Death Penalty

Today Philip Alston, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary and Arbitrary Executions concluded a two-week tour of the US by issuing a strong statement on a variety of issues, including the death penalty.  Professor Alston visited two states, Alabama and Texas.  The former, because it has the highest per capita execution rate, and the latter, because it has the most executions period. 

Logical choices given his limited amount of time.  His statement comes to unsurprising conclusions. 

That, in Texas, he met with officials who "acknowledged that innocent people might have been executed." 

That: "While some officials seem to consider due process rights as mere 'technicalities', the growing number of exonerations underscores that they are in fact indispensible safeguards against injustice in cases in which an error can be fatal." 

That, in Alabama: "Government officials seem strikingly indifferent to the risk of executing innocent people and have a range of standard responses, most of which are characterized by a refusal to engage with the facts."

A less anticipated part of the statement concerns Alabama's cozy economic relationship with Germany:

"Alabama's systematic rejection of concerns that basic international standards are being violated sits oddly alongside the Government's determined and successful bid to attract foreign investment from the European Union in particular. Indeed, Alabama's largest export market in 2007 was Germany. It would thus be appropriate for Alabama to engage in a dialogue on due process concerns in its death penalty with the international community."

Of course, given their "refusal to engage with the facts", it is highly doubtful that Alabama would be the one to initiate a "dialogue on due process concerns in its death penalty with the international community."  So it would probably be up to the international community to make the first move.

According to this AP article from about a month ago, "Alabama is now home to 50 German industries that state officials say employ upward of 12,000 people. Thousands more work in related companies."  Major German investors include ThyssenKrupp, currently building "a mammoth, $3.7 billion steel plant near the Gulf of Mexico in Mobile County", as well as BASF AG, Degussa AG and DaimlerChrysler AG's Mercedes-Benz.  Much more information on this interesting relationship can be had at the Alabama Germany Partnership.

Beyond this unexpected aside about EU and German investment, the lion's share of the Special Rapporteur's statement is devoted to death penalty flaws that are all too familiar to those of us who follow this issue regularly.  The Rapporteur recommends, among other things, that problems related to "judicial independence and the absence of an adequate right to counsel should be addressed immediately"; and that "the federal courts should be able to review all substantive claims of injustice in capital cases."  In far far too many cases, procedural technicalities cut off review of important issues, including questions of innocence, in capital cases, and the Rapporteur's recommendation seems reasonable: 

"The best way forward would be for Congress to enact legislation permitting federal courts to review all issues in death penalty cases on the merits, with appropriate exceptions, such as where a defendant attempts to deliberately bypass state court procedures."

Yet, despite saying all the right things and making completely reasonable recommendations, the influence of this Special Rapporteur's visit, or indeed any United Nations criticism of the US death penalty system, will probably be seriously limited. 

Which makes it even more interesting that today's statement drops such a strong hint about other possible avenues of influence.

Brian

DPAC

Virginia became only the second state in the U.S. to reach the grim milestone of 100 executions yesterday when Robert Yarbrough was put to death by lethal injection at 9:28pm.  Virginia is joined only by Texas, a state that has now executed 406 inmates since the reinstatement of their death penalty.  Yes, you read that number correctly ... 406.  Not good company to keep, Virginia ...

There are currently 2 other executions schedule for this summer in Virginia, which you can view here.  This sad day in Virginia's history comes at a time when the rest of the country is moving away from executions.  Visit Amnesty's Mid-Atlantic Regional Office or Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty to find out how you can get more involved and help end capital punishment in Virginia!

~ Jessie, DPAC

                With all of the atrocities the world has seen committed since World War II, academics and the public have gradually seen Human Rights as global and not just rights enjoyed by a few in privileged Western nations. While this seems like a no-brainer; sadly, International Law and Human Rights are predicated by state and federal laws, which have MORE jurisdiction than those treaties and agreements signed by many of the nations of the world.

