Home : Death Penalty

Texas Resumes Brisk Death Penalty Schedule, Including Execution of Mentally Retarded Man (11/14/2000)
WASHINGTON--Following a welcome hiatus during his presidential campaign, tonight Texas Gov. George W. Bush is resuming his brisk execution schedule with the lethal injection of Texas inmate Stacey Lawton, followed by two executions expected to take place on Wednesday and Thursday of this week.

ACLU Says Moratorium, Not 'More Study' Needed to Address Bias in Federal Death Penalty Sentencing (09/13/2000)
WASHINGTON - The Department of Justice's findings from its review of the federal death penalty confirms what the American Civil Liberties Union and other death penalty opponents have long known: that there is serious bias in the application of the death penalty at the federal level.

ACLU Report Finds Washington State's Death Penalty System Fundamentally Unfair (08/04/2000)
SEATTLE -- Calling for the state to halt executions, the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington today released a report revealing that Washington's death penalty system is fundamentally flawed and unfair.

ACLU Calls on Congress to Address Broad Issues Affecting Fairness of Death Penalty (07/25/2000)
Although the situation that Congress addressed today is remote at best --- there has never been a case of a pregnant prisoner facing execution -- today's vote lays the groundwork for Congress to address the more disturbing issues raised by capital punishment. 

System May Be Slowing Appeals (07/17/2000)
TALLAHASSEE, FL --Two years after the Florida Legislature implemented a system to give death penalty cases to private defense attorneys, problems are arising that suggest the effort could delay rather than streamline the death penalty process, the St. Petersburg Times reported today.

Ohio Bill Seeks Moratorium (07/13/2000)
COLUMBUS, OH -- Troubled by the increasing number of innocent people on death rows across the United States, a group of state lawmakers are attempting to put a moratorium on capital punishment in Ohio.

Drop in Minorities' Support for Death Penalty (07/11/2000)
A recent Zogby International poll shows that African-American and Hispanic support for the death penalty in particularly heinous crimes has dropped in the past few months.

Clinton to Stay Execution of Federal Prisoner (07/10/2000)
WASHINGTON DC - The first federal execution in nearly four decades, scheduled for August 5, will be postponed by President Clinton so that the condemned man can apply for clemency under pending new guidelines. On Friday, White House spokesman Jake Siewert told reporters that Clinton will stay the upcoming execution of Juan Raul Garza, the first federal execution since 1963, so that the president will have time to review new Justice Department clemency guidelines that are expected to be released within the next week.

Texas Board's Failure to Halt Execution Of Gary Graham is Deplorable, ACLU Says (06/22/2000)
WASHINGTON -- The American Civil Liberties Union deplores the decision of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to allow the execution of Gary Graham to go forward despite powerful evidence of his innocence.