Death Penalty

This year the Supreme Court threw out a death sentence that had been upheld by presidential nominee to the Supreme Court, Samuel Alito. The swing vote in the 5-4 ruling was Sandra Day O'Connor, the justice Alito would replace.

The case involved Ronald Rompilla, who appealed his death sentence arguing he had been denied his right to effective counsel. The U.S. District Court agreed. Yet, that decision was overturned by Alito's court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Alito, in a 2-1 opinion written for the majority, said Rompilla's lawyers did enough to represent their client.

The Supreme Court overthrew Alito’s decision in June.

See "Death penalty case shows impact Alito could have on Supreme Court." 

The Egyptian boy faces execution in Saudi Arabia after a flawed trial in which he was convicted for the murder of another child, Human Rights Watch said today. Although he was only 13 at the time of the murder, the court tried and sentenced Ahmad as an adult, based on its assessment of the coarseness of his voice and the appearance of pubic hair. BBSnews reported that:

"At every stage of the investigation, detention, trial and sentencing, the Saudi authorities violated Ahmad's due process rights and [sic] well as international legal protections for children. He had no legal assistance or representation during interrogation, detention and trial."

See "14-Year-Old Boy Faces Execution in Saudi Arabia."

An amendment to the reauthorization of the USA Patriot Act would make it easier for federal prosecutors to get defendants sentenced to death. The Washington Post reported that the death penalty provisions were added as an amendment by Rep. John Carter (R-Tex.). Under the proposals, 41 crimes would be added to the 20 terrorism-related offenses now eligible for the federal death penalty. Prosecutors would also find it easier to impose a death sentence in cases in which the defendant did not have the intent to kill. Jennifer Daskal, U.S. program advocate for Human Rights Watch said:

"These are radical changes in the way federal death penalty cases are litigated, and they were added virtually without any debate."

See "Measure Would Alter Federal Death Penalty System."

The Ghana branch of Amnesty International met with the country's  Attorney-General and Minister of Justice yesterday to call for the abolition of the death penalty in Ghana. The meeting was at a public symposium on the topic "Assessing the death penalty in Ghana."  A representative from the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice explained that:

"the death penalty was often promoted as a way to deter violence and make society safer, yet scientific studies have consistently failed to find convincing evidence that executions deter crime more effectively than alternative sentences.”

See "A-G Wants Death Penalty Abolished."

During the Islamic month of Ramadan, beginning October 4th and ending around November 4th, heads of state in Muslim countries may commute, pardon or grant clemency to those who have been sentenced to death. Please write to the Yemeni and Saudi Arabian heads of state urging them to commute the death sentences of all those on death row in their country.

Learn More: Abolish the Death Penalty

Death penalty opponents in New Jersey fear that despite 40 years without a state-sponsored execution, one could happen soon. With ten people currently on death row in the state, New Jerseyans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty have been actively invovlved in lobbying for legislation that would replace the death penalty with life without parole. Eddie Hicks, whose daughter was killed five years ago, spoke at a recent event:

"If someone in your family was murdered, people assume you support the death penalty. I know that's not true."

See "Speakers decry death penalty."

In a state where a clear majority -- 66 percent -- supports the death penalty, Virginia Republican Jerry Kilgore's attack ads voicing concern about Democrat Timothy Kaine's opposition to the death penalty would not help Kilgore in this fall's gubernatorial race, writes The Virginian Pilot's Warren Fiske. In fact, twenty-five percent of respondents to a new poll said the ads made them less-likely to support Kilgore.

See "Kilgore not aided in poll by death penalty ads."

Cleveland.com News reports on the pending execution of John Spirko in Ohio:

In 25 days, the state plans to execute John Spirko even though a third of the Ohio Parole Board came up with four pages of reasons he should not be killed.   On Wednesday, the board voted 6-3 against a clemency recommendation. The dissenting members concluded that there is too much "residual doubt" to execute Spirko for the 1982 murder of Betty Jane Mottinger.

This case drew more pro-clemency mail [to Governor Taft] than any other Ohio death row case: Nearly 3,000 favored it, and just 15 opposed it.

Continue to send clemency appeals to Governor Taft "Stop Ohio Execution Surrounded by Doubt."

See full article "Justice demands inmate be spared."

Amnesty International is outraged that Iran is continuing to pass death sentences on minors and juvenile offenders (those convicted of crimes committed before the age of 18), and that it is still passing sentences of stoning to death, despite having announced a moratorium on such executions.

See "Iran: Death Sentences of juvenile offenders and stoning sentences continue to be passed."

Victor Teich is co-founder of Justice Productions and co-producer/director of Empty Chair: Death Penalty Yes or No, a documentary film that tells four stories of murder victims' families reliving the crimes and confronting the loss of loved ones.

Please join us for our online discussion with Mr. Teich TODAY from 1:00 to 2:00 PM (Eastern) to learn more about the process of making this important film, the families it portrays, and the role that the arts play in social justice movements.

Submit your questions in advance.

In an advisory note to India's Home Ministry, President A P J Kalam has sought to pardon at least 20 cases on India's death row.  Although Article 72 of India's Constitution states that "the President shall have the power to grant pardon," this clause has not been interpreted to mean that; Kalam must wait for the Government's approval of the advised pardons.

