Broken System: Error Found in Three-Quarters of New Jersey Death Cases
Of the 63 death sen­tences hand­ed down since New Jersey rein­stat­ed cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment in 1982, 47 have been over­turned, includ­ing that of Robert Marshall, whose death sen­tence was reversed on April 8th by a fed­er­al court. Marshall had been on New Jersey’s death row longer than any oth­er inmate pri­or to the vacat­ing of his sen­tence. New Jersey has not car­ried out an exe­cu­tion since bring­ing back the death penal­ty. It cur­rent­ly has 11 inmates on death row, and no exe­cu­tions are sched­uled at this time. (Asbury Park Press, September 7, 2004) See DPIC’s Summary of Prof. Liebman’s Report on the nation­al ​“Broken System”.

Maryland Death Penalty Numbers Decline, Reflecting U. S. Trends
Mirroring a nation­wide decline in both exe­cu­tions and death row pop­u­la­tion, Maryland’s death row has fall­en by 50% in recent years and the state has not car­ried out an exe­cu­tion since 1998. An in-depth review of Maryland’s death row by The Washington Post found that the state’s death row has dropped from a pop­u­la­tion of 18 to 9, large­ly due to rever­sals in cas­es and the impact of court rul­ings else­where. Victims’ fam­i­lies, emo­tion­al­ly frayed by the years of appeals, are also telling pros­e­cu­tors not to seek death in instances where inmates win resen­tenc­ing, and many juries are choos­ing to sen­tence cap­i­tal defen­dants to life with­out parole. Only two men have joined Maryland’s death row since June 2000, and many more have been removed. Nationally, there were 50% few­er death sen­tences hand­ed down in 2003 com­pared with 1999. Both the num­ber of inmates on death row and the num­ber of exe­cu­tions declined in 2003. (Washington Post, February 6, 2004) See DPIC’s 2003 Year End Report (not­ing that last year also had a record-tying num­ber of exon­er­a­tions from death row).

Judge Finds Mississippi’s Death Row Conditions Violate Eighth Amendment
U.S. Magistrate Jerry Davis has found that the way inmates are treat­ed on Mississippi’s death row con­sti­tutes cru­el and unusu­al pun­ish­ment in vio­la­tion of the Eighth Amendment. Noting that the death row at Patchman prison is so harsh and filthy that inmates are being dri­ven insane, Davis stat­ed, ​“No one in a civ­i­lized soci­ety should be forced to live under con­di­tions that force expo­sure to anoth­er per­son­’s bod­i­ly wastes. No mat­ter how heinous the crime com­mit­ted, there is no excuse for such liv­ing con­di­tions.” The rul­ing came in a law­suit filed on behalf of six inmates who alleged harsh con­di­tions were con­tribut­ing to a high rate of men­tal ill­ness among pris­on­ers. Davis ordered 10 facil­i­ty reforms, includ­ing annu­al men­tal health check-ups, bet­ter light­ing, improved toi­lets, and insect con­trol. The Mississippi Corrections Commissioner said that he does not con­sid­er the state’s death row to be any worse than oth­ers across the coun­try. (Associated Press, May 22, 2003) See Mississippi Death Penalty Information.