                This perspective in International Relations has begun to ignite an already strained relationship between Texas and Mexico that has become increasingly difficult over the Merida Initiative and immigration debates. However, as Texas prepares to execute five Mexican Nationals, Mexico has appealed to the World Court for a second time after the United States declared the ICJ's ruling arbitrary.

                The International Court of Justice ruled in 2004 that fifty one Mexican nationals in the U.S. were not given their consular rights to contact their government for assistance and that their cases should be reviewed. President Bush, former governor of Texas, signer of 152 death warrants and staunch defender of the death penalty and its "deterrent effects", directed state courts to review the cases that the Word Court had cited, stating that the World Court must adhere to its international treaty obligations. At the same time he withdrew the U.S. from a second optional protocol that required governments to accept ICJ decisions. Texas refused to review the cases, on the grounds that the ICJ couldn't overstep them legally in their jurisdiction. And the Supreme Court agreed with Texas that Bush had overstepped his authority in the order to review the cases.  How is this possible? Although the U.S. signed onto the Vienna Convention, which guarantees consular assistance to those imprisoned, it was never enacted into U.S. Federal Law, making it ineffective. Don't mess with Texas.

                Mexico has filed an appeal to the ICJ , stating that the U.S. "cannot invoke municipal law as justification for failure to perform its international legal obligations". Representatives from the U.S. stated that although they did not dispute the 2004 decision, Mexico abused the court to put pressure on the U.S. to retry the 51 Mexican Nationals. Texas acknowledged that they had NOT given consular rights to the nationals on death row, but that "intervention at this stage could significantly complicate and undermine dialogue" between the two countries, and that the argument was raised too late and would not have impacted the sentencing.

                As the Mexican delegation to the World Court awaits the decision, 5 Mexican Nationals in Texas are in immediate danger of being executed, as Texas will most likely execute Jose Medellin on August 5th.

                The U.S. death penalty has come before the World Court three times, all of which the U.S. ignored orders to stop executions of Foreign Nationals. Mexico opposes the U.S. death penalty and abolished their own capital punishment in 1937. Meanwhile, our neighbors to the North are becoming incensed over Canadian Nationals on death row, and the U.S.'s death sentences to extradited convicts who the U.S. had promised to Canada not to seek the death penalty for.

Emily

DPAC

Execution delayed in Texas!

Since yesterday, death penalty advocates and opponents have their eyes focused on Texas. Charles Hood was supposed to be executed for the 1989 murders of Ronald Williamson and Tracie Lynn Wallace, but his execution was put on hold after hours of legal wrangling between attorneys and judges.

On June 16^th, Charles Hood's lawyers filed evidence that the judge and the prosecutor at Hood's trial were having an affair at the time of the trial, which raised doubts about the fairness of the proceedings. However, the Court of Criminal Appeals rejected the appeal, saying that the allegations were not new.

On June 17^th, the day of the scheduled execution, the Texas judge who had set Charles Hood's execution date withdrew the execution warrant, and then withdrew from the case. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals subsequently ordered reinstatement of the warrant but this was not immediately possible because of the withdrawal of the judge from the case. As the midnight deadline for the execution approached and litigation continued in the courts, the prison authorities said that they would not have time to carry out the lethal injection in line with its execution protocol, which led Governor Rick Perry to issue a one-off 30-day reprieve from execution.

So although Hood was able to gain a stay, his execution will probably be impending as Texas rushes to execute him as fast as possible. Hood's execution has been postponed five times as Texas courts have deliberated over the ethics of his trial. However, the United States still managed to execute someone-Terry Lyn Short was put to death last night by the state of Oklahoma, despite a conviction based on evidence from a jailhouse informant who received a lesser sentence in exchange for his testimony. The court refused to hear another inmate's testimony that would have refuted much of the evidence, saying that Short was entitled to a "fair trial, and not a perfect one".

Mathilde

DPAC

"The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals failed to uphold the integrity of the justice system yesterday by refusing to stay the execution of murderer Charles Dean Hood" begins today's editorial in the Dallas Morning News.  You may have already read in Amnesty's urgent action that Hood is scheduled to be executed today, despite the fact that a trial court recently recommended that he get a new sentencing hearing (a recommendation rejected purely on procedural grounds). 

