FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Monday, March 5, 2001

CONTACT: BRENDA BOWSER
(202) 293‑6970

CONCERNS ABOUT AMERICA’S DEATH PENALTY POLICY RESONATE AS NATION APPROACHES 700th SCHEDULED EXECUTION SINCE REINSTATEMENT OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

Georgia to use elec­tric chair for first time since 1998,
Borderline men­tal­ly retard­ed juve­nile offend­er to be exe­cut­ed on Wednesday




WASHINGTON, DC — As the United States approach­es its 700th exe­cu­tion since cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment was rein­stat­ed, grow­ing con­cerns in America’s death penal­ty pol­i­cy have caused numer­ous nation­al and inter­na­tion­al enti­ties to renew their call for reform.

“This 700th sched­uled exe­cu­tion calls forth many con­cerns that have been raised regard­ing the death penal­ty in America,” said Richard C. Dieter, Executive Director of the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC). ​“In the next two days, two men are sched­uled for exe­cu­tion and their cas­es evoke var­i­ous ques­tions about America’s use of the death penal­ty. On Tuesday, Georgia is sched­uled to exe­cute Ronald Spivey by elec­tro­cu­tion. This will be the first time Georgia has used its elec­tric chair since 1998. Spivey will be the Nation’s 700th exe­cu­tion. On Wednesday, Antonio Richardson, an inmate with bor­der­line men­tal retar­da­tion who was sen­tenced to death for a crime he com­mit­ted when he was 16, is sched­uled for exe­cu­tion by lethal injection.”

The most recent appeals for change have been stim­u­lat­ed by Wednesday’s sched­uled exe­cu­tion of Richardson. In clemen­cy appeals for the juve­nile offend­er, ques­tions were posed regard­ing the Nation’s death penal­ty pol­i­cy and the its com­pli­ance with inter­na­tion­al human rights stan­dards. Among those urg­ing Missouri Governor Bob Holden to spare Richardson’s life is Ginny Kerry, the vic­tims’ moth­er. Letters have also been sent by a broad spec­trum of orga­ni­za­tions, includ­ing the European Union, the American Bar Association, the Children’s Defense Fund, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Association for Retarded Citizens. Many of the clemen­cy requests ques­tioned Richardson’s defense and not­ed that he is both bor­der­line men­tal­ly retard­ed and a vic­tim of child abuse.

Richardson’s exe­cu­tion is sched­uled to take place on Wednesday, March 7, the same day that sev­er­al mem­bers of Congress will renew their push for death penal­ty reform. U.S. Senators Patrick Leahy (D‑Vt.), Gordon Smith (R — Ore.), Susan Collins (R‑Maine), and Russ Feingold (D‑Wisc.), will join U.S. Representatives William Delahunt (D‑Mass.) and Ray LaHood (R‑Ill.) to rein­tro­duce the Innocence Protection Act in Congress. The leg­is­la­tion seeks to cor­rect death penal­ty prob­lems such as incom­pe­tent defense coun­sel and lack of access to DNA tests for those fac­ing capital punishment.

Since cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment was rein­stat­ed, 95 inno­cent men have been freed from death row. To date, 17 juve­nile offend­ers have been exe­cut­ed, and there have been a total of 16 exe­cu­tions in 2001. Currently, there are more than 3,725 men and women on death row in the United States.

The Death Penalty Information Center is a non-prof­it orga­ni­za­tion serv­ing the media and the pub­lic with analy­sis and infor­ma­tion on issues con­cern­ing cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment. The Center was found­ed in 1990 and pre­pares in-depth reports, issues press releas­es, con­ducts brief­in­gs for jour­nal­ists, and serves as a resource to those work­ing on this issue. The Center is wide­ly quot­ed and con­sult­ed by all those con­cerned with the death penalty. # # #