Publications & Testimony

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…

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4^th Circuit has rejected an appeal filed on behalf of North Carolina death row inmate Kenneth Rouse. Without disputing the merits of his claim, the court ruled that it would not hear the case because the motion was filed one day after an appeal deadline established by a 1996 federal law. In its ruling, the court wrote that the fact that Rouse faces the death penalty is no reason to give leeway in meeting the federal deadline. Rouse’s attorneys are requesting a…

A recent Pew Research Center poll revealed a significant decline in support for the death penalty as 64% of respondents supported the punishment compared to 78% in 1996. In addition, the poll found that fewer respondents who favored capital punishment felt strongly about their support (28% today compared to 43% in 1996), while a growing number of Americans are voicing opposition to the punishment altogether (30% today compared to 18% in 1996). Other Pew Research Center polling results include…

Walter Schwimmer, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, recently praised the decision of Armenian President Robert Kocharyan to commute all remaining death sentences in the nation to life in prison. “I am delighted that President Kocharyan has taken such a positive and commendable step forward. The death penalty is an affront to all notions of dignity and human rights, and has no place in the Europe of today,” Schwimmer said. The President’s decision to commute the death sentences is in…

In “Why Do White Americans Support the Death Penalty?,” American University researchers Joe Soss, Laura Langbein, and Alan Metelko examined whether racial attitudes play a role in white support for the death penalty. The researchers found that white support for the death penalty in the United States has strong ties to anti-black prejudice, and in some geographic areas racial prejudice emerges as the strongest predictor of white death penalty support. Soss, Joe, et al.: “Why Do White Americans…