Death Penalty

Alan Matheney was executed in Indiana just after midnight today. Mr. Matheney becomes the 5th condemned inmate to be executed in Indiana this year, and the 16th overall since the state resumed capital punishment in 1981.  He was diagnosed with schizophreniform disorder four years before the crime, and later with paranoid personality disorder. According to one doctor, Mr. Matheney was "grossly psychotic" at the time of the offense. Amnesty International thanks the activists worldwide who took action on this case.

The execution of those with mental illness or "the insane" is clearly prohibited by international law. Virtually every country in the world prohibits the execution of people with mental illness.

Learn why "The Death Penalty Disregards Mental Illness."

Herman Ashworth was executed this morning in Ohio as a volunteer, having given up his right to appeal.  Mr. Ashworth’s execution was the 17th to take place in Ohio since the state resumed executions in 1999.  This is the 40th execution in the U.S. this year; among the 40, seven were volunteers. When a state executes a person who has given up his or her right to appeal, the state is responsible for a premeditated killing – deliberately taking the life of a person.

US Supreme Court Justice Marshall, dissenting in Whitmore v. Arkansas in 1990, spoke against "volunteer" executions:

“A defendant’s voluntary submission to a barbaric punishment does not ameliorate that harm that imposing such a punishment causes to our basic societal values and to the integrity of our system of justice. Certainly a defendant’s consent to being drawn and quartered or burned at the stake would not license the State to exact such punishments.”

Learn why "The Death Penalty Can Never be Voluntary."

John W. Peoples, Jr. was executed in Alabama on September 22, 2005.  Mr. Peoples was the fourth person executed in Alabama this year, and the 34th overall since the state resumed executions in 1983.  Amnesty International thanks our activists worldwide for taking action against this execution.

The Birmingham News reports:

John W. Peoples used his last words before being executed Thursday to thank family and friends for their support during his 22 years on Death Row.

"I hope I've handled everything ever since I've been here with dignity," said Peoples, 48, a Childersburg handyman and father of three. "I'd just like to thank everybody for helping me and working with me and giving me support."

Read more "Peoples executed for murder of 3 in 1983."

A new study, to be published in the Santa Clara Law Review, finds that victims’ race affected death sentences in California in the 1990s. 

The Associated Press reports:

Suspects who murdered whites were almost four times more likely to be sentenced to death than those who killed Hispanics, and three times more likely to be sentenced to death than those who killed blacks.

"To put it bluntly, there's apparently different values being placed on victims from different racial and ethnic groups," said Northeastern University criminal justice professor Glenn Pierce, a co-author of the study. "That's what the pattern would suggest."

See "Study finds racial imbalance on death row."

Alan Matheney is scheduled for execution in Indiana on September 28, 2005. He was diagnosed with schizophreniform disorder four years before the crime, and later with paranoid personality disorder. According to one doctor, Mr. Matheney was “grossly psychotic” at the time of the offense.

Take action now: Stop the execution of Alan Matheney

John W. Peoples, Jr. is scheduled to be executed in Alabama on September 22, 2005. His co-defendant who also pleaded guilty to capital murder, Timothy Gooden, was given a lesser sentence of life without the possibility of parole. There are doubts about the competency of the lawyer who represented him at the trial; at the sentencing phase of the trial, the lawyer did not offer any mitigating evidence and falsely told the jury that no alternatives to execution existed for his punishment.

Given that his execution date is approaching quickly, it's urgent that you take action now!

Take action now: Stop the execution of John W. Peoples, Jr.

Frances Newton is the 11th woman to be executed in the USA since judicial killing resumed in the USA in 1977.  38 prisoners have been put to death this year in the USA, bringing to 982 the total number of executions since 1977; Texas accounts for 349 of these executions.

According to the Austin Chronicle:

"[Newton] was executed despite considerable evidence of prosecutorial negligence, inadequate defense, and recent documentation of evidence lost or suppressed during the original prosecution."

The Chronicle referred to these concerns as a "storm cloud of doubt."  On September 14th, the Austin American Statesman published an editorial condemning Newton's legal representation, stating that:

"Newton was denied a basic requirement for a fair trial — a competent lawyer. Her attorney at trial was the notorious Ron Mock, whose shoddy work in capital murder trials is well known in legal circles. He has been repeatedly disciplined by the State Bar of Texas, and has since been disqualified from handling capital cases. No less than 16 people whom Mock represented were sent to death row. Mock apparently did no investigation of Newton's claims of innocence. When asked by a trial judge, he could not name a single witness he had interviewed on Newton's behalf."

You can find a lengthy excerpt of that article on the Death Penalty Information Center's website.

See "Newton Executed: No Relief."

Frances Newton is scheduled to be executed in Texas on September 14, 2005. She was convicted in October 1988 of the murder of her husband and two children in April 1987. She was convicted on circumstantial evidence and maintains that she did not commit the murders.  Newton would be the 3rd woman and the first African-American woman executed in Texas since the state resumed executions in 1982.

Take Action now:  Stop the Execution of Frances Newton

Parchman, Mississippi Penitentiary Superintendent Don Cabana gives Amnesty International's Terry McCaffrey his surprising take on the Death Penalty. Cabana recounts the chilling experience of the execution of Edward Earl Johnson, who maintained his innocence until the end. 

Download the video now.

This is the official statement from the office of Ohio Governor Bob Taft:

COLUMBUS (September 8, 2005) – Governor Taft today issued the following statement regarding the Ohio Parole Board rehearing John Spirko clemency case.

“Based on the Ohio Parole Board’s request, I have issued a warrant of reprieve for inmate John Spirko, delaying his execution date to November 15, 2005.  I support the Parole Board’s decision to accept the proposal from both the Attorney General and counsel for inmate Spirko to rehear Mr. Spirko’s case and reconsider its recommendation.”

Take Action on this case: Stop Ohio Execution Surrounded by Doubt

According to an Amnesty International (AI) press release issued yesterday, AI has urged the European Union to call on India to halt executions.  AI-EU Office Director Dick Oosting conjectured that other nations in the region could follow if India abolishes the death penalty.  According to Oosting:

"India wields tremendous influence in Asia and could encourage the abolition of the death penalty across the region if it led by example."

See "India: EU-India summit: EU should press India to abolish the death penalty."

Amnesty International today strongly deplored the hangings yesterday of three people in Iraq, and described the first judicial executions since the overthrow of Saddam Hussain as a deeply retrograde step. According to Iraqi government spokesman Leith Kubba, Ahmad al-Jaf, ‘Uday Dawud al-Dulaimi and Jasim ‘Abbas, were hanged at 10:00 a.m. on September 1, 2005.

At least 50 people have been sentenced to death in Iraq in recent months and Amnesty International fears that these first executions will be followed by many more.

See "Iraq: First judicial executions in post Saddam Hussain era 'a deeply retrograde step.'"