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National News Archive from 2009
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of National News
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- CA: Could Save $1 Billion in 5 Years
By Eliminating Death Penalty
California is facing an unprecedented budget
deficit and voters recently rejected a series
of tax reforms. To meet the crisis, Gov.
Schwarzenegger has proposed selling state
owned property, including San Quentin State
Prison, to remedy the $21.3 billion deficit.
Natasha Minsker of the Northern California
ACLU, writing in the Daily Kos, has proposed
that California eliminate or suspend the
death penalty as a way of saving a large
amount of money. According to her article,
the state would save $1 billion in five years,
in addition to the profit from selling San
Quentin. The savings include the $125 million
per year the state spends on the death penalty
over the cost of life in prison without parole
and $400 million for the planned construction
of a new death row. In addition, California's
counties could save about $100 million in
five years due to the extra costs of trials
in death penalty cases.
(6/1/09, DPIC Update)
- FL: Florida Inmate Who Faced Death Penalty
at 15 to be Freed 26 Years Later
Anthony Caravello was convicted of rape and
murder for a crime he allegedly committed
in 1983 at age 15 in Florida. The prosecution
sought the death penalty. Now DNA evidence
from the crime scene points to another individual
and may result in his exoneration. The state
is not contesting his release. Caravello
has an IQ of 67 and was convicted largely
on the basis of his own statements, which
he says were obtained from him after beatings
during his interrogation. At his sentencing,
the judge commented, "I'll tell you
this, Anthony: If the jury had recommended
death, I would have had you electrocuted." Instead,
he was sentenced to life. The prosecution
is still pursuing the investigation. (9/14/09, DPIC Update)
- FL:
State Reverses Itself, Will Seek Death
in Casey Anthony Case
In a dramatic reversal, the Florida state
attorney's office announced Monday it will
seek the death penalty against Casey Anthony,
the 23-year-old woman charged in the death
of her 2-year-old daughter Caylee.The state
had previously said it would not ask for
the death sentence for Anthony. (4/13/09,
CNN.com)
- GA:
Supreme Court Postpones Decision on
Troy Davis
The U.S. Supreme Court delayed a decision
on whether to accept an appeal from a Georgia
death row inmate who has gained international
support for his claims of innocence in
the the murder of a Savannah police officer
two decades ago.
The justices were scheduled to announce
Monday whether they would take the case
of Troy Davis, but no order was released.
The court is expected to take up the matter
again in September.
(6/29/09, CNN.com)
- KS: Legislature to Consider Ending Death
Penalty
Kansas will consider abolishing the death
penalty next year as death sentences are
declining across the United States. (12/19/09,
The Wichita Eagle)
- KS:
Death Penalty Faces Economic Woes
Video discusses cost of death penalty: http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=6982041
(3/09, ABC News)
- NC: Racial Justice Act Passes
On August 5, the North Carolina senate
passed a bill allowing pre-trial defendants
and death-row inmates to challenge the
death penalty process through the use of
statistical studies. The Racial Justice
Act allows a defendant facing a capital
trial or an inmate sentenced to death to
use evidence showing a pattern of racial
disparity as a way of challenging racial
injustice in the death penalty.
(8/10/09, DPIC Update)
- NC: Researchers Say Racial Bias Still
Exists in Death Penalty
Renowned researchers David Baldus, Professor
of Law at the University of Iowa, and George
Woodworth, a fellow of the American Statistical
Association, recently wrote about the ongoing
problem of racial disparities in capital
cases.
... "Studies that provide the strongest evidence
that those who murder whites are substantially
more likely to receive death sentences than
those who murder blacks use well-accepted
statistical tools to filter out the effects
of these various non-racial factors." (8/3/09, DPIC Update)
- NM: Governor Signs Bill Banning Death
Penalty
Gov. Bill Richardson signed legislation
Wednesday repealing New Mexico's death
penalty, making it the second state to
ban executions since the U.S. Supreme Court
reinstated the death penalty in 1976. Richardson,
a Democrat who formerly supported capital
punishment, said signing the bill was the "most
difficult decision" of his political
life but that "the potential for ...
execution of an innocent person stands
as anathema to our very sensibilities as
human beings."
(3/19/09, The Denver Post)
- NM: New Mexico Legislature Votes to Repeal
the Death Penalty
The New Mexico Senate voted on March 13
to repeal the death penalty and replace
it with a sentence of life without parole.
The vote was 24-18. The House of Representatives
had previously voted in favor of repeal.
