Publications & Testimony

High Cost of the Death Penalty in Kansas…

NOTE: The statutes list­ed in this chart were all passed pri­or to the United States Supreme Court Ruling in Atkins v. Virginia. During this time peri­od, intel­lec­tu­al dis­abil­i­ty was referred to as ​“men­tal…

International Community Praises Governor Ryan’s…

In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Atkins v. Virginia that exe­cut­ing inmates with ​“men­tal retar­da­tion” was uncon­sti­tu­tion­al. Some inmates with claims of intel­lec­tu­al dis­abil­i­ty have been exe­cut­ed since then, but they are not includ­ed in this…

Tennessee Supreme Court Finds Execution of Mentally Retarded…

On December 10, 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court dis­missed with­out decid­ing the case of Abu-Ali Abdur’Rahman, who is on death row in Tennessee. The Court heard argu­ments in the case on November 6, 2002, but declined to issue a rul­ing. Justice Stevens dis­sent­ed from the order,…

Illinois Governor Pardons Four Death Row…

Another Judge Rules Federal Death Penalty Unconstitutional ​“MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — A fed­er­al judge declared the fed­er­al death penal­ty uncon­sti­tu­tion­al Tuesday in the sec­ond such rul­ing in less than three…

“Dignity Denied: The Experience of Murder Victims’ Family Members Who Oppose the Death Penalty” (2002). This report released by Murder Victims’ Families for Reconciliation pro­vides an account of the expe­ri­ences of mur­der vic­tims’ fam­i­ly mem­bers who oppose cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment and steps that can be tak­en to pro­tect these indi­vid­u­als from dis­crim­i­na­tion based on this oppo­si­tion. ​“Dignity Denied” chal­lenges law­mak­ers, the…

“People lie, but insects don’t…