Death Penalty Update (9/16/2003)
Brought to you by the ACLU Capital Punishment Project
Written by: Jason Stramaglia Contents News: 1. Governor Postpones Execution of Phillip Workman in Tennessee
2. Bush Calls For Expanding Use of Federal Death Penalty
3. DNA Evidence Establishes Actual Innocence For Kirk Bloodsworth
4. Mormon Church OKs Firing Squad Change
5. Louisiana Man Sentenced to Death For Rape September/October Executions: Action Alerts: 1. Reintroduce the Innocence Protection Act in Congress
2. Support the Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act
New Resources:
1. Poetic Justice: Reflections on the Big House, the Death House, and the American Way of Justice
2. The Wrong Men: America's Epidemic of Wrongful Death Row Convictions
3. New Death Penalty Moratorium Update from ABA
4. Purposeful Discrimination in Capital Sentencing
5. Fiscal Responsibilities: How the Death Penalty Impacts State and Local Budgets
Featured Events:
1. September 26-October 12 - Journey of Hope, Ohio
2. October 9-11 - Human Rights at Home: International Law in U.S. Courts
3. October 10-12 - Amnesty International USA's National Weekend of Faith in Action
4. October 11 - Student Death Penalty Conference and Rally in Harrisburg, PA.
5. October 13-17 - Death Penalty Awareness Week, organized by Campaign to End the Death Penalty, at different college campuses nationwide __________________________________________________________ Special Announcement: We want to continue to build the list of people receiving this bi-weekly Death Penalty Update, an excellent overview of death penalty news stories, scheduled executions, and new resources. Please take a minute to let your colleagues, friends, and members know that they can now subscribe simply by sending an email to Josh Noble, at jnoble@dcaclu.org, and typing ""Death Penalty Update"" in the subject line. News: Governor Postponses Execution of Phillip Workman (September 15, 2003) Phillip Workman, who was scheduled to be executed in Tennessee on September 24th, had his execution stayed by Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen on Monday, September 15th. The governor said he was delaying the Sept. 24 execution until January at the recommendation of Tennessee Attorney General Paul Summers, who said a federal criminal investigation relating to the case is under way. Workman has previously had an execution date (in 2000) but that too was stayed. To read an article from the Tennessean, please visit: http://www.tennessean.com/local/archives/03/09/39382207.shtml?Element_ID=39382207 To learn more about Phillip Workman, please visit: http://www.justicedenied.org/philip.htm Bush Calls For Expanding Use of Federal Death Penalty (September 10, 2003) On the eve of the second anniversary of the September 11th attacks, President Bush called on Congress to ""unite the hands"" of law enforcement and expand police powers needed to combat terrorism. In addition to tougher restraints that would allow terror suspects to be held without bail and greater subpoena powers, Bush called for expanding the use of the federal death penalty. Specifically, Bush stated that the death penalty should be used in certain cases of sabotage against military and nuclear facilities. According to Bush, ""Sabotaging a defense installation or a nuclear facility in a way that takes innocent life does not carry the death penalty. This kind of technicality should never project terrorists from the ultimate justice."" Critics argue that because of an overbroad redefinition of ""domestic terrorism"" in the PATRIOT ACT, these new death penalty-eligible offenses might apply to political activists. The provisions cited in Bush's speech are a part of the VICTORY ACT, better known as PATRIOT II. ACLU legislative counsel Charlie Mitchell condemned the provisions as ""further erosions of judicial oversight and basic checks and balances."" Despite the Bush Administration's aggressive efforts to expand the use of capital punishment, juries in 17 of the last 18 federal trials have refused to impose a death sentence. Legal experts believe this trend may be attributable to overreaching by prosecutors or jurors' unease with the death penalty. However, it is difficult to determine how jurors would respond to these new death-eligible offenses. To read an article from CBS News, please visit: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/09/10/politics/main572554.shtml. To learn more about the USA PATRIOT ACT and the VICTORY ACT, please visit: /safefree/resources/17343res20031114.html. DNA Match Establishes Actual Innocence For Kirk Bloodsworth (September 5, 2003) More than ten years after DNA exonerated Kirk Bloodsworth for the rape and murder of a 9-year-old girl, DNA has implicated the actual murderer. Bloodsworth was convicted in 1984 for the high profile rape and murder of young Dawn Hamilton. The conviction was based largely on the eyewitness testimony of two boys playing in the area where Hamilton was killed. When it was discovered that the state failed to disclose exculpatory evidence, Bloodsworth received a new trial. He was convicted a second time, but received a life sentence. After two wrongful convictions, DNA evidence proved that Bloodsworth could not have committed the crime, and he was exonerated in 1993. By that time, Bloodsworth had already served nine years in prison, two of them on death row. When prosecutors informed him of the DNA match and told him that it was a man named Kimberly Shay Ruffner, Bloodsworth exclaimed that he knew Ruffner from prison and used to lift weights with him. Ruffner was ultimately