Studies
Items: 111 — 120
Dec 18, 2014
DPIC Releases Year End Report: Executions and Death Sentence Fall to Historic Lows
On December 18, DPIC released its annual report on the latest developments in capital punishment, “The Death Penalty in 2014: Year End Report.” In 2014, 35 people were executed, the fewest in 20 years. Death sentences dropped to their lowest level in the modern era of the death penalty, with 72 people sentenced to death, the smallest number in 40 years. Just seven states carried out executions, and three states (Texas, Missouri, and Florida) accounted for 80% of the executions. The number of states carrying out executions was the lowest…
Read MoreDec 17, 2014
Pennsylvania Death Penalty Costs Estimated at $350 Million
In a series of articles analyzing Pennsylvania’s death penalty, the Reading Eagle found that taxpayers have spent over $350 million on the death penalty over a period in which the state has carried out just three executions, all of inmates who dropped their appeals. Using data from a Maryland cost study, which concluded that death penalty cases cost $1.9 million more than similar cases in which the death penalty was not sought, the newspaper estimated that the cases of the 185 people on Pennsylvania’s death row cost $351.5 million. The…
Read MoreDec 03, 2014
COSTS: Capital Cases in Nevada Much More Expensive Than Non-Death Penalty
A recent study commissioned by the Nevada legislature found that the average death penalty case costs a half million dollars more than a case in which the death penalty is not sought. The Legislative Auditor estimated the cost of a murder trial in which the death penalty was sought cost $1.03 to $1.3 million, whereas cases without the death penalty cost $775,000. The auditor summarized the study’s findings, saying, “Adjudicating death penalty cases takes more time and resources compared to murder cases where the death penalty sentence is not pursued…
Read MoreNov 26, 2014
FBI Reports Continued Decline in Police Officers Killed
On November 24, the FBI released a report on law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty in 2013. Twenty-seven (27) officers were killed in “felonious acts,” a 45% drop compared to 2012, when 49 officers were killed, and a 53% decline since 2004. Most (15) of the 27 officers killed were in the South, with Texas having the highest number of any state (6). Six officers were killed in the West, four in the Midwest, and only two in the Northeast. California had the second highest number, with…
Read MoreNov 18, 2014
STUDIES: Death Row Inmates Pay the Price for Lawyers’ Mistakes
In Part Two of its investigation into the federal review of state death penalty cases, Death by Deadline, The Marshall Project found that in almost every case where lawyers missed crtiical filing deadlines for federal appeals, the only person sanctioned was the death row prisoner. Often the inmate’s entire federal review was forfeited. The report highlighted the disparity between the 17 federal judicial districts where government-funded attorneys carefully monitor capital cases to ensure deadlines are met, and the other 77 districts, where appeals lawyers are appointed by judges and receive…
Read MoreNov 17, 2014
STUDIES: Lawyers for Death Row Inmates Missed Critical Filing Deadlines in 80 Cases
An investigation by The Marshall Project showed that since Congress put strict time restrictions on federal appeals in 1996, lawyers for death row inmates missed the deadline at least 80 times, including 16 in which the prisoners have since been executed. The most recent of such cases occurred on Nov. 13, when Chadwick Banks was put to death in Florida with no review in federal court. This final part of a death penalty appeal, also called habeas corpus, has been a lifesaver for inmates whose cases were marked with mistakes…
Read MoreNov 11, 2014
STUDIES: Murder Rate Highest in South; Northeast Has Sharpest Decline
On November 10 the Justice Department released its annual Uniform Crime Report for 2013. The report revealed an overall decline of 5.2% in the national murder rate. The Northeast had the lowest murder rate – 3.5 murders per 100,000 people – and the sharpest decline from last year. The South again had the highest murder rate (5.3). The West had the second-lowest murder rate (4.0), followed by the Midwest (4.5). The states with the highest murder rates in the country were Louisiana (10.8) and Alabama (7.2). The states with the lowest rates were Iowa…
Read MoreNov 05, 2014
STUDIES: The Effects of Judge vs. Jury Sentencing
(Click left image to enlarge). A new study by researchers at Cornell University examined the effects of Delaware’s decision to transfer capital sentencing authority from the jury to the judge at trial. The study used data from capital cases between 1977 and 2007, during which time Delaware made the shift to judge sentencing – one of very few states to employ that procedure. According to the study, “Judges were significantly more likely to give a defendant the death sentence than were juries.” During the era when Delaware relied on juries for sentencing,…
Read MoreNov 04, 2014
NEW RESOURCES: “Death Row, USA” Fall 2014 Now Available
The latest edition of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund’s Death Row, USA showed a continuing decline in the size of the death row population. The new total of 3,035 represented a 13% drop from 10 years earlier, when the death row population was 3,471. The racial demographics of death row have been steady, with white inmates making up 43% of death row, black inmates composing 42%, and Latino inmates 13%. California continued to have the largest death row, with 745 inmates, followed by Florida (404), Texas (276), Alabama (198), and…
Read MoreOct 06, 2014
Pennsylvania Has 90% Reversal Rate for Death Penalty Cases Completing Appeals
On September 24, Pennsylvania reached a new milestone with the 250th death-sentence reversal since the death penalty was reinstated in 1978. The state has imposed approximately 412 death sentences since reinstatement. Only three prisoners were executed, and all three waived at least part of their appeals. There have been no executions in Pennsylvania for 15 years. Over 60% of all death sentences imposed in the state have been overturned by state or federal courts; 190 prisoners remain on death row, and many of those are likely to have their cases…
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