Publications & Testimony

In “Capital Punishment in Colorado: 1859 – 1972,” University of Colorado professor and death penalty expert Michael Radelet reviews the history of capital punishment in Colorado. In the article, Radelet reviews each of the state’s executions during that time period and uses the data to show general patterns regarding the average time between conviction and execution, types of crimes and number of victims, and the logistics of carrying out the executions. 74 University of Colorado Law Review 885…

Pennsylvania death row inmate Nicholas James Yarris may become the next person to be freed from death row. In light of new DNA evidence that excludes Yarris as the person responsible for the 1981 rape and murder for which he was convicted, U.S. District Court Judge James Giles said that Yarris must be freed or granted a new trial in Delaware County within two weeks. Giles gave the Delaware County district attorney’s office and defense attorneys 10 days to confirm that the new DNA tests are…

The most recent newsletter produced by the End to Capital Punishment Movement USA (ECPM USA) highlights developments in the organization’s aim to strengthen the cross-Atlantic dialogue on the death penalty. Among other items, the newsletter contains articles on state reports on the death penalty, the Council of Europe seminars on capital punishment that were recently held in Illinois and Washington, DC, and information about the Second World Conference on the Death Penalty that is scheduled to…

The following excerpts are from Judge Mark Wolf’s opinion allowing the federal capital prosecution of Gary Lee Sampson to proceed. In his decision, Judge Wolf of the Federal District Court in Boston expressed reservations about the risks of executing the innocent and appeared to criticize the Justice Department’s zealous approach to seeking capital convictions. The headings for these excerpts, which are not part of the original text, are followed by page numbers that correlate with the…

A new report by Michael Mears of the Office of the Multi-County Public Defender provides a detailed examination of every death penalty trial in Georgia since the state passed its current death penalty statute in 1973. This resource contains a listing of death penalty cases by name of the defendant, name of the county, name of the judicial circuit, as well as the disposition of every death penalty case. It also provides a brief overview of the historic role Georgia has played in the Supreme…

In a recent Greensboro News & Record op-ed, Marshall Hurley, a long-time Republican in North Carolina, questioned giving the state authority to carry out executions when the current practice of capital punishment fails to meet conservative standards and risks innocent lives. He stated: For those who believe in the virtue of limited government and criticize roundly when government does not work well, capital punishment does not meet fundamental conservative standards. Not only is it applied…

The New York Times Magazine recently explored the life of Stanley Williams, an original founder of the “Crips” gang and a convicted murderer who has been on death row in San Quentin prison for more than two decades: It isn’t easy to reconcile the image of the new Stanley Williams, a children’s‑book author and youth advocate, with that of the old Stanley Williams, a gang leader and convicted murderer. The arc of his life raises fundamental, perennial questions about human nature: Is character…

American Correctional Association Annual Conference — Nashville, Tennessee The Death Penalty Today Richard C. Dieter August 14, 2003 I want to thank the American Correctional Association for the invitation to speak at this conference. It is an honor to be here. Some people may have the mistaken notion that challenging the death penalty before members of this organization would be a difficult task. But I am aware of the long and proud tradition of the ACA with regard to the treatment of…

A recent paper based on the Notre Dame Study of Catholic Parish Life reveals that support for the death penalty among Catholics is strongly shaped by the opinion of their parish priest. After examining Catholic opinions regarding capital punishment, sociologists Michael Welch of Notre Dame and Thoroddur Bjarnason of the University of Albany-SUNY discovered that Catholics are less likely to support the death penalty when their parish priest strongly opposes it. The study also found that…

In a decision reluctantly allowing a federal capital murder case against Gary Lee Sampson to proceed, Judge Mark L. Wolf of the Federal District Court in Boston expressed reservations about the accuracy of the death penalty and appeared to criticize the Justice Department’s zealous approach to seeking the capital convictions. He noted: [I]n the past decade, substantial evidence has emerged to demonstrate that innocent individuals are sentenced to death, and undoubtedly executed, much more…