Death Penalty Update (3/12/2004)
News
1. Malvo, Muhammad Sentenced for Shootings
2. U.S. Soldier To Face Death Penalty
3. Two States Ban Death Penalty For Juvenile Offenders
4. March 1st Marks International Death Penalty Abolition Day
Upcoming Executions Action Alerts
1. Stop the Execution of Huang Thanh Le in Oklahoma Legislative Update
1. Federal
a) Urge Congress To Oppose Overreaching and Punitive Crime Laws
b) Innocence Protection Act
c) Support the Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act
2. State a) New Hampshire Juvenile Death Penalty Repeal
b) PA - Support A Moratorium On Executions New Resources
1. ""Evolving Standards Of Decency"" Resource Kit
2. Arbitrariness and Racial Disparities in Death Sentencing
3. Debating the Death Penalty
Featured Events 1. The Exonerated 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 <mailto:jnoble@dcaclu.org>, and typing ""Death Penalty Update"" in the subject line. News Malvo, Muhammad Sentenced For Shootings
(March 10, 2004)
John Allen Muhammad, convicted for murder last year in connection with the 2002 Washington, DC area sniper slayings, was formally sentenced to death Tuesday. Judge LeRoy F. Millette Jr. professed that there was overwhelming evidence of Muhammad's guilt and imposed the sentence recommend by jurors in Muhammad's trial last fall. Muhammad's attorneys argued at trial that there was no evidence that he shot or killed anyone. Lee Boyd Malvo, Muhammad's accomplice in the sniper killings, was formally sentenced to life in prison without parole. In December, jurors rejected prosecutors' call for a death sentence and recommended that Malvo receive life without parole. Malvo admitted to taking part in the shootings, but his lawyers argued that he was brainwashed by Muhammad. In a poignant delivery, defense attorney Craig S. Cooley argued at trial that, ""Children are not born evil, and when they commit evil acts, you can almost always trace those acts to the influences and acts that have been performed against them. And almost always those are acts and influences that precede any transgression by that child. As are we all, Lee is a product of his environment."" Although Muhammad was sentenced to death and Malvo to life without parole, prosecutors in Virginia or other jurisdictions will almost certainly try the Muhammad and Malvo they are accused of having committed. Six of their supposed victims were killed in Maryland. Muhammad and Malvo are also wanted for murders that they allegedly committed in Alabama and Louisiana prior to the 2002 Washington, DC area shootings. U.S. Solider To Face Death Penalty If Convicted (March 5, 2004) An Army sergeant accused of a grenade attack that killed two fellow officers last year in Kuwait will face the death penalty if convicted. Sgt. Hasan K. Akbar of the 101st Airborne Division has been charged with two counts of premeditated murder and three counts of attempted premeditated murder for the grenade attack. No date has been set for the trial; however, it will likely be scheduled this summer at Fort Bragg, where the 18th Airborne Corps headquarters is located. The military death penalty is rare; the last military execution occurred on April 13, 1961 when U.S. Army Private John A. Bennett was hanged after being convicted of rape and attempted murder. 135 people have been executed by the U.S. Military since 1916. There are currently seven inmates on the military's death row. Learn More About the U.S. Military Death Penalty <http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=180&scid=32>
Two States Ban Death Penalty For Juvenile Offenders (March 4, 2004) Governors from South Dakota and Wyoming have signed legislation forbidding the execution of juvenile offenders. While both states had the juvenile death penalty on its books, neither state has ever executed a juvenile offender nor were there juvenile offenders on its death row. Similar efforts (See Legislative Section) to ban the juvenile death penalty are underway in New Hampshire, Florida and Delaware. The juvenile death penalty has become increasingly unpopular in the United States. According to a December 2003 Harris Poll 69 percent of the people polled opposed the death penalty for juveniles; only 26 percent supported the execution of juvenile offenders. Twenty-nine states, including twelve that do not impose the death penalty, and the federal government prohibit the execution of juvenile offenders. Of the 21 states that execute juvenile offenders, 14 states allow 16 year olds to receive death sentences, and the remaining 5 permit the execution of 17 year olds. The Supreme Court is scheduled to rule on the constitutionality of the juvenile death penalty later this year in Roper v. Simmons. Read More About the Juvenile Death Penalty </capital/juv/10421pub20040511.html> See DPIC's 'Roper v. Simmons' Page <http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?scid=38&did=885> March 1st Marks International Death Penalty Abolition Day (March 1, 2004) March 1, International Death Penalty Abolition Day, marks the anniversary of the day in 1847 when the state of Michigan became the first English-speaking territory in the world to abolish capital punishment. As one of the first acts following conferral of statehood on Michigan, the state legislature abolished the death penalty for all crimes except treason. International Death Penalty Abolition Day is celebrated around the nation as a day to remember the victims of violent crime and their survivors, those awaiting execution and those killed by state-sanctioned violence, and for education and action for alternatives to the death penalty. Since Michigan abolished the death penalty in 1847, 11 states along with the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have followed its lead. Learn About the History of International Abolition Day <http://www.cuadp.org/abolitionday.html>