Since then, lawyers for Hood have been able to locate an eyewitness to testify in support of long-known allegations that the judge who presided over Hood's 1990 trial was, at the time of trial, having an affair with the District Attorney who played an active role in prosecuting Hood.  If there was ever a blatant conflict of interest, this is it.  Today the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals confirmed that, even when a man's life is a stake, they are willing to turn a blind eye.

This judge, Verla Sue Holland, was herself on the Court of Criminal Appeals from 1997 to 2001 and served with eight of the nine current judges.

The reason given for their decision?  Procedure.  The evidence should have been raised earlier (and a signature was apparently missing from the petition).   But Hood's lawyers tried.  They hired a private investigator who attempted, unsuccessfully, to track down rumors of the affair in the mid-1990's.  Had the lawyers made this claim then, it would have been dismissed as being unsubstantiated.  Now, with a sworn affidavit in hand, they are too late. 

It is a vicious cycle - a catch 22 that sounds all too familiar to many other cases stuck in our criminal justice system (see the case of Troy Davis).  It is unfortunate that our courts just can't seem to get it right.  This would be bad in any circumstance, but is especially bad when life and death are involved.  "Public confidence in the justice system is essential," states the DMN editorial.  Can the public really have confidence in this flawed justice system?

In addition to Hood, Terry Lyn Short is also scheduled to be executed tonight at 6pm, in Oklahoma.  You can take action on both cases here.

~Jessie, DPAC

     The death penalty in the United States fails to serve the American people. Capital Punishment in the United States (and around the world!) does not deliver any viable consequences. While its advocates claim that the Death Penalty is a successful deterrent, cost-effective, effective, unarbitrary and FAIR, those that oppose the death penalty realize that these arguments are simply ineffective when one looks at the amount of evidence that points to the contrary. Furthermore, we believe that the Death Penalty is an ultimate Human Rights violation, and the sanctioning of it brutalizes us all and cheapens the value of Human Life, leading to a perpetual cycle of violence. As long as the death penalty continues in the United States, we must recognize that its mere existence requires our complicity in state sponsored killing.

     Whatever side of the fence someone is on and whether they like it or not, executions happen in our states and, as we can see from this summer's schedule, won't be going away too soon. But is that something that you would want to witness? On June 4th, Georgia put Curtis Osborne to death, despite Osborne's racist defense lawyer and reformed life in prison.  AP writer Greg Bluestein was there to witness it, and wrote an incredibly eloquent article in which he recognized Osborne's humanity even as he was watching his death in a botched execution. You can read it here.

     Testimony given by murder victim's families who have witnessed executions for closure have left them reeling over the violence inflicted on their loved one's killer. The emotional toll of watching someone die and being a witness to their death is definitely a memory, and not one that many would like to have. As the bumper sticker says, "Why do we kill people who kill people to show that killing people is wrong?" Seems sort of like a twisted cycle and sick sense of justice, right?

     A Florida DOC employee stated that any time an execution is looming, or a case is even being heard, the office receives a few dozen volunteers to play executioner. Medical and Nursing Ethics prohibit professionals from participating, so instead you can receive some state training, which is just as good! Here's the requirements for the state of Florida to be competent and experienced enough to execute: 1) Picked by warden. 2) Must be 18 or over. 3) Must get training. 4) Pay of $150. 5) Wear black hood (to prevent against retaliation and guard identity).

     Sort of cheap for such a task for a public employee, right? But as Sue Carlton argues in an editorial, we don't need to hide his identity. After all, if they work for the state, shouldn't we know their identity, qualifications, and competency? Besides, with people VOLUNTEERING to EXECUTE, it doesn't seem like it would matter.

Emily

DPAC

Pro-death penalty supporters often take a sense of pride in their advocacy of capital punishment, pushing for greater usage and arguing for the deterrent effects and money that they have saved taxpayers. Campaigns by governors in the Deep South have been run on platforms of speedier executions and more death warrants signed.