The bill will now go to New Mexico's Governor
Bill Richardson for his signature. He has
not announced whether he will sign the
bill, but has indicated a new openness
to the repeal effort. Many victims' families
members in New Mexico had supported the
repeal. If signed into law, New Mexico
would become the 15th state to abandon
capital punishment. New York and New Jersey
ended the death penalty in 2007.
(3/16/09, DPIC Update)
- OH:
Ohio Proposes Lethal Injection
Change
The state filed papers in U.S. District
Court saying it has decided to switch from
a three-drug cocktail to a single injection
of thiopental sodium into a vein. A separate
two-drug muscle injection will be available
as a backup. The decision comes two months
after an Ohio death row inmate walked away
from an unsuccessful execution and subsequent
executions were put on hold. (11/16/09, DPIC Update)
- OH:
New Revelations of Inmate's Struggles
During Botched Execution Attempt
More information is being reported about
the botched execution-attempt of Romell Broom
in Ohio. According to
the Associated Press, the correctional officers
encountered so much difficulty in finding
a suitable vein for the lethal injection
that, after an hour, Broom attempted to assist
them by moving on his side, sliding the rubber
tubing up and down his arm, and flexing his
fingers. A vein was found, but it collapsed
as the technicians inserted a saline solution.
Broom’s assistance did not help, and
he turned on his back and covered his face
with both hands. He appeared to be in distress
and wiped his eyes. (9/21/09, DPIC Update)
- OH:
Botched Execution Leads to One-Week
Reprieve
Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland on Tuesday gave
a death-row inmate a one-week reprieve
after authorities tried for hours to find
a vein to administer his lethal injection.
... "It appears ... that these efforts
have been going on now for almost two hours,
and that the execution team members have
evidently now taken a 'break.' " (9/15/09,
CNN.com)
- TX:
Texas Resists Family's Effort to Clear
Executed Man's Name
Two days before the Forensic Science Commission was to question Beyler in a public
forum, the governor replaced its chairman and two other members whose terms were
up. (11/9/09, CNN.com)
- TX:
Latest Death Row Exoneree is 139th Nationally
On October 28, 2009, Travis County, Texas,
prosecutors moved to dismiss all charges
against Michael Scott and Robert Springsteen,
who had been convicted in 2001 of the murder
of four teens in an Austin yogurt shop
in 1991. Springsteen had been sentenced
to death and Scott was sentenced to life
in prison.
... However, sophisticated DNA analysis of
evidence from the crime scene did not match
either defendant and the prosecution announced
it was not prepared to go to trial. (11/2/09, DPIC Update)
- TX: Governor Further Shakes Up Willingham
Investigation Panel
Gov. Rick Perry has further shaken up a
state panel that was set to review a report
concluding that a faulty arson investigation
led to a Texas inmate's execution.
(10/09, KrisTV.com) - TX:
No New Trial Despite Judge-Prosecutor
Affair
The highest court in Texas, the Court of
Criminal Appeal ruled September 16, 2009,
that Charles D. Hood, who is facing a death
sentence for murder, cannot have a new trial
despite a love affair between the judge and
the prosecutor during his trial. (9/21/09, DPIC Update)
- TX: Expert Says Fire for Which Father
Was Executed Was Not Arson
In a withering critique, a nationally known
fire scientist has told a state commission
on forensics that Texas fire investigators
had no basis to rule a deadly house fire
was an arson -- a finding that led to the
murder conviction and execution of Cameron
Todd Willingham. The finding comes in the
first state-sanctioned review of an execution
in Texas, home to the country's busiest death
chamber. If the commission reaches the same
conclusion, it could lead to the first-ever
declaration by an official state body that
an inmate was wrongly executed. (8/25/09,
Chicago Tribune)
- TX: Trial Ends for Judge Who Closed Court
at 5 PM on Execution Day
A state ethics tribunal examining the conduct
of the presiding judge of the Texas Court
of Criminal Appeals in a death penalty
case concluded its proceedings on August
20. Judge Sharon Keller is facing a reprimand
or removal from the bench for her conduct
on the day Michael Richard was executed
in Texas on September 25, 2007.
(8/24/09, DPIC Update)
- TX:
Reporter Has Seen Unrivaled Number of
U.S. Executions
It takes seven minutes
to execute a death row inmate, according
to the state of Texas. At that rate, Mike
Graczyk has spent about 40 hours of his
life watching men - and a few women -
die. Graczyk, a correspondent for The Associated
Press, is believed to hold a macabre record.