Upcoming Executions MARCH 03/11/04 PA Kenneth Miller - Stayed
03/11/04 TN Olen Hutchison - Stayed
03/15/04 KY Donald Herb Johnson - Stay Likely 03/18/04 VA Brian Cherrix 03/19/04 SC David Clayton Hill - Stayed 03/23/04 OK Hung Thanh Le - Foreign National 03/26/04 NV Lawrence Colwell - Abandoned Appeals 03/30/04 OH William Wickline 03/30/04 TX Edward Capetillo - Juvenile - Stayed 03/31/04 VA Dennis Orbe APRIL 04/13/04 TX Michael Rosales 04/29/04 TX Anzel Jones - Juvenile - Stayed NCADP Execution Alerts <http://www.ncadp.org/execution_alerts.html>
Action Alerts The Vietnamese-American Community, the ACLU, and many others want the March 23 execution of Huang Thanh Le commuted. These groups believe that Le suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from his life in Vietnam and escaping through Cambodia before becoming a refugee in the United States. In 1995, Le was convicted for the murder of Hai Hong Nguyeen. At his original trial, Le's attorney did not introduce Le's PTSD, which might have led to a lesser sentence. Although Oklahoma's Pardon and Parole Board unanimously recommended the commutation of Le's sentence to life, Governor Brad Henry rejected the recommendation. Despite his pre-election promise to support a moratorium on executions, Henry has ignored three recommendations for clemency from the Pardon and Parole Board. Take Action To Stop The Execution Of Huang Thanh Le <http://capwiz.com/ncadp/issues/alert/?alertid=4532051> Action Alerts From the ACLU <http://www.aclu.org/Focus.cfm?ContentStyle=2&num=5>
Legislative Update Federal Legislation Urge Congress To Oppose Overreaching and Punitive Crime Laws Less than 18 months after the Senate passed rational and balanced federal juvenile justice legislation, two Senators have introduced a new punitive bill that would expand the use of the death penalty and create new ill-defined crimes. Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) have introduced the Gang Prevention and Effective Deterrence Act of 2003 (S. 1735 <http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d108:s.01735:>), a measure that includes dangerous provisions that would expand the use of the death penalty to additional crimes and create additional federal ""gang"" crimes that lack clear definition. Under this proposed legislation, people could be convicted and sentenced to death for ill-defined illegal ""participation"" in a ""gang,"" which could be as few as three people. The law's loose definitions and expansion of the death penalty would increase the probability that people are wrongly convicted and possibly even executed. Take Action! Let your Senator know that expanding the death penalty and creating new ill-defined crimes is neither rational nor fair. ClickHereToSendAFreeFax <""> Innocence Protection Act On October 1, bipartisan members of both the House and Senate introduced an Omnibus Bill called ""the Advancing Justice Through DNA Technology Act"". Title III of the bill contains a revised version of the Innocence Protection Act that was introduced in the 107th Congress. This version of the IPA would, among other things, set up a process for federal prisoners who meet the standards in the bill to obtain access to DNA testing and obtain relief if exonerated by the DNA results. Title III would also encourage states to set up similar mechanisms and provide funding to local prosecutors and defense lawyers to improve the quality of representation in death penalty cases. Other provisions of the Omnibus bill would, however, greatly expand the categories of individuals at the federal and state level whose DNA information could be stored in the national Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). Current law permits DNA information for those convicted of violent federal crimes and those convicted of state felonies to be stored. This new measure would extend the reach of CODIS to those convicted of additional federal crimes, those convicted of any state offense and any other offense for which DNA information has been collected under state law or practice-going well beyond those who have been convicted of committing a crime. Another provision would indefinitely toll the statute of limitations for federal felonies so that it does not begin to run until the government implicates the individual by means of DNA testing. This provision raises a number of serious due process concerns stemming from the possibility of indictments being handed down decades after a crime occurred. The House of Representatives has already passed the Advancing Justice Through DNA Testing Act. IPA supporters are working toward Senate action. Support the Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act On June 24, 2003, U.S. Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) introduced H.R. 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, please thank him or her instead.
