Publications & Testimony

Another Judge Rules Federal Death Penalty Unconstitutional “MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — A federal judge declared the federal death penalty unconstitutional Tuesday in the second such ruling in less than three months. U.S. District Judge William Sessions said the law does not adequately protect defendants’ rights. “If the death penalty is to be part of our system of justice, due process of law and the fair trial guarantees of the Sixth Amendment require that standards and safeguards governing the…

“Dignity Denied: The Experience of Murder Victims’ Family Members Who Oppose the Death Penalty” (2002). This report released by Murder Victims’ Families for Reconciliation provides an account of the experiences of murder victims’ family members who oppose capital punishment and steps that can be taken to protect these individuals from discrimination based on this opposition. “Dignity Denied” challenges lawmakers, the federal government’s Office of Victims of Crime, and leaders within the…

UPDATE: Quinones and his co-defendant were sentenced to life imprisonment. (New York Times, Jan. 2, 2005) On December 10, 2002, relying on earlier Supreme Court precedents, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed a decision by the District Court in United States v. Quinones that held the federal death penalty to be unconstitutional because it posed a substantial risk of executing innocent defendants. Despite the developments in DNA testing and the many exonerations that have…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, August 27, 2002 CONTACT: Brenda Bowser, (202) 293‑6970 bbowser@deathpenaltyinfo.org AWARD-WINNING DEATH PENALTY CURRICULUM AVAILABLE FOR UPCOMING SCHOOL YEAR Teachers say it fosters lively classroom discussion, critical thinking skills WASHINGTON, DC — As the school year begins, an award-winning Internet-based curriculum on capital punishment is offering educators the opportunity to take this timely topic from the headlines of the evening news into their…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, August 1, 2002 Contact: BRENDA BOWSER 202 – 293-6970 bbowser@deathpenaltyinfo.org ADDITIONAL CONTACTS LISTED BELOW KENTUCKY MAN IS NATION’S 102^nd DEATH ROW EXONEREE Juvenile Offender Larry Osborne acquitted of 1997 double murder WASHINGTON, DC — Larry Osborne became the nation’s 102^nd exonerated death row inmate since 1973, according to an announcement made today by the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC). Osborne was sentenced to death in 1999 following…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, August 1, 2002 Contact: BRENDA BOWSER 202 – 293-6970 bbowser@deathpenaltyinfo.org KENTUCKY MAN IS NATION’S 102^nd DEATH ROW EXONEREE Juvenile Offender Larry Osborne acquitted of 1997 double murder WASHINGTON, DC — Larry Osborne became the nation’s 102^nd exonerated death row inmate since 1973, according to an announcement made today by the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC). Osborne was sentenced to death in 1999 following his conviction for the murder of…

The Court denied Toronto Patterson’s appeal for a stay of execution in order to consider whether the execution of juvenile offenders is cruel and unusual punishment. Three Supreme Court Justices — Justices John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Stephen G. Breyer — dissented, stating that the Court should consider reviewing the death penalty for those who commit crimes before the age of 18. In his dissenting opinion, Justice Stevens wrote, “Given the apparent consensus that exists among the…

In a 7 – 2 decision in the case of Ring v. Arizona, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a defendant has the right to have a jury, rather than a judge, decide on the existence of an aggravating factor that makes the defendant eligible for the death penalty. The Court based its judgment on the broader constitutional principle that the Sixth Amendment right to trial by jury encompasses the right to a jury finding of all facts that are necessary to put a defendant to death. In its decision, the Court…

About one-quarter of Ohio’s death row inmates come from Hamilton County (Cincinnati), but only 9% of the state’s murders occur there. (R. Willing and G. Fields, Geography of the Death Penalty, USA Today, Dec. 20, 1999). Baltimore City had only one person on Maryland’s death row, but suburban Baltimore County, with one tenth as many murders as the city, had nine times the number on death row. (L. Montgomery, Md. Questioning Local Extremes on Death Penalty, Wash. Post, May 12, 2002). An…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, May 6, 2002 Contact: BRENDA BOWSER 202 – 293-6970 bbowser@deathpenaltyinfo.org PENNSYLVANIA MAN IS 101^st EXONERATED DEATH ROW INMATE Jury acquits Thomas Kimbell after hearing crucial testimony barred at first trial WASHINGTON, DC — Thomas H. Kimbell, Jr., became the nation’s 101^st exonerated death row inmate since the reinstatement of the death penalty, according to an announcement made today by the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC). Kimbell was sentenced to…