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Tennessee's Use of Lethal Injection Chemical Blocks Public's First Amendment Right to Know, Says ACLU (06/08/2005)
NASHVILLE -- The public and the media have the First Amendment right to witness and gather accurate information about Tennessee's execution procedure, said the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee and the Middle Tennessee State University newspaper, Sidelines, in a supporting brief to a case challenging the state's method of lethal injection argued before the state supreme court today.

ACLU Says California's Use of Paralytic Drug During Executions is Unconstitutional (01/13/2005)
SAN FRANCISCO - The public and the media have the First Amendment right to meaningfully witness and gather accurate information about California's execution procedure, said the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California and Death Penalty Focus in a court brief filed today in the civil case challenging the state's method of lethal injection.

Kansas Supreme Court Strikes Down Death Penalty Law (12/21/2004)
WASHINGTON--The American Civil Liberties Union applauded a decision made today by the Kansas Supreme Court to strike down the state's death penalty law, making it the 14th state to ban capital punishment.

New ACLU Report Documents Harsh Conditions Faced by Women Living on Death Row (11/29/2004)
WASHINGTON - A new report released today by the American Civil Liberties Union -- the first-ever national survey of women currently on Death Row -- found that women who have been sentenced to death are often subjected to harsh living conditions, including being forced to live in virtual isolation, and many are sentenced for crimes that don't result in a death sentence for men.

NYCLU Hails New York Appeals Decision Invalidating State Death Penalty (06/24/2004)
NEW YORK -- The New York Civil Liberties Union today hailed a New York Court of Appeals decision that effectively invalidates the state's death penalty. In a 4-3 decision, the court ruled that the "deadlock" instruction given to juries improperly coerces them to vote for the death penalty.

ACLU of Oklahoma Calls on Governor to Follow Parole Board's Recommendation and Spare Life of Mexican National (05/12/2004)
OKLAHOMA CITY-The American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma was joined by a coalition of civil rights groups today in calling upon Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry to spare the life of Osvaldo Torres, a Mexican National scheduled to be executed on May 18. The groups held a rally on the steps of the state capitol in an effort to convince the governor to commute Torres' sentence to life imprisonment, following a recent recommendation for clemency from the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board.

High Court Halts Execution of Texas Death Row Prisoner, Saying Prosecutors Violated Ethical Duties (02/24/2004)
WASHINGTON - The United States Supreme Court today halted the scheduled execution of death row prisoner Delma Banks, Jr., saying that Banks was denied a fair trial 20 years ago when prosecutors withheld crucial exculpatory evidence from the defense.

ACLU of Massachusetts Decries Federal Imposition of Death Penalty Charge in Local Murder Case (12/23/2003)
BOSTON - The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts today decried the imposition of the federal death penalty in the case of Gary Sampson.

NYCLU Hails Appeals Court Decision Vacating Death Sentence in Second Case Under New Law (11/25/2003)
NEW YORK -- The New York Civil Liberties Union today hailed a decision from the New York Court of Appeals vacating the death sentence of the second person sentenced to death under New York's new death penalty law. The NYCLU had filed a friend-of-the-court brief calling for reversal of the death sentence and has been involved in several earlier successful challenges to the state's death penalty law, which was enacted in 1995.

Students Converge on Pennsylvania's Capitol to Protest the Death Penalty (10/10/2003)
HARRISBURG, PA--High school and college students will rally on the steps of the state capitol tomorrow to protest the death penalty, following a day of conference and workshops sponsored by the American Civil Liberties Union's Students Against the Death Penalty at Grace United Methodist Church. Keynote speakers are former Illinois Governor George Ryan, who commuted the sentences of all 167 Illinois death row inmates before leaving office in 2003; and Ray Krone, released from Arizona's death row in 2002 following ten years imprisonment.

ACLU Sues Ohio Officials to Expose Hidden Procedures in Execution of Death Row Inmates (09/25/2003)
CLEVELAND -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio today filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against state officials over the way in which executions are performed by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections.

Arbitrary and Capricious Application of Death Penalty Persists Three Decades After Furman v. Georgia (06/27/2003)
WASHINGTON-More than 30 years after the Supreme Court called for a temporary halt on executions in the landmark Furman v. Georgia decision, the death penalty is still being applied in an arbitrary, discriminatory and capricious manner, according to a report by the American Civil Liberties Union's Capital Punishment Project released today to coincide with this month's anniversary of the decision.

High Court Overturns Death Sentence of Man Due to Ineffective Assistance of Counsel (06/26/2003)
WASHINGTON-The American Civil Liberties Union's Capital Punishment Project today applauds the Justices of the Supreme Court for affirming the Sixth Amendment right to legal counsel that meets objective standards for competent representation.

Louisiana Man Becomes 108th Innocent Exonerated from Death Row (05/09/2003)
NEW ORLEANS- The release today of John Thompson, who spent over 16 years on Louisiana's death row for a crime he did not commit, should be a wake-up call for elected officials and state leaders all across this country.

ACLU Condemns Execution of Gary Leon Brown (04/24/2003)
WASHINGTON--With issues of emotional stability and basic fairness still unresolved, the American Civil Liberties Union along with the Alabama Prison Project today condemns the scheduled execution of Gary Leon Brown.

High School, College and Graduate Students Convene to Discuss Death Penalty and Push for Reforms (02/21/2003)
WASHINGTON - At a conference this Saturday, the Johns Hopkins University chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and other anti-death penalty advocates are bringing together high school, college and graduate students to take a close-up look at the death penalty in America and learn what they can do to ensure basic fairness and justice in the capital punishment system.

ACLU Responds to the Release of the University of Maryland's Death Penalty Study on the Impact of Race and Geography (01/07/2003)
WASHINGTON -- A new University of Maryland study about the disturbing impact of race and geography in Maryland's administration of the death penalty conclusively demonstrates why the state's moratorium should continue and other states should suspend executions as well.

ACLU of Eastern Missouri Asks Court to Make Public State's Death Penalty Protocol (11/22/2002)
ST. LOUIS -- The American Civil Liberties of Eastern Missouri today asked a district court judge to order the state's Department of Corrections to make public the procedures used for executing individuals sentenced to the death penalty.

Another Troubling Texas Execution: Statement by Diann Rust-Tierney, Director, ACLU Capital Punishment Project (08/27/2002)
WASHINGTON-Today's scheduled execution of juvenile offender, Toronto Patterson in Texas epitomizes that state's determination to proceed with an execution despite mounting concerns.

ACLU Challenges Arizona Law That Censors Anti-Death Penalty Web Sites (07/18/2002)
PHOENIX-Acting on behalf of anti-death penalty and other advocacy groups, the American Civil Liberties Union today filed a lawsuit in Arizona federal district court seeking to invalidate a state law that bans all information about Arizona prisoners from the global Internet.