State Legislation New Hampshire Juvenile Death Penalty Repeal Effort Gaining Momentum New Hampshire is one of a handful of states that has the juvenile death penalty on its books, but has no juvenile offenders on its death row nor has ever executed a juvenile offender. New Hampshire has seen significant progress over the last week on bills that would raise the minimum age for the death penalty from 17 to 18 and thus eliminate the death penalty for juvenile offenders. New Hampshire residents/constituents of your organizations from New Hampshire should contact their legislator and urge them to support SB 513: <http://capwiz.com/ncadp/issues/bills/?bill=5032741>
PA: Pennsylvania Residents: Support a Moratorium on Executions in Pennsylvania Citizens in Pennsylvania showed their support for a statewide moratorium on executions during Moratorium Week 2004, which ended on March 4th. The governor received hundreds of phone calls and demonstrations, debates and other events were held throughout the state in protest of the state's capital punishment policy. During his campaign for governor, Ed Rendell -- a former district attorney and death penalty proponent -- stated that he would support a temporary freeze on executions if there was compelling evidence of errors and unfairness in the system. On March 4, 2003, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Committee on Racial and Gender Bias in the Justice System released a report recommending an immediate moratorium on executions, citing evidence of racial bias and the failure of Pennsylvania to ensure competent representation for indigent defendants. Gov. Rendell has since stated repeatedly that he has seen no compelling evidence of problems with Pennsylvania's death penalty system. The exoneration of death row prisoner Nicholas Yarris on December 9, 2003, is one of the most significant developments in the history of the death penalty in Pennsylvania. After spending more than two decades on death row for a crime he did not commit, Yarris joins Jay Smith, Neil Ferber, William Nieves, Hank Kimbell, and Fred Thomas (who died on death row after having his conviction dismissed while prosecutors stalled with appeals) - innocent men who spent a combined total of nearly 50 years on Pennsylvania's death row before they were finally exonerated. Pennsylvania has now exonerated twice as many death row prisoners (6) as it has executed (3) since the reinstatement of the death penalty. Take Action! Urge Governor Rendell to declare a temporary freeze on executions in Pennsylvania until these apparent problems with the death penalty are resolved. Click here to send a fax to Governor Rendell <https://ssl.capwiz.com/aclu/mail/compose/?opt-out=0&target=GV&state=PA&qstate=PA&mailid.1=4478026&client_id.1=aclu&select_message=2&mailid.2=4470531&client_id.2=aclu> New Resources ""Evolving Standards of Decency"" Resource Kit The Criminal Justice Reform Education Fund and the American Bar Association Juvenile Justice Center have created a resource kit that provides a comprehensive overview of the juvenile death penalty. The "Evolving Standards of Decency" Resource Kit includes links that provide more information on the juvenile death penalty, including an overview of the juvenile death penalty, facts and figures, the latest science, and national and international policy statements. ViewTheResourceKit <http://justice.policy.net/proactive/newsroom/release.vtml?id=35841&PROACTIVE_ID=cecfc6cfcbc6cfc9cbc5cecfcfcfc5cececbcecbcdc8cbcdcac5cf> Arbitrariness and Racial Disparities in Death Sentencing (DPIC) In a recent study examining death-sentencing trends around the country, researchers reported significant differences between the rates at which black defendants who kill white victims are sentenced to death, as compared to the rate at which black defendants who kill black victims are sentenced to death. In every one of the seven states for which data was available, blacks who kill whites were far more likely to receive a death sentence than blacks who killed blacks. (Blume, T. Eisenberg, & M. Wells, "Explaining Death Row's Population and Racial Composition," 1 Journal of Empirical Legal Studies 165, 197). Learn More About Race and the Death Penalty <http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=105&scid=5> Debating the Death Penalty (Book Description) When news breaks that a convicted murderer, released from prison, has killed again, or that an innocent person has escaped the death chamber in light of new DNA evidence, arguments about capital punishment inevitably heat up. Few controversies continue to stir as much emotion as this one, and public confusion is often the result. This volume brings together seven experts--judges, lawyers, prosecutors, and philosophers--to debate the death penalty in a spirit of open inquiry and civil discussion. Here, as the contributors present their reasons for or against capital punishment, the multiple facets of the issue are revealed in clear and thought-provoking detail?By representing the viewpoints of experts who face the vexing questions about capital punishment on a daily basis, Debating the Death Penalty makes a vital contribution to a more nuanced understanding of the moral and legal problems underlying this controversy. Purchase'DebatingtheDeathPenalty' <http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0195169832/qid=1078498504//ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/102-4444547-6109736?v=glance&s=books&n=507846> VisitDPICForMoreResources <http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/getcat.php?cid=5>
Upcoming Events Ongoing, Nationwide ""The Exonerated"" - New York City shows are temporarily cancelled. They might resume in May. National Tour Stops coming up in: 3/25-3/28 Atlanta/Naples Ferst Center/Naples Philharmonic 3/30-4/4 Orlando Bob Carr 4/6-4/11 Minneapolis State Theatre See the Itinerary for the National Tour </capital/general/10397res20041116.html> Read More About 'The Exonerated' <http://www.45bleecker.com/>
The events calendars can also be viewed at: </capital/general/10397res20041116.html>.
|
