Summary:   "Roy Brown seems like a rarity--a conservative who's against the death penalty. But to Brown, a state senator and the 2008 Republican nominee for governor of Montana, the philosophy aligns perfectly with conservative ideology. He's one of the more high-profile figures reaching out to other social and fiscal conservatives, hoping to create a bipartisan movement against capital punishment. 'I believe that life is precious from the womb to a natural death,'" Brown said. (Gleaner) This article discusses conservative opposition to the death penalty.
Subjects:  Capital punishment, Capital punishment, Economic aspects, Capital punishment, Religious aspects, Criminal justice, Administration of, Ethics

Summary:   "Uganda's government, which has a shameful record of discrimination against gay men and lesbians, is now considering legislation that would impose the death sentence for homosexual behavior. The United States and others need to make clear to the Ugandan government that such barbarism is intolerable and will make it an international pariah. What makes this even worse is that three American evangelical Christians, whose teachings about 'curing' gays and lesbians have been widely discredited in the United States, helped feed this hatred." (International Herald Tribune) This article discusses the consideration of enforcing the death penalty on homosexuals in Uganda and how that will affect that country's global status.
Subjects:  Capital punishment, Gay rights, Homosexuality and Christianity, Uganda, Capital punishment, Africa, Gay Rights, Global impact

Summary:   "States are sentencing fewer defendants to death, a likely result of a system that is increasingly costly and unreliable. Nationwide last year, the fewest death sentences were handed out--106--since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. It is the seventh straight year of decline. Ten years ago, 284 defendants were sentenced to death. Since the use of DNA evidence has become more prevalent, it is growing clearer with each passing year that the death penalty is unreliable. Since 1973, 139 people have been freed from death row, primarily due to to irrefutable scientific evidence of their innocence. Ninety-one of those condemned prisoners have been released since 1993." (Philadelphia Inquirer) This article contends that the death penalty is being used less, in part because DNA testing has shown flaws in its application.
Subjects:  Capital punishment, Capital punishment, Economic aspects, Criminal justice, Administration of, DNA fingerprinting

Summary:   "Texas and other states that lead the nation in executions are sentencing many fewer inmates to death, a trend that slowly is reducing the death row population in the United States, a report from an anti-capital punishment group says. There were 106 death sentences imposed in 2009, the Death Penalty Information Center estimated in its annual report released Friday [Dec. 18, 2009]. That number is the smallest since capital punishment was reinstated in 1976 and compares with an annual average of 295 death sentences during the 1990s. Fifty-two people were put to death in 11 states this year, nearly half as many executions as 10 years ago." (Washington Times) This article examines possible reasons for the "drop in both executions and new death sentences," including "fears of executing the innocent, [and] concerns about the high cost of the death penalty and laws that allow inmates to be sentenced to life in prison without parole."
Subjects:  Capital punishment, Capital punishment, Statistics, Criminal justice, Administration of, Life imprisonment, Sentences (Criminal procedure), Death row inmates, Sentences (Criminal procedure), Statistics

Summary:   "An Ohio killer was put to death in an efficient 10 minutes Tuesday [Dec 8, 2009] in the first U.S. execution to use a single drug injection instead of the standard three-chemical combination that has come under legal attack because it can cause excruciating pain. Kenneth Biros, 51, was pronounced dead shortly after one dose of sodium thiopental began flowing into his veins at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility. The U.S. Supreme Court had rejected his final appeal two hours earlier. Experts had predicted that sodium thiopental--used in many parts of the world to put pets down--would take longer to kill than the old method. But the 10 minutes it took Biros to die was about as long as it has taken other inmates in Ohio and elsewhere to succumb to the three-drug combination." (Cincinnati Enquirer) This article discusses the first execution via a single-drug injection in the U.S.
Subjects:  Capital punishment, Criminal justice, Administration of, Executions and executioners, Ohio, Lethal injection (Execution), U.S. Supreme Court, Decisions, Capital punishment