See "Death Row mercy pleas: Kalam for pardon to most."

The Tennessee Supreme Court upheld the state's use of three drugs used for lethal injection. Opponents have argued that the combination of drugs is cruel and inhumane, as one of the drugs merely paralyzes the individual and can mask all signs of pain and suffering. Tennessee law forbids animals from being euthanized with the chemical, as does the American Veterinary Medical Association.

One of Abdur'Rahman's lawyers, Bradley MacLean, was quoted in The Tennessean:

"If it doesn't meet your community standards for putting animals to sleep, even a wild dog, then it should not meet our community standards for executing a human being."

See "Tennessee's use of 3 drugs for lethal injection upheld."

In a report issued on Tuesday, the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) noted that jurors in US death penalty cases are often excluded because of race and gender. The report states that "far more blacks and women oppose the death penalty than white males," increasing the likelihood of the former's exclusion from capital juries. 

Death sentences have dropped over 50 per cent in the past five years due to concern about abuses in the system. However, when the death penalty is decided upon, the decision is  often based on misinformation. DPIC reports that 23 of the 37 people released from death row since 2000 had originally been convicted because of "misconduct in misinforming the juries."

See "US death penalty 'woefully short of justice': report ."

Marlin Gray is scheduled to be executed in Missouri on October 26. The state conceded at trial that Marlin Gray had not been present at the time the two 1991 murders, for which he is sentenced to death, took place.

Act now: Stop Execution of Potentially Innocent Man in Missouri

Mali retains the death penalty in its penal code. Although no execution has been carried out since 1980, national courts continue to pass death sentences, most recently in June 2005. More pressure needs to be put on the Malian authorities in order to achieve the complete abolition of the death penalty.

Act Now: Encourage Moratorium on Executions in Mali

Bud Welch has become a prominent death penalty opponent in the 10 years since his only daughter was killed in the Oklahoma City bombing.  On Friday, Welch spoke at a Nebraskans against the Death Penalty meeting saying it was time for the state to do away with the death penalty. Nebraska is the only state to use the electric chair as the sole means of capital punishment. While there are currently 10 men on Nebraska's death row, three people have been put to death since 1994. Welch commented in The Lincoln Journal Star that:

 "I was opposed to the death penalty all my life until my daughter Julie Marie was killed in the Oklahoma City bombing [...] For many months after the bombing I could have killed Timothy McVeigh myself. But after time, I was able to examine my conscience, and I realized that if McVeigh is put to death, it won’t help me in the healing process." 

See "Amnesty International to host human rights week at UNL."

Journey of Hope...from Violence to Healing is an organization that is led by murder victim family members who conduct public education speaking tours and addresses alternatives to the death penalty.

The Journey will be in Texas through October 30, 2005.

Learn more about this powerful message of healing and forgiveness.

Recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings barring executions of juvenile offenders and people with mental retardation have given death penalty opponents hope that the mentally ill may someday also be spared. But the issue raises difficult questions for lawmakers and courts.

Read the article from the latest edition of Amnesty Magazine.

Clarence David Hill, convicted in 1989 of first-degree murder and sentenced to death the following year, went home free on Wednesday. DNA testing completed last fall shows inconsistencies with the prosecution's main arguments. Hill, who suffers from a terminal disease, spent 16 years in prison. According to the Mohave Daily News:

"Hill's attorney Rick Williams of Bullhead City continued to maintain his client's innocence. If Hill had been in better health, he would have demanded a trial."

See "Fort Mojave death row inmate freed."

Death sentences continue to be imposed in Uganda. According to the Uganda Prisons Department, in August 2005 there are currently 555 prisoners on death row, 27 of whom are women. The number of people on death row has increased from 525 on 31 December 2004. They have been convicted for various criminal offences including murder (65%), robbery (33%), kidnapping, aggravated robbery, treason, and cowardice in action.

Act Now: Appeal for the Abolition of the Death Penalty in Uganda

Professor Douglas A. Berman reported yesterday that the first opinion from the Roberts Court, issued yesterday in Dye v. Hofbauer, ruled favorably for Paul Allen Dye, a Michigan man convicted of murder. The Supreme Court reversed a denial of habeas relief by the Sixth Circuit in favor of the defendant. Professor Berman commented that: 

"The procedural particulars of Dye are complicated, but this summary reversal ultimately reveals some real ugliness in the way the Sixth Circuit handled this habeas petition (and perhaps others)."

See "First opinion of Roberts Court is a win for a criminal defendant! On habeas!"

The new Interim Constitution for Sudan, ratified on July 9, 2005, failed to abolish the death penalty in Sudan -- particularly as it applies to those under the age of 18. urge Sudan to commute all death sentences against children in Sudan, including that of Nagmeldin Abdallah, a 17-year-old currently on death row in Port-Sudan prison.

Act now: Stop Child Executions in Sudan

In March 2005, Kenya’s Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Mr. Kiraitu Murungi, pledged that his government was committed to abolishing the death penalty and was in the process of commuting all death sentences to life imprisonment. Urge Minister Murungi to keep his promise and ask him what steps the government is taking to abolish the death penalty in Kenya.

Take action now: Call for the Abolition of the Death Penalty in Kenya