identified when prosecutors entered a stain of semen from the victim's clothes into state and federal DNA databases. This same evidence led to Bloodsworth's exoneration in 1993. To read a statement from the Justice Project, please visit: http://justice.policy.net/proactive/newsroom/release.vtml?id=35041&PROACTIVE_ID=cecfcdcbcacfcbcfcec5cecfcfcfc5cececdc9c8cccdcdcecfc5cf. To learn more about DNA testing, please visit: www.innocenceproject.org. Mormon Church OKs Firing Squad Change (September 4, 2003) The Mormon Church issued a statement to the Utah Sentencing Commission stating that it does not oppose eliminating the firing squad as a means of execution in Utah. The statement from the Church of Latter Day Saints was required to clarify church doctrine that maintains justice is not done unless a murderer's blood is shed. The Church's statement will help aid efforts to eliminate firing squad executions. Of the 873 inmates executed since 1976, only two have been executed by firing squads, both in Utah. Recently, two death row inmates chose execution by means of firing squad rather than lethal injection. However, both inmates received a stay of execution in early June. In preparation for the executions, the Utah Corrections Department recruited law enforcement officers to volunteer for two five-person firing squads. A hood was to be placed over the condemned man's head and a target pinned over his heart. The executioners fire simultaneously from gun portals in a separate room. One of the five rifles contains a blank so that no one will know who fired the fatal shots. To read an article from the Washington Post, please visit: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28678-2003Sep4.html. Louisiana Man Sentenced to Death For Rape (September 1, 2003) In a decision that could reach the U.S. Supreme Court, Patrick O. Kennedy was sentenced to death last week in Louisiana for raping an 8-year-old girl. There has not been a person executed for rape since 1964 and no one convicted for a crime that did not involve murder has been executed since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. The state law under which Kennedy was sentenced, enacted in 1995, permits the death penalty for a rape of a child under the age of 12. Prosecutors in Louisiana have sought the death penalty in other rape cases, but Kennedy's case is the first where a death sentence was handed down. While a number of states and the federal government allow the death penalty for crimes other than murders, such as treason, aircraft hijacking, espionage, and kidnapping, only two states, Florida and Montana, have laws capital rape laws. In 1977, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Coker v. Georgia that the death penalty could not be imposed for the rape of an adult woman because such a punishment would be greatly disproportionate. In specifying ""the rape of an adult woman,"" the Court left open the question as to whether the state may execute an individual that rapes a child. If the sentence endures appellate challenges in state court, the U.S. Supreme Court is likely to grant review. To read an article by New York Times reporter Adam Liptak, please visit: http://www.fadp.org/news/NYtimes-20030831.htm. September/October Executions: · 9/8 Perry Austin (TX) STAY · 9/10 Larry Allen Hayes (TX) EXECUTED · 9/12 Henry Hunt (NC) EXECUTED · 9/24 Philip Workman (TN) STAY · 9/26 Joseph Bates (NC) TAKE ACTION · 10/3 Eddie Hartman (NC) TAKE ACTION · 10/20 John Clayton Smith (MO) TAKE ACTION For execution updates and alerts, please visit www.ncadp.org
Action Alerts:
Innocence Protection Act With the end of the first session of Congress rapidly approaching, the time in which to introduce a new Innocence Protection Act (IPA) is quickly running out. Urge your Members of Congress to tell their leaders that it's time to introduce and pass legislation that would expand access to post-conviction DNA testing and improve the quality of defense counsel in capital cases. To learn more and Send a free fax to your members of Congress, please visit: http://www.cjreform.org/grassroots Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act
On June 24, 2003, U.S. Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) introduced HR 2574, the Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act of 2003. This legislation, which is a companion bill to Senate legislation introduced by Senator Feingold (D-WI), will put an immediate halt to executions and forbid the imposition of the death penalty as a sentence for violations of federal law. Please contact your U.S. Representative today to urge him/her to co-sponsor and support this important legislation! Note: If your Congressional Representative is an original co-sponsor, you may not take this action.http://www.amnestyusa.org/exe.do?action=dp.actions. New Resources: Robert Johnson's Poetic Justice: Reflections on the Big House, the Death House, and the American Way of Justice. This is a book of exquisite poetry that deals with the American System of Justice and subjects such as: Crime and Punishment, Prison, Prejudice, Privilege, Execution, and Terror (under the heading, Carnage and Consequences). The poems offer a new perspective, and are always interesting and well crafted. To purchase a copy of this book, please visit: http://www.americanletters.org/catalogu.htm. "The Wrong Men: America's Epidemic of Wrongful Death Row Convictions" by Stanley Cohen is slated for release in October 2003. This book tells the story of how more than 100 innocent people found themselves on death row in the United States. Through an