He's almost certainly watched more executions
than anyone else in the United States. (7/20/09,
CNN.com)
- TX: Attorneys' Late Filings Forfeit Final
Capital Appeals
According to a review by the Houston Chronicle,
Texas attorneys who failed to meet deadlines
in filing their clients' appeals forfeited
the final opportunity to appeal for at least
9 men, 6 of whom have already been executed.
The failures included lawyers who miscalculated
or misunderstood the deadlines, computer
failures, and human error.
(4/6/09, DPIC Update)
- TX:
Execution Scheduled Despite Allegations
of Obstruction of Justice
Willie Pondexter is scheduled to be executed
in Texas on March 3 despite a civil suit
filed by his attorneys alleging interference
by the state in the attorneys' investigation
into Pondexter's model behavior and rehabilitation
during 14 years on death row. In Texas, the
key factor in determining whether a defendant
is sentenced to life or death is whether
he represents a future danger to society.
Pondexter's attorneys from the Texas Defender
Service had received information that correctional
officers from death row were willing to formally
attest to Pondexter's excellent record and
the attorneys sent representatives to obtain
statements. Those representatives were detained
by the local sheriff's office and told not
to return to death row. The suit claims that
Texas prison officials interfered with the
work necessary to prepare a clemency petition
for Pondexter. He is seeking a stay of his
execution date.
(3/2/09, DPIC Update)
- USA:
Report Says Death Penalty Use Declining
Nationwide
Use of capital punishment by states
continues its steady decline, with fewer
death sentences handed down in 2009 than
any year since the death penalty was
reinstated by the Supreme Court in 1976. Year-end
report figures released Friday by
the Death Penalty Information Center
(DPIC) show 11 states are now considering
abolishing executions, with many legislators
citing high costs associated with incarcerating
and handling often decades-long appeals
by death row inmates. (12/18/09, CNN.com)
- USA: Bill to Protect Innocent Americans
from Execution
WASHINGTON – Distinguished legislators
today introduced the Effective Death Penalty
Appeals Act (H.R. 3986), which would ensure
that death row inmates have the opportunity
to present newly discovered evidence of
innocence. Under current law, an inmate
on death row can be stranded with no procedural
options to appeal a conviction, even if
there is compelling new evidence that he
or she is innocent.
(11/3/09, Rep. Hank Johnson)
- USA:
Leading Law Group Withdraws Model Death
Penalty Laws Because System is Unfixable
The Council of the American Law Institute
(ALI) recently voted to withdraw a section
of its Model Penal Code concerned with capital
punishment because of the "current intractable
institutional and structural obstacles to
ensuring a minimally adequate system for
administering capital punishment."
(11/2/09, DPIC Update)
- USA:
American Law Institute Withdraws Support
of Capital Punishment
The Institute withdraws Section 210.6 of the Model Penal Code in light of the
current intractable institutional and structural obstacles to ensuring a minimally
adequate system for administering capital punishment. (10/23/09, ALI)
- USA: Study Says States Can't Afford
Death Penalty
This is according to a new report that
concludes that states are wasting millions
on an inefficient death penalty system,
diverting scarce funds from other anti-crime
and law enforcement programs. ... A privately
conducted poll of 500 police chiefs released
with the report found the death penalty
ranked last among their priorities for
reducing violent crime. Only 1 percent
found it to the best way to achieve that
goal. Adding police officers ranked first.
... The Death Penalty Information Center
study found that death penalty costs can
average $10 million more per year per state
than life sentences. Increased costs include
higher security needs and guaranteed access
to an often lengthy pardon and appellate
process. ... Eleven state legislatures
have considered repealing the death penalty
this year. New Mexico has banned it, and
Maryland has narrowed the criteria under
which it can be used. Read the executive
summary or the full
report. (10/20/09, CNN.com)
- USA: Gallup Poll: Support for Death Penalty
Remains Near 25-Year Low
The latest Gallup Poll on the death penalty
shows 65% of Americans support the death
penalty, significantly lower than the 80%
support recorded in 1994 and near the lowest
support of 64% in the past 25 years recorded
last year. Only 57% believe the death penalty
is fairly applied, and 59% of Americans believe
that an innocent person has been executed
in the last five years. Gallup reported that
support for the death penalty is lower if
Americans are offered an explicit alternative,
such as life imprisonment with absolutely
no possibility of parole.
(10/19/09, DPIC Update)
- USA: Vietnam Vet on Death Row Receives
His Medals and Waits for Execution
He suffers from mental illness and post-traumatic
stress disorder. Through the intervention
of a therapist who also served in Vietnam,
it was learned that Davis was entitled to
a Purple Heart and other medals earned during
his service. The army agreed to award him
the medals and the prison eventually agreed
to let him receive them.