Governors Tim Kaine of Virginia and Martin O'Malley of Maryland are just two examples of politicians who have been in the news lately. They themselves oppose the death penalty, but are at the top of the ladder in states that fiercely defend their rights to execution.  

What happens to those are already elected and then find themselves opposing capital punishment? How infuriated will their constituents be?

As it turns out, voters are not nearly as angry as politicians fear. Constituents overwhelmingly just don't care as much as politicians believe they will. Those that do have personal convictions often end up respecting the representative's earnestness and conscientiousness.

The question of the death penalty is not quite the single issue voting subject that politicans believe it to be. Public opinion polls consistently show majority support for the death penalty, leading politicians to conclude that opposing the death penalty is a straight ticket to losing votes. However, this is normally not the first issue in a voter's mind when they head to the polls, and increasingly votes do not express the strength of public conviction seen in polls. Those that feel strongly often do not have alternative options in candidate's positions.

Senator Raymond Lesniak of New Jersey was at the forefront of the legislative abolition movement in New Jersey, which abolished the Death Penalty on December 17th, 2007. The irony of Lesniak's role is that he had voted in 1982 to reinstate the death penalty in New Jersey, not because he agreed in his personal convictions, but because he was scared to anger voters. Over time, Lesniak's beliefs crystallized for him and he began to be haunted by his decision, and became more and more convinced of the immorality of a law he had helped to pass.

Read The New York Times editorial on Mr. Lesniak's decision and decide for yourself what you think. As a New Jersey resident myself, I couldn't be prouder. Here's hoping this becomes a nationwide phenomenon.

Emily

DPAC

Mohammad Feda'i was scheduled to be executed on Wednesday, June 11th, along with ten others, before his and fellow child offender Saeed Jazee's executions were stayed for an additional month. Tortured into signing a murder confession after voluntarily coming forward to police to report a fight that he had witnessed, Feda'i has been on death row in Iran since the age of 16. Amnesty International is particularly concerned about the imminent execution of Feda'i after Iranian courts have erroneously convicted him, given him incompetent and fraudulent representation, and sentenced him death for a crime that allegedly occurred when he was only 16. Read Feda'i's own words in a letter published on the website "Human Rights Activities in Iran" and then take action to help save his life!

Saturday 7 June 2008

I am a 21 year old, a young man, who was only 16 when he entered prison. Like any other teenager, [I was] still living my childhood dreams. Fear of university Entrance Exam had not entered my life yet. A sweet anxiety that I have envied since."

He continues: "The time I had spent in detention, in interrogation, were the worse days of my life. I had nightmares every night. I was beaten and flogged repeatedly. Those times when they hanged me from the ceiling left me with no hope in living. Any time, any person passing by, would kick me, torture me, to the point that one night I said to them, enough is enough, write whatever you want, I'll sign. Half an hour later, they put a paper in front of me. Without knowledge of what is in the letter, they forced me to finger print it [this is used in lieu of a signature], God is my witness, I did not know what I had signed. Later I found out that it was a confession to murder. Afterwards, my family hired two lawyers whom unfortunately turned out to be crooks"

"They asked me to write my will the night I was going to be hanged. I didn't know what a ‘will' was. When they put the noose around my neck, I closed my eyes and asked my God for help. Just few seconds before hanging, it was halted, because they found out that my lawyers were fake. When I was coming down from the stairs, once again I saw hope and felt I am going back to the school again!"

 "Once again, I'm awaiting a death sentence, I'm no longer afraid of death. I have lived with it for years now. It's been years that its nightmare has frightened me. It has been years since they have hanged my dreams before hanging me. There is not a day that goes by that I don't tell my mother, this may be my last phone call, and there is not a day that my mother does not cry."

"I still can not believe that I will be dead in a few days. I can't believe that I have to go up the same steps for them to place the rope around my neck. Almighty God has been my only hope and companion, to whom I pray and talk with".

