“Recommended this week” features highlights from the past week in news about the death penalty, crime survivors, and trauma-informed responses to crime.
Retain a Just Nebraska – Kirk Bloodsworth, Innocence
The campaign to keep the death penalty out of Nebraska released its first TV spot this month, featuring the first man to be exonerated from death row by DNA evidence. It’s a powerful reminder of what’s at stake with the death penalty.
The Abolitionist, America: The National Catholic Review
Pope Francis believes there is no moral ground in Catholic teaching that would justify use of the death penalty today. He has set up a commission to review the relevant section of the Catechism of the Catholic Church to ensure this is clear.
Research reveals restorative justice reduces recidivism, EurekAlert
“Restorative justice programs, such victim-offender mediation and community impact panels, are more effective in reducing recidivism rates among juvenile offenders than traditional court processing.”
Abolish the death penalty; Vote yes on Proposition 62, Mercury News Editorial
Local newspaper in California gives enthusiastic endorsement of ballot measure that would end the death penalty.
Judges voice opinions on how to improve state’s penal code, Kentucky New Era
Daviess Circuit Kentucky judge Jay Wethington: “We need to get rid of the death penalty.”
In Texas death row case, punishment does not fit crime, Austin American Statesman
The execution of Jeffry Wood is looming in Texas, but Wood wasn’t the man who committed murder. Guest commentator, attorney, and founder of Students Against the Death Penalty Hooman Hedayati discusses the “law of parties” and the injustice of the death penalty.
