Maryland lawmakers are practically clamoring to show their support for a new bill that would end Maryland’s death penalty. At a press conference yesterday it was unveiled that the bill has received a record number of co-sponsors: 21 Senate co-sponsors (24 are needed for passage) and 61 House co-sponsors (71 are needed for passage). Maryland… Continue reading The biggest year yet for Maryland?
Tag: Innocence
Sub-issue
Will PA repeat history?
Cameron Todd Willingham was executed in 2004 for setting the house fire that killed his three daughters, but a spate of forensic fire experts have said (both before and after the execution) there is no credible evidence that it was arson. The Texas Forensic Science Commission, which was charged with examining the forensic practices in… Continue reading Will PA repeat history?
After the death penalty everything is all fixed…or is it?
New Yorkers for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (NYADP) could have closed up shop years ago – when New York effectively ended the death penalty. But they are still in business and the recent case involving Frank Sterling is a good reminder why. Frank Sterling had been awake for 36 hours when he confessed to… Continue reading After the death penalty everything is all fixed…or is it?
An Overwhelming Testimony to Repeal
New Hampshire’s death penalty study commission, which started its investigation in October 2009, just concluded its final hearing. The Commission has heard from over a hundred witnesses on issues such as innocence, fairness, public safety, and alternatives. The review has been a showcase of the death penalty’s litany of problems. Ray Krone and Juan Melendez… Continue reading An Overwhelming Testimony to Repeal
Governor Ryan’s last stand
As Illinois Governor’s term ends, those on death row may find a ray of hope Illinois Governor George Ryan made history in January 2000 when he made Illinois the first state in the country to halt executions while questions of fairness were studied. The study commission the Governor established completed its report earlier this year,… Continue reading Governor Ryan’s last stand
Voices of Innocence
A personal face on the death penalty’s deadly mistakes Pennsylvania is home to three exonerated former death row inmates with a powerful message to share. Thanks to Pennsylvania Abolitionists United Against the Death Penalty (PA Abolitionists), the message of those wrongly convicted was heard loud and clear across the state this fall. The “Voices of… Continue reading Voices of Innocence
Peak season for executions in Alabama
from Petra Wendeler of Amnesty International, Group 513, Mobile When it comes to the death penalty, Alabama has never produced the big headlines that Texas has. However, with the fastest growing death row population per capita in the United States, this might soon change. Alabama’s capital punishment system is one of the worst in the… Continue reading Peak season for executions in Alabama
IL Commission Issues Landmark Report
Illinois Governor Ryan’s Commission on Capital Punishment released the long-awaited results of its two-year review of the state’s death penalty system on April 15. News about the report’s findings is having a ripple effect around the country. The majority of the 14-member commission voted to abolish Illinois’ death penalty either on moral grounds, because no… Continue reading IL Commission Issues Landmark Report
100th Death Row Innocent Walks Free
On April 8, 2002, Ray Krone walked out of the Arizona State Prison in Yuma after spending 10 years behind bars, nearly three of them on death row, for a crime he did not commit. Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley said at a press conference on the day of Krone’s release that an injustice was… Continue reading 100th Death Row Innocent Walks Free
Movement Gains in 2001
Moratorium bills passed the Nevada Senate and the Maryland House of Delegates. A moratorium amendment lost by only 3 votes in the Connecticut House, while Texas bills passed committees in both legislative houses. Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Missouri, and North Carolina enacted legislation banning the execution of the mentally retarded. 17 states improved access to post-conviction… Continue reading Movement Gains in 2001