examination of eyewitness error, jailhouse snitches, racism, junk science, prosecutorial misconduct, and incompetent counsel, Cohen provides a behind-the-scenes look at the problems leading to wrongful convictions. He also captures the stories of those individuals whose dogged determination helped exonerate the innocent. Among the cases highlighted in this book are those of Anthony Porter, Randall Dale Adams, and Earl Washington. (Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2003) To learn more about Innocence and the Death Penalty, please visit: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=412&scid=6. New Death Penalty Moratorium Update From ABA. The most recent comprehensive report summarizing legislative, judicial, public policy, and other developments that have occurred since the American Bar Association's adoption of its death penalty moratorium resolution in February 1997 is now available. "Building Momentum: The American Bar Association Call for a Moratorium on Executions Takes Hold" covers activity from August 2001 to June 2003. It is the fourth edition of the ABA's moratorium activity update series. (ABA Death Penalty Moratorium Implementation Project, August 2003) To view the complete report, please visit: http://www.abanet.org/moratorium/reportsandlaw.html. ""Purposeful Discrimination in Capital Sentencing" by David V. Baker examines the issue of race and capital sentencing in the context of three U.S. Supreme Court death penalty decisions - Furman v. Georgia, Gregg v. Georgia, and McCleskey v. Kemp. After his review of practical strategies to improve the fairness of the death penalty process, Baker concludes that court efforts have failed to eliminate race as a strong predictor in death sentencing. (5 Journal of Law & Social Challenges 189, 2003). To learn more about Race and the Death Penalty, please visit: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=105&scid=5. For additional resources, please visit Death Penalty Information Center at: http://deathpenaltyinfo.org/getcat.php?cid=5.
Fiscal Responsibilites: How the Death Penalty Impacts State and Local Budgets
Short and easy to digest report on the cost of the death penalty, especially as it relates to state and local budget problems. Written by the Criminal Justice Reform and Education Fund. At the end of the report are listed additional resources on the cost arguments, including expert spokespersons.
http://justice.policy.net/proactive/newsroom/release.vtml?id=34981 Featured Events: September 26-August 12 Journey of Hope: Ohio http://www.journeyofhope.org/Ohio/. A 17-day tour of murder victim family members who oppose capital punishment, death row families, innocent persons freed from death row and other supporters who will travel across the state of Ohio to share their incredible messages of love, forgiveness and healing. Tour events include: public speaking, rallies, marches, concerts, tree plantings, media interviews, and other activities. October 9-11 Human Rights at Home: International Law in U.S. Courts. A national training conference sponsored by the ACLU National Headquarters at the Presidential Center, Atlanta, Georgia. The conference will familiarize lawyers and advocates with international human rights treaties, laws and, organizing strategies. For additional information, please contact Tanya Coke at 973-509-7443 or email tecoke@comcast.net. To register, please fill out a printable PDF form at /files/gen/13522res20030506.html. The registration fee is $100 if you register before August 29, $150 if you register after. October 10-12Amnesty International USA's National Weekend of Faith in Action on the Death Penalty. This event seeks to bring together two important approaches to social justice -- that of human rights and that of faith-based community action. This national observance weekend invites a diverse range of faith communities throughout the country to devote a weekend to reflect, discuss, and take action on abolishing the death penalty within a faith-based framework. Contact Kristin Houlé at 202-544-0200 ext. 496 or khoule@aiusa.org for more information, or visit: http://www.amnestyusa.org/abolish/faithinaction.html. October 11Student Death Penalty Conference and Rally in Harrisburg, PA. The conference is specifically for students and is being organized by Students Against the Death Penalty of the ACLU Capital Punishment Project. We expect youth from across PA and nearby states to attend. The keynote speakers are Former Illinois Governor George Ryan and death row exoneree Ray Krone. Immediately following the conference will be a rally at the steps of the State Capitol, which is open to students and non-students. For more information contact Morgan Macdonald, 410-303-7376, morgangmac@hotmail.com or to register: www.studentsagainstthedeathpenalty.org
October 13-17
Campaign to End the Death Penalty is organizing a Death Penalty Awareness Week from October 13-17. Different days will highlight different problems with the death penalty. October 14: Events surrounding issues of morality and innocence October 15: Inequality: racial, economic, geographic October 16: Cruel and Unusual Punishment/Methods of Executions/Juvenile Death Penalty October 17: Cost, Deterrence, Alternatives. To learn more about what events are already scheduled and where and/or to get involved, contact: Noreen@nodeathpenalty.org Please contact Josh Noble for additional information, feedback on this publication, or help getting involved. 
© 2003 American Civil Liberties Union Capital Punishment Project
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