(9/14/09, DPIC Update)
- USA: A Life for A Life: The American
Debate Over the Death Penalty
In the book, A Life for a Life: The
American Debate Over the Death Penalty,
author Michael Dow Burkhead, a psychologist
who has worked with criminal offenders
for 25 years, explores the various trends
in public opinion that influence crime
prevention efforts, create public policy,
and reform criminal law.
(8/24/09, DPIC Update)
- USA: True Stories of False Confessions
In True Stories of False Confessions, editors
Rob Warden and Steven Drizin present articles
about some of the key accounts of false
confessions in the U.S. justice system
written by more than forty authors, including
Alex Kotlowitz and John Grisham. The cases
are grouped into categories such as brainwashing,
inference, fabrication, and mental fragility.
This refutes the perception that false
confessions represent individual tragedies
rather than a systemic flaw in the justice
system. The editors make recommendations
for policy changes that would reduce false
confessions.
(8/17/09, DPIC Update)
- USA:
Groups Want Congress to Remove Death
Penalty from Hate Crimes Bill
Civil
rights groups and groups against the
death penalty are urging congress to
remove a death penalty amendment from
new hate crimes legislation. "The
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
applauds the Senate for passing the Matthew
Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act. But,
the victory is blighted with an unnecessary
and poisonous death penalty amendment
that is designed to kill this landmark
legislation. We urge Members of Congress
to recognize this egregious effort to
dismantle the Hate Crimes Prevention
Act for what it is, and remove the death
penalty amendment from the bill when
it goes to conference." CADP encourages
you to contact your own members of congress;
ask them to remove the death penalty
amendment in conference. (7/21/09, CADP)
- USA: Five Exonerations So Far in 2009
Demonstrate Risks of Death Penalty
The risk that innocent people could be
executed remains high, as illustrated by
the two most recent exonerations from death
row. ... Ronald Kitchen's original conviction
was derived largely from a coerced confession
... Herman Lindsey was freed from Florida's
death row on July 9 after the state Supreme
Court unanimously ruled for his acquittal.
The court noted: "The
State failed to produce any evidence in this
case placing Lindsey at the scene of the
crime at the time of the murder."
(7/20/09, DPIC Update)
- USA: Prominent Conservative Call for
Death Penalty Moratorium
Richard A. Viguerie, who has been called “one
of the creators of the modern conservative
movement" by The Nation magazine,
recently wrote an op-ed in which he discusses
how his conservative ideology led him to
oppose the death penalty and calls for
a national moratorium on the death penalty. "The
fact is, I don't understand why more conservatives
don't oppose the death penalty," writes
Viguerie. He argues the standard conservative
position of support for capital punishment
clashes with traditional conservatism.
(7/6/09, DPIC Update)
- USA:
Criminologists Say Death Penalty Does
Not Deter Murder
Eighty-eight
percent of criminologists do not believe
the death penalty deters murder, according
to a study by University of Colorado
sociology professor Michael Radelet
released Tuesday. Radelet, who completed
the study with attorney and CU sociology
graduate student Traci Lacock, surveyed
77 leading criminologists on the death
penalty's effects on
murder rates. The study was
published in the Northwestern University
School of Law's Journal of Criminal Law
and Criminology. (6/17/09, The Camera)
- USA: States Introduce Bills to Abolish
Death Penalty
Several states have recently introduced legislation
to abolish or limit the death penalty. Bills
to end capital punishment have been introduced
in at least eight states: Nebraska, Colorado,
New Mexico, Montana, New Hampshire, Maryland,
Washington, and Kansas. For some of these
states, the high costs of the death penalty
has been an important factor in the legislative
debates. For example, Colorado's bill
to abolish the death penalty specifies that
the money saved from not pursuing executions
could be used for solving cold cases.
(2/16/09, DPIC Update)
- USA:
Executions Slowed in 2008, But Numbers
May Increase in Coming Year
The Death Penalty Information Center's Year
End Report for 2008 recorded 37 executions
for the year that ends today. That is a 12%
drop from the 42 executions in 2007. However,
based on executions already scheduled for
2009, the coming year may see an increase.
There are 23 executions scheduled for the
first five months of 2009, and more dates
are likely to be added. As was true in 2008,
almost all the executions scheduled are in
the south and about half (12 of 23) are in
Texas. Although the time between sentencing
and execution has grown longer, the size
of death row has remained relatively stable
and many inmates are running out of appeals. (1/5/09, DPIC Update)
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