Summary:   "Russia's Constitutional Court effectively outlawed the death penalty Thursday [Nov 19, 2009], saying a moratorium on capital punishment should remain in force until the nation fully bans executions. Constitutional Court chief Valery Zorkin said Russia must extend the moratorium on executions until it ratifies a European convention banning the death penalty. Russia announced a moratorium on capital punishment when it joined the Council of Europe in 1996. It pledged to completely abolish it, but the Kremlin-controlled parliament has been reluctant to do so due to public support for the death penalty. Persistent violence in the North Caucasus region has prompted some to demand the death penalty for those involved in terrorism, and there is also public pressure for convicted serial killers, murderers and child abusers to be executed. But reviving capital punishment would harm relations with the EU [European Union] and undermine Kremlin claims that Russia is no less modern than European countries." (Newsday) This article discusses Russia's decision to outlaw the death penalty and how that fares with proponents of capital punishment.
Subjects:  Capital punishment, Capital punishment, Russia (Federation), Criminal justice, Administration of, European Union, Kremlin (Moscow, Russia), Russia, Criminal justice, Administration of, Russia (Federation), Moratorium, Criminal justice, Administration of, Global impact

Summary:   "It has never been used as a form of capital punishment in the United States, according to death penalty experts. It is, however, used to euthanize animals. The state filed legal papers in U.S. District Court Friday [Nov. 13, 2009] saying it wants to switch from a three-drug mix to a single injection of thiopental sodium into a vein. A separate two-drug muscle injection--also new and untried on humans--will be available as a backup." (Cincinnati Enquirer) This article explains changes to Ohio's lethal injection process.
Subjects:  Capital punishment, Criminal justice, Administration of, Ohio, Lethal injection (Execution)

Summary:   "White supremacist gang hit man Billy Joe Johnson got what he asked for from the Orange County [Calif.] jury that convicted him of first-degree murder...a death sentence. It wasn't remorse for his crimes or a desire for atonement that drove him to ask for execution; it was the expectation that conditions on death row would be more comfortable than in other maximum-security prisons and that any date with the executioner would be decades away if it came at all. Although executions are carried out with comparative speed in states such as Virginia...capital punishment in California has become so bogged down by legal challenges as to be a nearly empty threat, say experts on both sides of the issue." (Los Angeles Times) This article notes that the circumstances of capital punishment in California may make it more attractive than a lesser sentence.
Subjects:  Capital punishment, Criminal justice, Administration of, Death row, Prisoners, Treatment, Death row inmates

Summary:   "For capital cases in which the jury will debate whether or not to sentence a convicted defendant to death, the Supreme Court mandates that jurors be 'deathqualified'--that is, they must pledge during the jury selection process that they morally support capital punishment and that they would have no problem signing a sentence that will result in the death of another human being. Social science research indicates that this selection process seriously limits juries in capital cases to people who share similar moral viewpoints. During the last four decades, U.S. researchers have found that in capital cases the people most likely to be chosen during the jury selection process are those with 'authoritarian' personality types--people who believe that strict enforcement of laws is needed to maintain social stability. Authoritarians follow convention. They think the function of disciplinary action is to control criminals. They predictably tend to convict anyone (both the guilty and the innocent) who is unfortunate enough to be indicted and brought to trial before a jury." (In These Times) The author argues that because jurors must support capital punishment to be selected for such cases, the jury will be composed of members sharing a similar outlook.
Subjects:  Capital punishment, Jurors, Jury, Jury selection, Jurors, Attitudes

Summary:   "A group opposing capital punishment is urging government officials to reassess the costs and benefits of the death penalty in light of America's economic troubles. State and local governments facing dire budget crunches can realize substantial savings by replacing capital punishment with a regime that sentences the worst offenders to life in prison without parole, according to a report released Tuesday [October 20, 2009] by the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC)." (Christian Science Monitor) This article discusses the DPIC report and includes statistics on the estimated cost of capital punishment nationwide and in New York, New Jersey and California.
Subjects:  Capital punishment, Capital punishment, Economic aspects, Capital punishment, Statistics, Criminal justice, Administration of

