Studies
Items: 431 — 440
May 03, 2007
INTERNATIONAL: Number of Executions Worldwide Declines
Amnesty International reported that executions worldwide fell by more than 25% last year, down from 2,148 in 2005 to 1,591 in 2006. Of all known executions that took place in 2006, 91% were carried out in six countries, China (1,010), Iran (177), Pakistan (82), Iraq (65), Sudan (65), and the United States (53). Amnesty notes that executions in China are treated as state secrets, and there may have been as many as 8,000 executions. Last year, the Philippines became the 99th…
Read MoreMay 02, 2007
NEW RESOURCE: “The Lethal Injection Quandary” by Deborah Denno
Deborah Denno (pictured), Professor of Law at Fordham University and one of the nation’s leading experts on methods of execution, has written a research paper examining the constitutional vulnerability of current lethal injection statutes. “The Lethal Injection Quandary: How Medicine Has Dismantled the Death Penalty” presents the results of her nationwide study of lethal injection procedures and physician involvement, and makes two recommendations that aim to address concerns about the…
Read MoreApr 25, 2007
ABA Study Calls on Tennessee to Extend Moratorium on Executions
Members of an American Bar Association Assessment Team have urged Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen to extend the state’s current moratorium on executions so that a more thorough review of the state’s capital punishment laws can be conducted. The seven-member team also offered 14 recommendations to address problems identified during their review of Tennessee’s death penalty. Racial and geographic disparities in capital cases, poorly trained defense attorneys, heavy caseloads for…
Read MoreApr 24, 2007
New Study Casts Doubt on Reliability of Lethal Injection Drugs
A new scientific study of 41 lethal injections that took place in California and North Carolina during the past two decades revealed that two of the three drugs used to carry out these executions are not administered in a way that reliably produces death in the way intended. The study, published in the Public Library of Science Journal, PLoS Medicine, found that inmates were given a uniform amount of anesthesia (sodium thiopental) regardless of their body weight or other…
Read MoreApr 23, 2007
ARBITRARINESS: Study Finds 6th Circuit Political Appointments Result In Partisan Death Penalty Rulings
A Cincinnati Enquirer examination of death penalty decisions issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit revealed that judges appear to consistently vote along party lines, thereby injecting arbitrariness into death penalty rulings. The judges do most of their work as members of randomly selected three-judge panels. Sixteen judges are eligible to sit on those panels, including nine Republican appointees and seven Democratic appointees. This means life-and-death…
Read MoreApr 17, 2007
Inadequate Capital Defense Underscored in Ohio Study
A Cincinnati Enquirer investigation of Ohio capital cases found that more death sentences are overturned in the state because of mistakes by defense lawyers than for any other reason. Reporters with the Enquirer found that 15 people on Ohio’s death row won federal appeals during the past seven years based entirely or in part on the poor performance of their lawyers. “It’s a big, big problem. The lawyers don’t have the wherewithal to put on a first-class defense,” observed Judge Gilbert…
Read MoreApr 09, 2007
NEW RESOURCES: “Trials Under the Military Commissions Act”
Amnesty International has released a new report entitled “Justice Delayed and Justice Denied? Trials under the Military Commissions Act.” This report examines whether proceedings under the revised U.S. Military Commissions Act will comply with international standards, especially when the death penalty is sought. In particular, it explores the rights of detainees under international human rights law, the Geneva Conventions and the U.S. Constitution. (Amnesty International,…
Read MoreApr 03, 2007
Pennsylvania Commission to Study Wrongful Convictions
Pennsylvania has convened a commission of judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, law enforcement officers and victims’ advocates to study the causes of wrongful convictions and make recommendations for preventing them in the state. Forensic errors, mistaken eyewitness identifications and false confessions have led to wrongful convictions around the nation, including 9 people from Pennsylvania who have been exonerated by DNA evidence. The commission of 40 members was sponsored…
Read MoreMar 30, 2007
NEW RESOURCES: Eyewitness Identification and Interrogation
The Justice Project, in conjunction with The Justice Project Education Fund, has issued two comprehensive policy reviews designed to facilitate communication among local law enforcement agencies, policymakers, practitioners, and others who are concerned about the issues of eyewitness identification and the electronic recording of custodial interrogations. The reviews examine each of these issues and identify pitfalls and “best practices” with the latest research behind them.
Read MoreMar 06, 2007
ABA Panel Finds Executions In Indiana ‘Random’
Florida Commission Recommends Changes to Lethal Injection Process ABA Panel Finds Executions in Indiana ‘Random’ The Indiana Death Penalty Assessment Team, under the auspices of the American Bar Association, has called for a halt to executions in the state because of concerns about the arbitrariness of the state’s death penalty. “The seemingly random process of charging decisions, plea agreements, and jury recommendations is just part of a death penalty system that has…
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