Publications & Testimony

Following is the prepared text of Illinois Gov. George Ryan’s speech at Northwestern University College of Law before granting clemency to all inmates on the state’s death row (NYTimes.com, January 11, 2003) Four years ago I was sworn in as the 39^th Governor of Illinois. That was just four short years ago; that’s when I was a firm believer in the American System of Justice and the death penalty. I believed that the ultimate penalty for the taking of a life was administrated in a just and fair…

— — — — — — — — — — AN ACT relating to the fair and reliable imposition of capital sentences. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: SECTION 1. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 532 IS CREATED TO READ AS FOLLOWS: (1) No person shall be subject to or given a sentence of death that was sought on the basis of race. (2) A finding that race was the basis of the decision to seek a death sentence may be established if the court finds that race was a significant factor in decisions…

Prof. Baldus Statement Date: June 11, 2001 To: The Honorable Russell D. Feingold Committee on the Judiciary, U. S. Senate 716 Hart Senate Office Building Washington D.C. 20510 – 4904 From: David C. Baldus Joseph B. Tye Distinguished Professor of Law College of Law, University of Iowa Re: DOJ report on the Federal Death Penalty System (June 6, 2001) I have read U.S. Department of Justice, The Federal Death Penalty System: Supplementary Data, Analysis and Revised Protocols for Capital Case…

New York Times Condemns Capital Prosecution of Juvenile A recent New York Times editorial criticized the federal government’s decision to designate Virginia as the first state to prosecute Washington, DC-area sniper suspect Lee Malvo. Juvenile defendants, including 17-year-old Malvo, are eligible to receive the death penalty in Virginia. The editorial, which chastised police for questioning Malvo outside the presence of his court-appointed guardian, sharply objected to the government’s…

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA Alexandria Division _____________________________ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v ZACARIAS MOUSSAOUI, Defendant _____________________________ ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) Criminal No. 01 – 455‑A NOTICE OF INTENT TO SEEK A SENTENCE OF DEATH The United States of America hereby notifies the Court and the defendant, ZACARIAS MOUSSAOUI, and his counsel, that in the event of the defendant’s conviction on any of Counts One, Two, Three, or…

“Capital Punishment 2001” — The Bureau of Justice Statistics released its annual report on the death penalty with statistics from the previous year. The report contained a number of interesting findings: The number of people sentenced to death in 2001 was 155, the smallest number since 1979, and an almost 50% drop from the average number of death sentences in 1994 – 99. Between 1973 and 2001, Texas sentenced the most people to death (889), followed by Florida (863) and California (779). The…

Clemency Often Used in the Past to Remedy Injustice In a recent article in the Chicago Tribune, law Professor Daniel Kobil examined historical uses of the power of clemency: Comprehensive remissions of punishment to remedy systemic flaws are… sometimes required. It is not unusual for courts to make constitutional rulings that have the effect of invalidating convictions across the board. The U.S. Supreme Court’s 1972 decision in Furman vs. Georgia, effectively invalidated every death sentence…

High Cost of the Death Penalty in Kansas With seven months remaining in the fiscal year, the Kansas fund to help pay the cost of defending suspects in capital murder cases is nearly out of money. The state has spent nearly $2 million dollars on three capital cases, including $771,240 defending John E. Robinson, Sr., and $1,135,973 defending brothers Reginald and Jonathan Carr. The Kansas Board of Indigents Defense Services has noted that the fund will be out of money in December and has…

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 retardation”. State Statute Citation Definition of Mental Retardation Qualified Examiners Arizona Ariz. Rev. Stat. Sect. 13 – 3982 A condition based on a mental deficit that has resulted in significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning existing concurrently with significant…

International Community Praises Governor Ryan’s Actions Legal scholars and lawmakers from around the world have voiced their support for Illinois Governor George Ryan’s recent decision to clear the state’s death row. Walter Schwimmer, secretary general of the Council of Europe, said, “On making this decision, he proves a shared commitment and belief with the Council of Europe, that the death penalty has no place in a civilized society. I sincerely hope that this is a step forward in the…