In his New Republic article, “Why Aren’t Democratic Governors Pardoning More Prisoners?”, Matt Ford looks at how few Democratic governors pardon or commute the sentences of prisoners,
(Editor’s Note: The front page of this newsletter spells Joe Giarattano’s name incorrectly in the headline. We would correct it, but the computer program we use won’t
Check out this piece in the New Republic which looks at how (shamefully) few Democratic governors pardon or commute the sentences of prisoners, even though
Dear Governor Brown: On behalf of California Attorneys for Criminal Justice (CACJ), the statewide organization of public and private criminal defense attorneys, we are writing
California Governor Jerry Brown today ordered new tests on items from the crime scene that sent Kevin Cooper to death row in 1985. The governor’s
Momentum is building, but time is running out. We need your help for one last push. Gov. Jerry Brown, please do not leave people behind on death row when you leave office.
Six former governors called on California Gov. Jerry Brown this week to grant clemency to the 740 men and women on death row, stating that
The California Supreme Court last week unanimously reversed the death sentence for Dora Buenrostro, who was convicted of killing her three children, Susana, Vicente, and
“New death sentences and executions remained near historic lows in 2018 and a twentieth state [Washington] abolished capital punishment, as public opinion polls, election results,
In California, the state Supreme Court unanimously overturned the death sentence of Jamelle Edward Armstrong, convicted of killing a Southern California woman in 1998. The LA Times reports that the court said “prospective jurors were improperly excused for expressing ambivalence about the death penalty.” All of the excused jurors had indicated they would be able to vote for death in spite of their personal views. Additionally, three of the seven
In her op-ed, “Want to Keep Ohio’s Death Penalty? Fix it First,” in the Columbus Dispatch, Phyllis L. Crocker commends Ohio Governor Mike DeWine’s order delaying the execution of Warren Keith Henness to give corrections officials time to find alternative lethal injection drugs, but says he’s only addressing part of the problem with the state’s death penalty system. Crocker was a member of the Ohio Supreme Court Joint Task Force
“I just couldn’t believe they could do this to me. I came out broke and homeless.” William (Bill) Richards is referring to the San Bernardino County prosecutors and investigators who, in 1993, arrested Richards for the murder of his wife, Pamela. Over the next four years, they tried him four times before finally getting a first degree murder conviction in the fourth trial. What finally convinced a jury to convict
When Domineque Ray was executed by the state of Alabama last night his spiritual advisor was not in the death chamber with him. The reason? Ray was a Muslim, and citing security concerns, corrections officials would not allow Imam Yusef Maisonet in the room. Instead, he had to watch Ray die from the room next door, through a glass window. Ray’s lawyer, Spencer Hahn, said in a statement that “I
This Saturday, January 26, at 9 p.m. (PST and EST), CBS will air a two-hour “48 Hours” program about Kevin Cooper’s case. Kevin has been on California’s death row for almost 34 years for a quadruple murder he didn’t commit. Prosecutors said Cooper, who had escaped from a minimum-security prison and had been hiding out near the scene of the murder, killed Douglas and Peggy Ryen, their 10-year-old daughter, Jessica,
Friends, we have work to do. Today we have to start over because in the end, Jerry Brown walked away. In spite of pleas from around the world, he walked away after eight years, leaving our state with the largest death row in the Western Hemisphere. He did it without explanation, justification, or apology. Six former governors, all of whom granted clemency in their states at a time when support
Governor Jerry Brown left office on Monday after weeks of discussion regarding the extension of clemency to the 740 condemned prisoners in California. Among all the conversation, there appeared to be a lot of confusion about the use of some of the legal terminology and what in fact clemency (and associated terms) mean. With a new governor, Gavin Newsom, at the helm, these terms are still important to get right.
Proposition 66, titled the Death Penalty Reform and Savings Act, which passed by a slim majority in California in 2016, is a deeply flawed initiative that seeks to speed up the death penalty by eliminating many of the legal safeguards that ensure the fairness of the criminal justice process and prevent wrongful executions. DPF Board Member Nancy Haydt, a criminal defense lawyer who represents capital clients in trial and on
When Jerry Brown announced on Christmas Eve that he was granting 143 pardons and 131 commutations, he also announced that he was granting Kevin Cooper’s request for DNA testing on evidence collected from the scene of the quadruple murder that he was convicted of committing. The governor’s Executive Order calls for “limited retesting of certain physical evidence in the case and appointing a retired judge as a special master to oversee this