Summary:   "In February 2004, Cameron Todd Willingham was put to death by the state of Texas for the arson/murder of his three young daughters....His trial had the all too familiar shortcomings when a defendant is poor: lousy, state-appointed defence lawyers, dubious but unchallenged evidence peddled by a couple of supposed forensic experts, and the testimony of a jail snitch who claimed Willingham had confessed to the crime in an unguarded moment while awaiting trial. Proceedings lasted only two days, and the jury took just an hour to find him guilty. After many unavailing appeals--the last of them to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles which did not even bother to consider a report by the country's leading fire investigator concluding that in all probability the fire was accidental--Willingham was executed by lethal injection in the infamous prison at Huntsville. To the very end, strapped to the gurney in the death chamber, he protested his innocence: 'I have been persecuted for 12 years for something I did not do.'" (The Independent on Sunday) The author argues that an innocent man was executed in the United States.
Subjects:  Capital punishment, Criminal justice, Administration of, Justice

Summary:   In this article, Scott Maxwell argues the death penalty is flawed because "[t]his country has executed the innocent. That's not debatable. And no rationale--be it revenge or legal strategy--is a valid one to perpetuate such an injustice." (Orlando Sentinel)
Subjects:  Capital punishment, Criminal justice, Administration of

Summary:   "Capital punishment matters because it helps to define our attitude to and respect for human life and human lives. We do not intentionally kill humans unless forced to for our own protection, and our best understanding is that the death penalty protects not at all." (Federal Sentencing Reporter) This article is an excerpt of a speech arguing against capital punishment. The speaker gives some background history on the subject, refutes the arguments supporting capital punishment, and gives reasons for abolishing the death penalty.
Subjects:  Capital punishment, Criminal justice, Administration of, Sentences (Criminal procedure), Sri Lanka

Summary:   This article relates how the case of Nie Shubin, executed in China in 1994 for a brutal crime to which someone else confessed, has spurred a movement in China to abolish the death penalty. Even so, the article explains why "the obstacles to overturning [the death penalty in China] are huge." (Toronto Star)
Subjects:  Capital punishment, Capital punishment, Statistics, Criminal justice, Administration of, Criminal justice, Administration of, China, Criminal justice, Administration of, Statistics, Capital punishment, China, Criminal justice, Administration of, Global impact

Summary:   "The United States is the only country in the Americas that consistently executes, though there is increasing evidence that it is turning away from the death penalty. According to the report [Death Sentences and Executions in 2008], only nine of the 36 states that retained the death penalty in 2008 actually carried out executions, and the vast majority of these executions took place in one region: the South. Texas accounted for, in essence, half (18 of 37) of the U.S. executions in 2008." (Global Information Network) This article examines worldwide 2008 execution statistics and notes that "most of the world is moving a step closer to abolition of the death penalty."
Subjects:  Amnesty International, Capital punishment, Capital punishment, Statistics, Criminal justice, Administration of, Executions and executioners, Criminal justice, Administration of, Statistics, Criminal justice, Administration of, Global impact

Summary:   "Gov. Bill Richardson signed legislation Wednesday [Mar. 18, 2009] 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.' Richardson said he made the decision after going to the state penitentiary, where he saw the death chamber and visited the maximum security unit where those sentenced to life without parole could be housed. 'My conclusion was those cells are something that may be worse than death,' he said. 'I believe this is a just punishment.'" (Santa Fe New Mexican) Legislation making New Mexico the second state in the U.S. to ban the death penalty is discussed.
Subjects:  Capital punishment, Criminal justice, Administration of, New Mexico, Richardson, Bill

Summary:   "After decades of moral arguments reaching biblical proportions, after long, twisted journeys to the nation's highest court and back, the death penalty may be abandoned by several states for a reason having nothing to do with right or wrong: Money. Turns out, it is cheaper to imprison killers for life than to execute them, according to a series of recent surveys." (Asbury Park Press) This article examines how some states "are considering abolishing capital punishment in favor of life imprisonment, not on principle but out of financial necessity."
Subjects:  Capital punishment, Capital punishment, Economic aspects, Criminal justice, Administration of, Executions and executioners, Criminal justice, Administration of, Statistics

Summary:   "In Florida, the death penalty doesn't always mean death by execution. Heart disease, fatal ailments and suicide are just as likely to kill. From March 1998 to November 2008, the Department of Corrections executed 26 prisoners. During that same period, another 26 death-row inmates died of other causes, the Orlando Sentinel found." (McClatchy - Tribune Business News) This article explains that it's not unusual for death-row inmates to die before they can be executed. Rather, it's a reflection of the length of time death penalty cases take to work through the legal system.
Subjects:  Capital punishment, Capital punishment, Statistics, Criminal justice, Administration of, Death row, Florida, Mortality, Criminal justice, Administration of, Statistics, Death row inmates

