“Why should society answer death with more death?”
June 30, 2017
Almost six years ago, a man walked into a hair salon and killed his ex-wife and seven other people in Seal Beach, California. One of
Almost six years ago, a man walked into a hair salon and killed his ex-wife and seven other people in Seal Beach, California. One of
William Morva suffers from delusional disorder, a disease that makes him believe things that aren’t true. It’s a serious mental illness, similar to schizophrenia, and
On May 7, 2017, Death Penalty Focus awarded Sen. Bernie Sanders with its top honor, the Abolition Award, for his commitment to ending executions in the United States. He then delivered a thoughtful, moving acceptance speech to those at the event. We now have the video, so you can see it as well.
Former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson abolished the death penalty in his state in 2009 because, he says, “Empirical evidence and common sense convinced me
It passed by the slimmest of margins in November’s election, but Prop 66 has been stayed by the California Supreme Court since a lawsuit challenging its constitutionality was filed in the aftermath of the election. DPF board member and death penalty attorney Aundre Herron brings us up to date on the latest developments in the legal challenges facing this problematic initiative.
William Morva suffers from delusional disorder, a disease that makes him believe things that aren’t true. It’s a serious mental illness, similar to schizophrenia, and
Sen. Bernie Sanders, Joan Baez, legendary defense attorneys Judy Clarke and Thomas H. Speedy Rice were honored last weekend at the Death Penalty Focus 26th
While the state of Arkansas continues with its plans to execute Kenneth Williams by lethal injection tonight, his lawyers are trying to obtain a stay
In Virginia, there is no death row anymore. The Virginia Mercury reports that last weekend, prison officials announced the last two prisoners facing death sentences were sentenced to life without parole and moved to different facilities, leaving death row empty. Virginia officially abolished the death penalty in March. In Ohio, the Death Penalty Information Center reports that David Braden became the first prisoner in the nation taken off death row because of
“The first half of 2021 spotlighted two continuing death-penalty trends in the United States. On one hand, the continuing erosion of capital punishment in law and practice across the country; on the other hand, the extreme and often lawless conduct of the few jurisdictions that have attempted to carry out executions this year,” the Death Penalty Information Center reported last week in its 2021 Mid-Year Review. The stark difference between
It’s taken 28 years, but William Richards is officially an innocent man. Three weeks ago, a San Bernardino Superior Court judge declared Richards “factually innocent” of the murder of his wife, Pamela, who was killed in 1993. Richards went to trial four times in San Bernardino County Superior Court before he was convicted. His first three trials all ended in a mistrial. What finally convinced a jury to convict him
By Mike Farrell Sloughing off a warning from the Vatican, the American Conference of Catholic Bishops seem to have enlisted in the Culture Wars with an act of shocking hypocrisy. While Pope Francis has espoused a consistent life ethic, a ”seamless garment” urging an end to both abortion and the death penalty, the American Bishops Conference recently voted by a large margin to move forward on drafting guidance that will
by Stephen Rohde When the story is told about how the death penalty was abolished in California, the work of a little-known legislative committee will deserve an entire chapter. On June 23, after hearing public comments, the six-member Committee on Revision of the Penal Code voted unanimously to approve a staff report with the following enlightened conclusion: “Eliminating the death penalty is a critical step towards creating a fair and
Stating that the Justice Department “must ensure that everyone in the federal criminal justice system is not only afforded the rights guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States, but is also treated fairly and humanely,” and noting “that obligation has special force in capital cases,” Attorney General Merrick Garland last week imposed a moratorium on the federal death penalty. The moratorium means no federal executions will be
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact:Mary Kate DeLucco415-243-0143mary@deathpenalty.org US Attorney General Merrick Garland Calls for a Moratorium on Federal Death Penalty Sacramento (July 2, 2021) — Stating that the Justice Department “must ensure that everyone in the federal criminal justice system is not only afforded the rights guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States but is also treated fairly and humanely,” and noting “that obligation has special force in
In Arizona, corrections officials are preparing to execute death row prisoners with the same gas the Nazis used in mass killings at its concentration camps, the Washington Post reports. The paper says the state has refurbished its gas chamber — unused for 20 years — and has obtained the ingredients for the lethal gas known as Zyklon B. Defendants sentenced to death before 1992 will have the choice between lethal injection
“I am confident there will come a day when we will have abolished the death penalty, and we will wonder how we could possibly have let such an ineffective, irrational, immoral, and costly institution endure for so long,” says Dr. Philip Hansten, Professor Emeritus, School of Pharmacy, at the University of Washington. Hansten worked with an organization affiliated with Amnesty International to convince the American Pharmacists Association to include a
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