Publications & Testimony

PHILADELPHIA BAR ASSOCIATION RESOLUTION CALLING FOR A MORATORIUM ON CAPITAL PUNISHMENT UNTIL SUCH TIME THAT FAIRNESS IN ITS ADMINISTRATION CAN BE ENSURED Adopted by the Board of Governors November 25, 1997, voting 18 to 10. WHEREAS, the American Bar Association, on February 3, 1997, adopted a resolution calling for a moratorium on executions until such time that policies and procedures are implemented to “(1) ensure that death penalty procedures are administered fairly and impartially, in…

October 20, 1997 As spiritual leaders in the community we Catholic Bishops of Texas are acutely aware of the violence in our state. Despite a growing reliance on longer sentences, more prisons, and more executions, our state’s crime rate has escalated. Since the reinstatement of the death penalty in the United States in 1976, the Catholic Bishops of the United States have repeatedly condemned its use as a violation of the sanctity of human life. Capital punishment, along with abortion and…

The Vatican issued the definitive Latin language version of its Universal Catechism on September 9, 1997. The primary change in the catechism focuses on legitimate defense and the death penalty . The new version reads: “The traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude … recourse to the death penalty when it is the only practical way to efficiently defend the lives of human beings from the unjust aggressor.” It continues, “Today, in fact, because the means states have to repress crime…

American Bar Association Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities RECOMMENDATION RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association calls upon each jurisdiction that imposes capital punishment not to carry out the death penalty until the jurisdiction implements policies and procedures that are consistent with the following longstanding American Bar Association policies intended to (1) ensure that death penalty cases are administered fairly and impartially, in accordance with due process…

Furman v. Georgia 408 U.S. 238: Court ruled that the death penalty, as applied, was an arbitrary punishment and thus unconstitutional under the 8^th and 14^th Amendments. 1976 Gregg v. Georgia 428 U.S. 153: The Court held that Georgia’s new capital punishment procedures (bifurcated trials and automatic appeals) were in accordance with the 8^th Amendment. Proffitt v. Florida 428 U.S. 242: The Court denied the petitioner’s claim that Florida’s capital sentencing procedures were unconstitutional.

Mario Marquez had the adaptive skills of a 7 year-old. His trial counsel testified at a clemency hearing that he did not present any evidence of Mario’s mental retardation because of a legal flaw in the Texas death penalty statute. Marquez was executed on January 17, 1995.

This list provides details of federal executions beginning in 1927. For federal executions prior to 1927, see DPIC’s Espy File page. NAME METHOD RACE OFFENSE AGE DATE PLACE* Aldermon, James Hanging Unk Murder Unk 08/17/27 FL Panzram, Carl Hanging White Murder of Laundry Foreman 36 09/05/30 KS Barrett, George Electrocution White Murder of N.B. Klein, FBI Man Unk 03/24/36 IN Gooch, Arthur Hanging White Kidnapping 27 06/19/36 OK Gardner, Earl Hanging Indian…