Summary:   "On a cold night in March 1993, a prostitute got into a red Nissan with two men and agreed to oral sex at a spot nearby. Instead, she was taken to a park, where she was raped, beaten, shot, buried in the snow and left for dead. An Anchorage jury convicted two Fort Richardson, Alaska, soldiers of rape, kidnapping and assault. All these years later, one of the men, William Osborne, continues to fight for a sophisticated DNA test his lawyers say could prove him innocent. That type of DNA test can prove identity beyond doubt, but wasn't available during his trial in 1993. His push to retest the contents of a blue condom—found at the scene and used against him before a jury more than 15 years ago—now is before the U.S. Supreme Court." (McClatchy Newspapers) This article addresses whether prisoners have a constitutional right to post-conviction DNA testing, which could clear them of the crime for which they were convicted or keep them in prison.
Subjects:  Capital punishment, Criminal justice, Administration of, DNA fingerprinting, Evidence, Criminal, False imprisonment, Judicial error

Summary:  In this article, the author argues that "those who most vigorously oppose the death penalty have great incentive to work their way onto capital cases to keep the penalty from being imposed. There's no way to detect their bias until the deed's done....The General Assembly should act to allow judges to impose capital punishment without requiring all 12 jurors to agree on death. All 12 should agree on guilt, but the penalty phase should be a simple recommendation to the judge who could impose the appropriate penalty." (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Subjects:  Capital punishment, Criminal justice, Administration of, Jury selection, Jurors, Attitudes

Summary:  "New death sentences in the United States were at or near a three-decade low this year [2008] and the number of people executed will be the lowest since 1994, according to a new report" (Houston Chronicle) by the nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center. This article examines why new death sentences in the United States have been on the decline.
Subjects:  Capital punishment, Capital punishment, Statistics, Criminal justice, Administration of, Executions and executioners, Criminal justice, Administration of, Statistics, Moratorium

Summary:  "Political Islam is the main barrier to abolishing the death penalty in most countries where it is still practiced, abolition activist Maryam Namazie said. Weaken that, and the struggle for abolition will be won as it has been in many countries. Namazie, of the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain and Equal Rights Now--Organization against Women's Discrimination in Iran, adds that the majority in countries under Islamic rule already oppose political Islam and only need to be supported." (Inter Press Service) In this article, Abderrahim El Ouali interviews death penalty abolition activist Maryam Namazie regarding her organization's platform--one that "campaigns for the separation of religion and state."
Subjects:  Capital punishment, Capital punishment, Religious aspects, Church and state, Criminal justice, Administration of, Islamic law, Muslims, Attitudes, Criminal justice, Administration of, Global impact

Summary:  This article provides a history of capital punishment in the United States through a timeline.
Subjects:  Capital punishment, Capital punishment, Juveniles, Capital punishment, Statistics, Criminal justice, Administration of, Electrocution, Executions and executioners, Lethal injection (Execution), Capital punishment, Timeline, U.S. Supreme Court, Decisions, Capital punishment, Criminal justice, Administration of, Timeline

Summary:   "Bioethics has its trends, and the latest is 'neuroethics.' Advances in imaging technology are expanding researchers' ability to observe the brain at work. Popular media and scholarly reports offer sweeping pronouncements about the impact of functional neuroimaging and cognitive neuroscience research on our views about human freedom and responsibility, including accountability for violent behavior....The traditional legal approach to assessing responsibility has already survived challenges from many different deterministic accounts of human behavior, both biological and social. At the same time, neuroscientific evidence has affected and will probably continue to affect some applications of the criminal law." (Hastings Center Report) Rebecca Dresser, a professor of law and ethics in medicine, explores two court cases that show "how neuroscientific developments could influence decisions about culpability and punishment."
Subjects:  Bioethics, Brain, Research, Capital punishment, Criminal behavior, Criminal justice, Administration of, Criminal liability, Neurosciences