Mohammad Feda'i concludes the letter will an appeal for action, for him and other child offenders, and he signed the letter ‘with hope for life'.

Iran is one of the only countries left in the world today that still executes children and child offenders (those accused of committing an offense when they were under eighteen years of age). Currently, there are at least 84 known juvenile offenders awaiting execution in Iran, but the total number could be much higher. Many of those scheduled to be executed were convicted in flawed legal proceedings. To learn more about the topic and take action, visit Amnesty International's Urgent Actions for Behnoud Shojaee and Saeed Jazee.

Emily

DPAC

     Good news! Activist efforts and thoughtful consideration by Virginia have led to the commutation of Percy Walton's death sentence. Mr. Walton's execution was to be the 100^th in Virginia, which is second only to Texas in executions.

     Governor Tim Kaine of Virginia announced his decision for Walton's commutation Tuesday evening and reflected in a statement that after thinking Walton's case over for two years, he was not going to allow Virginia to execute a man who is mentally incompetent and does not understand the finality of his execution and why it is being taken. Kaine, who is personally opposed to capital punishment, has allowed five executions to take place since he took office in 2006. However, he stayed Walton's execution twice, allowing time for psychiatrists to review Walton's mental capacity. Kaine announced that Walton's commutation was the only appropriate course of action constitutionally, as there has been "no discernable improvement in Walton's condition and no evidence that his mental impairment is temporary", and that Walton "lives in a self-imposed state of isolation that includes virtually no interest in receiving or understanding information".

     A 1986 Supreme Court decision forbids the execution of inmates who are unaware of the punishment they are about to receive and why. Unfortunately, a significant number of inmates on death row currently and scores of the 1104 that have been executed since 1976 when judicial killing resumed have had serious doubts as to their mental competency. You can read more about the status of mentally ill offenders here.

     Psychiatric reports and prison records have described Mr. Walton as "floridly psychotic" and show that Walton's schizophrenia and mental illness has significantly worsened on death row. There is additional evidence that Walton has at least borderline mental retardation, and possesses the mental capacity of a young child. In 2006, in a hearing of the case in front of the full Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, a slim majority of the judges concluded that Mr. Walton was competent for execution, under a narrow interpretation of the Ford ruling.  Six of the thirteen judges dissented, however, noting that there was substantial evidence that Mr. Walton did not understand that his execution would mean the end of his life and that "there is no dispute that since his sentencing, Mr. Walton has fallen deeper and deeper into mental illness." Psychiatrists attempting to discern his capacity for understanding his execution arrived at this conclusion after Walton told them that he planned to go to Burger King and ride a motorcycle after his execution.

     Nash Bilisoly, one of Walton's lawyers, stated that the "governor acted appropriately and compassionately in granting the clemency request", but that Walton will not understand the impact of Gov. Kaine's decision.

     Many thanks to all who took action in helping to stop Percy Walton's execution! This is a huge victory for death penalty abolitionists and a great step forward for Virginia!

Emily

DPAC

Executioners last night in Georgia struggled for 35 minutes to find a vein in which to administer the lethal injection into Curtis Osborne's body.  Once a vein was finally found, it took 14 minutes before Osborne was pronounced dead.  This, just after Georgia declared its lethal injection procedures to be sound when they became the first state to hold an execution after the Supreme Court ruled the punishment to be constitutional.  "The fact that there was a significant delay proves there is still a problem with lethal injection," said Sara Totonchi of the Southern Center for Human Rights.  You can read the full description of this botched execution in the Atlanta Journal Constitution.    

Worse still, Osborne was executed despite calls for clemency from such former high ranking officials as President Jimmy Carter, former FBI Director and federal judge William Sessions, former US Attorney General Griffin Bell, former Deputy US Attorney General Larry Thompson, and former Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Norman Fletcher.  The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles denied Osborne clemency on Monday, ignoring serious concerns that he has been denied effective legal representation at trial - apparently due to his white lawyer's racial animosity toward his African American client (you can read more about horrific this case in our original blog post, or view the video).  Osborne was executed in Georgia last night for the 1990 murder of Linda Seaborne and Arthur Jones.

