Publications & Testimony

A recent Baltimore Sun editorial criticized state leaders for failing to respond to a series of studies showing that race plays a disturbing role in capital punishment in Maryland. The paper noted that a study conducted by University of Maryland Professor Raymond Paternoster agreed with four other reviews that all revealed similar findings regarding race and the death penalty in Maryland. The paper stated: Of the 1,311 death penalty-eligible cases that the University of Maryland researcher…

Harris County District Attorney Joseph S. Owmby, who helped prosecute Andrea Yates for capital murder, recently told a gathering of 200 Houston area mental health and law enforcement professionals that had Yates received more hospital treatment for her postpartum depression, she probably wouldn’t have murdered her children. Owmby noted that Yates lost her last chance for recovery when she was released from a hospital in League City while she was still dangerously delusional. He said that what…

A new poll conducted by ABC News revealed that only 37% of the public supports the death penalty for Lee Boyd Malvo, who was recently convicted of murder in Virginia. Malvo was 17 at the time of a series of shootings in the Washington, DC area. 52% of respondents preferred a sentence of life without parole for Malvo. Even stronger opposition to the death penalty for juveniles in general was revealed in the same poll: only 21% were in favor of the death penalty for juveniles, versus the 62% who…

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. Read their Press Release. Read the Report (in PDF format).

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 that he did not commit. Jones spent 14 years on Illinois’s death row before…

After 16 years on death row, Darnell Williams was 3 days from execution when then Governor Frank O’Bannon issued a reprieve to allow the genetic testing of droplets of blood found on Williams’ shorts after the shooting. Recently released test results support Williams’ claim that he wasn’t present when a Gary, Indiana couple was fatally shot 17 years ago. Thomas Vanes, the prosecutor at Williams’ 1986 trial, now says that Williams should not be executed. He said, “I agree now that this is not a…

A list containing the names of 169 members of the U.S. military who were executed between 1942 and 1961 was recently discovered at the Pentagon. The list also contains a few dozen additional cases where persons were sentenced to death, but not executed, and the names of 7 German prisoners of war who were executed. The 1961 execution of Pvt. John Bennett, who was hung after convictions for rape and attempted murder, was the military’s last execution. The ledger also includes the name of Pvt.

Members of New Jersey’s legislature have passed by a wide margin a bipartisan bill calling for the creation of a study commission to examine the cost, fairness and effects of capital prosecutions in that state. The bill had the support of key state legislators, including Republican Senator Robert Martin. Martin said that he believed it might be time for New Jersey to consider a complete ban on capital punishment, noting that the state’s review process “is so cumbersome and expensive” that New…

A report in the Polk County (Florida) Lakeland Ledger examined the financial impact of costly capital trials on states that are struggling to make ends meet. The report noted that death penalty cases negatively impact county governments because the hundreds of thousands of dollars that is spent annually on capital cases takes away funding from crucial indigent care programs and other important services. As an example, the paper notes, “Take the case of Tavares Wright. The legal bill stands at…

Kansas Death Penalty Cost Report Summary by Death Penalty Information Center The State of Kansas recently issued a report estimating the costs of the death penalty in that state: “Performance Audit Report: Costs Incurred for Death Penalty Cases: A K‑GOAL Audit of the Department of Corrections,” (December 2003). Conclusions The estimated cost of a death penalty case was 70% more than the cost of a comparable non-death penalty case. Death penalty case costs were counted through to execution…