Innocence and the Death Penalty
Throughout history, scores of inmates have been found to be innocent after their convictions and released from death row. Unfortunately, some have been executed despite overwhelming doubts about their guilt. Our death penalty system is riddled with problems, and it results in too many mistakes. The execution of even one innocent person is too many.
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We Are Troy Davis: End the Death Penalty in Your State (2011 map): The state of Georgia has executed Troy Davis, despite serious concerns that he was wrongly convicted in 1989 of killing a police officer. This case makes clear that the death penalty system in the United States is broken beyond repair. It is arbitrary, discriminatory and comes at an enormous cost to taxpayers, and it must be ended.
Cases
Soffar v. Texas (2010 resource): Max Soffar sits on Texas’s death row for his participation in the killing of three people in an armed robbery in a Houston bowling alley. But Soffar's conviction was based on a false confession. Evidence shows that people like Soffar who are impulsive, have low intelligence, low self-esteem and are prone to fantasy and disassociation are the most likely candidates for false confessions.
Other Resources
DNA Testing and the Death Penalty (2011 resource)
H.R. 5107: The Justice for All Act of 2004 (2005 resource)
A Question of Innocence (2003 feature): On April 8, 2002, Ray Krone was released from prison in Arizona after DNA evidence proved that he was not responsible for the 1991 murder of a Phoenix bartender. Krone became the 100th person exonerated and released from death row since 1973. Convicted twice for a brutal murder, Krone spent ten years in prison, two of them on death row. The DNA evidence that ultimately proved his innocence also implicated the real murderer.
Most Popular
I am Troy Davis (2011 blog post)
ACLU Calls Execution of Troy Davis Unconscionable and Unconstitutional (2011 press release)
Innocent Man May Have Been Executed Based on Faulty Science (2009 blog post)
Innocent North Carolina Man Exonerated After 14 Years On Death Row (2008 press release)
ACLU Urges Legislation to Prevent Wrongful Conviction of Innocents (2002 press release): In June 2002, the American Civil Liberties Union urged committees in both the House and Senate to support and quickly pass legislation designed to reduce the risk of innocent people being wrongfully convicted or sentenced to death in America.
Release of 100th Innocent From Death Row Underscores Urgent Need for Moratorium, ACLU Says (2002 press release): Statement of Diann Rust-Tierney, Director of the ACLU Capital Punishment Project
