From the Editor
Welcome to the first issue of the Coloradans Against the Death Penalty Newsletter. We will publish four times a year to bring you news and information about the death penalty and the abolitionist movement from around the state, the region, the nation and the world.
I am a lawyer whose opposition to capital punishment has intensified as I've worked on a number of death penalty cases since 1985. I have been part of the defense team or served as a consultant in capital cases in Utah, Arizona, Washington and Wyoming. I've been lucky to have been involved in keeping or freeing men from death row; I also have participated in unsuccessful efforts to stop executions in the days and hours before they were carried out.
I recently attended a conference in Boise, Idaho on the presentation of mitigating evidence in death penalty cases. One of the speakers told us of a recent national poll which showed that support for capital punishment has dropped from 80 percent of respondents in 1994 to 69 percent in 1998. This is the first decrease since 1965. At the same time, opposition to the death penalty increased from 16 percent to 26 percent. The poll also said that support for the death penalty diminishes as mitigating factors are considered. I was encouraged by this news.
This is my first experience with desktop publishing; I normally prepare basic legal documents. I received helpful advice from Denise Madden and Phil Tobias. As I become more familiar with how to publish a newsletter, I hope its style and content will become more exciting. Future issues will have several regular features: an analysis of a specific argument against the death penalty, an opinion piece and a book review.
I welcome your input. If you have comments or would like to write an article, please call me at (719) 633-9011 or leave a message at (303) 310-4442.
--Karen A. Chaney
Coloradans Against the Death Penalty Newsletter -- Fall 1999
See the Web site's News section for more articles and information about the death penalty.
