Publications & Testimony

Still Surviving is First-hand Account of Death Row by Juvenile Offender In his book “Still Surviving,” Nanon Williams, who was 17 at the time of the crime that placed him on death row, provides a first hand account of living under a sentence of death in Texas. The book details Williams’s journey from teenage boy to adulthood while living in the shadow of the nation’s busiest execution chamber. His text introduces readers to the experiences of solitary confinement and having friends executed…

The Death Penalty Information Center’s 2003 Year End Report features a series of significant death penalty developments from the past year, including: The number of executions dropped by 8% from 71 in 2002 to 65 in 2003. After steady increases from 1976 to 2000, the size of death row has decreased. In 2003, the number of death row inmates declined by 5%, the third decrease in as many years. The number of people sentenced to death also continued to decline in 2003, down from 159 in 2002 to a…

Race Plays Powerful Role in Washington State Death Penalty Cases Race plays a significant role in who receives the death penalty in Washington. Research compiled by the Washington Death Penalty Assistance Center, revealed that death notices have never been filed in a case with a white defendant and a black victim, while such notices have been filed in 42% of murder cases with a black defendant and a white victim. Of the 10 individuals currently on death row in Washington, nine cases involved a…

Texas Report Finds Noncompliance With State Defense Laws A review of death penalty defense policies in Texas has uncovered widespread noncompliance with state laws that require each region to adopt qualification standards for capital defense attorneys. Only two of the nine judicial regions in Texas have adopted the standards. A report on the findings has been published by the Equal Justice Center, a Texas organization that advocates for greater fairness in the justice system, and the Texas…

Kansas Study Concludes Death Penalty is Costly Policy In its review of death penalty expenses, the State of Kansas concluded that capital cases are 70% more expensive than comparable non-death penalty cases. The study counted death penalty case costs through to execution and found that the median death penalty case costs $1.26 million. Non-death penalty cases were counted through to the end of incarceration and were found to have a median cost of $740,000. For death penalty cases, the…

Nobel Laureates Oppose Death Penalty, Decry Execution of Juvenile Offenders A gathering of Nobel Laureates in Rome concluded with a common statement calling for abolition of the death penalty and specifically decrying the death penalty for juvenile offenders. The statement noted “the death penalty is a particularly cruel and unusual punishment that should be abolished. It is especially unconscionable when imposed on children.” Among those in attendance at the summit were Mikhail Gorbachev…

North Carolina Man Is Sixth in State to be Spared Under New Law on Mental Retardation Anthony Maurice Bone will become the sixth North Carolina death row inmate to have his sentence commuted to life in prison due to a 2001 state law banning the execution of individuals with mental retardation. The state defines as mentally retarded anyone with an IQ of 70 or below who also has significant impairment in at least two of ten life activities, such as communicating and taking care of themselves.

Former Death Row Inmate Awarded $2.2 Million Wrongful Conviction Settlement The Chicago City Council finance committee quickly approved a $2.2 million wrongful conviction settlement for former death row inmate Ronald Jones. “I think it is a good deal for the city,” said Chicago Alderman William Beavers, indicating that he and other aldermen breathed a sigh of relief that the city will get off so cheaply in its settlement with Jones, who was coerced into a confession to a 1985 rape and murder…

Capital punishment was used during the Spanish regime. The first verified executions took place in 1514, when four slaves were hanged for uprising. The first Inquisition court in the western hemisphere was established in San Juan in 1519. The number of persons executed in Puerto Rico is: (Source: Jalil Sued-Badillo, PhD., La Pena de Muerte en Puerto Rico: Retrospectiva histórica para una reflexión contemporánea, Puerto Rico, 2000.) The modern death penalty was introduced to Puerto Rico in…

Murder Victims’ Families for Reconciliation Releases Juvenile Report On December 17, 2003, Murder Victims’ Families for Reconciliation released a report regarding the perspectives of family members on the juvenile death penalty: “I Don’t Want Another Kid to Die.” The report opens a window into murder victims’ families struggles with the death penalty in general, and more specifically, how the issue changes when the defendant is a juvenile. Bill Cosby Addresses Capital Punishment During “Larry…