But as the 10^th Circuit Court noted when ruling on another upcoming case, that of Terry Short in Oklahoma, "the Constitution entitles a criminal defendant to a fair trial, not a perfect one."  This is the standard that our justice system holds, even when it comes to the ultimate, irrevocable punishment of death.

Jessie - AIUSA Death Penalty Abolition Campaign

Last night, less than two hours before he was scheduled to be executed, Derrick Sonnier received a stay from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.  The motions on his behalf (a Motion for Stay of Execution, and a longer, more detailed Petition for Writ of Prohibition), were filed by attorneys with the Texas Defender Service.  They argue that the "question of the constitutionality of Texas' lethal injection practice" is unresolved, since the Court currently has before it two pending cases challenging lethal injection (In re Heliberto Chi and In re Bobby Woods).  Texas, they contend, should not put Sonnier to death with the legality of the method of his execution still up in the air. 

Sonnier's attorneys also point out that the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) adopted a new lethal injection protocol on May 30, less than a week ago, or a mere four days before the scheduled execution.  "That protocol has never been examined by any court," the Motion for Stay of Execution reads.  "Among other revisions, it sets a floor for training and qualifications of the executioner - a floor that Mr. Sonnier has no idea if TDCJ has met."  Executing Sonnier with an untested and unexamined protocol, they argue, would be a "mockery of our system."

Though the Texas Court did not go into any detail on the stay, it clearly agreed with at least one of these arguments.

So does this mean that all Texas executions will be stayed until the Chi and Woods cases are resolved, and/or until the new protocol is examined by a court?  We'll see soon enough.  Karl Chamberlain is scheduled to be executed in Texas next Wednesday (June 11), and Charles Dean Hood is scheduled for June 17. 

Brian

DPAC

Tonight, with the execution of Derrick Sonnier, Texas is set to resume executions after more than 8 months of going without.  Of the 28 currently pending executions in the US, there are 13 others scheduled in Texas between now and October.  And two other executions are scheduled for this week:  Curtis Osborne in Georgia tomorrow, June 4, and David Hill in South Carolina on Friday, June 6.

Curtis Osborne appealed for clemency, charging that his attorney, Johnny Mostiler (aka "Boss Hog"), did not act in his best interest due to a racial animosity that he verbalized on more than one occasion.   The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles yesterday denied this appeal, despite hearing from a litany of supporters one does not normally associate with such 11^th hour efforts. 

Among those speaking out on Osborne's behalf were former President Jimmy Carter, former US Attorney General Griffin Bell and former deputy US Attorney General Larry Thompson, as well as former Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Norman Fletcher who, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, argued that "because of court rules, he was unable on 3 occasions to rule in favor of Osborne when valid appeals were before the high court."  Former FBI director Williams Sessions penned an op-ed in today's AJC calling Osborne's death sentence a "stain on justice."

No reason was given for why the Board rejected Osborne's appeal, just as they gave no reason why they granted Samuel David Crowe's appeal for clemency less than two weeks ago. 

David Hill in South Carolina is not appealing for clemency and is in fact asking to be executed.  He tried to kill himself right after his crime (killing three social service workers in the North Augusta, SC, Department of Social Services a week after his three children had been taken from him).  Such "volunteers" are not a rare phenomenon; just under 12 percent of all executions have been of prisoners who have given up their appeals and asked to be executed.  Of the 36 death penalty states, 6 have executed only "volunteers" (and two have executed no one at all); Nevada has carried out 12 executions, 11 of them "volunteers."

The issues raised by this week's scheduled executions - the regional nature of executions (Texas and the South), poor defense representation, racism, "volunteers" foregoing their appeals - all contribute to the arbitrariness of the death penalty.  And none of these issues was addressed during the months the Supreme Court was considering the constitutionality of lethal injection.  The flaws in the death penalty are as apparent as ever.

Brian

DPAC