rice’s indictment employing a new law in 2002. (Washington Post, Feb. 7, 2004). A federal judge threw out a jury’s (July 2003) verdict of guilt in the capital case of Jay Lentz, accused of murdering his…

A Tennessee medical examiner who helped convict about a third of the state’s death row inmates has been indicted for faking an attack in which he was strapped with a homemade bomb around his neck. Dr. O’Brian Smith was found in 2002 wrapped head to toe in barbed wire and bound to window bars in his office, an incident investigators first believed was carried out by those who were angry with Smith for helping to convict Philip Workman and other inmates on Tennessee’s death row. The indictment…

Texas has scheduled the execution of four juvenile offenders between March and June of 2004 despite the fact that the U. S. Supreme Court has agreed to review whether such executions are constitutional. Arguments in Roper v. Simmons, No. 03 – 633, a case from Missouri where the state Supreme Court ruled that the execution of those under the age 18 at the time of their crime would be cruel and unusual punishment, are not expected to take place until this coming fall, months after the scheduled…

Yankton Daily Press February 10, 2004 Editorial South Dakota lawmakers have an opportunity this session to send an important message about the state’s system of criminal punishment and its notion of reform. The question is, which message will they choose to send? The answer can be found in SB182, a bill which would prohibit the execution of anyone under age 18 convicted in South Dakota of murder, aggravated kidnapping or terrorism. With the death penalty part of state law, it is possible…

Charlize Theron, who recently won a Golden Globe Award for her portrayal of executed Florida death row inmate Aileen Wuornos in the movie “Monster,” has stated that making the movie made her more aware of how “ineffective” capital punishment is. Theron, who is opposed to the death penalty, was only 15 when her own mother shot and killed her drunken father after he threatened to kill his wife and daughter. “I don’t think condemning people who murder and then killing them necessarily sends out…

Prosecutors from Middlesex County, New Jersey, have decided to adhere to the wishes of the victim’s family and will not seek the death penalty against Dwayne Carreker of New Brunswick at his retrial. They will instead seek a sentence of life in prison. “The victim’s mother has said she is more interested in justice and closure than she is with the death penalty,” said First Assistant Prosecutor William Lamb. Lamb noted that his office considered the victim’s family’s wishes and the result of…

A recent investigation of California’s death penalty by the Associated Press found that the geographic location of a crime plays a significant role in whether a defendant receives the death penalty. California has the nation’s largest death row. A disproportionately high number of inmates are from places such as Kern, Riverside, and Shasta Counties, where prosecutors have voiced strong support for the death penalty and jurors have been more likely to support the sentence. On the other hand, in…

After consulting with the family of the murder victim, Maryland prosecutors decided not to seek the death penalty against Kenneth Collins during a recent resentencing hearing. Collins’ death sentence was overturned because of an inadequate defense at his originial trial. Margaret Breeden, the victim’s widow, noted that seeking the death penalty for Collins would result in years of agonizing appeals and that her family is “tired of reliving the memories of his death every time a new hearing is…

Mirroring a nationwide decline in both executions and death row population, Maryland’s death row has fallen by 50% in recent years and the state has not carried out an execution since 1998. An in-depth review of Maryland’s death row by The Washington Post found that the state’s death row has dropped from a population of 18 to 9, largely due to reversals in cases and the impact of court rulings elsewhere. Victims’ families, emotionally frayed by the years of appeals, are also telling prosecutors…

The New Jersey Supreme Court has ruled that prosecutors who plan to seek the death penalty must submit that request to a grand jury for approval. Prior to the 4 – 2 ruling by the Court, prosecutors could decide to seek the death penalty as late as the middle of the trial. The Court’s decision was made in the case of Scott Fortin, and will probably affect other cases currently being prosecuted. The remaining 13 inmates on death row may not be affected unless the ruling is held to be retroactive.