Home : Death Penalty

Civil Rights and Church Groups Ask Montana Supreme Court for Right to Challenge Lethal Injections (08/10/2006)
HELENA, MT - The American Civil Liberties Union of Montana, Montana Association of Churches, Montana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Montana Catholic Conference, Murder Victims’ Families for Reconciliation, 11 legislators and two former justices today petitioned the state Supreme Court to allow them to challenge the pending execution of death row inmate David Dawson.

Montana Lawsuit Seeks Scrutiny of Lethal Injection Protocols (07/11/2006)
HELENA, MT -- Attorneys representing a broad array of interested parties today petitioned the Montana Supreme Court to bar execution by lethal injection until the protocols involved can be reviewed to be certain not to violate the United States Constitution’s Eighth Amendment prohibitions against cruel and unusual punishment.

Ohio ACLU Wins State Supreme Court Ruling on Death Penalty Eligibility (06/01/2006)
COLUMBUS, OH – The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio today welcomed a landmark ruling by the Ohio Supreme Court saying that a jury cannot discount the background of a defendant when it decides whether to use the death penalty. In the case of State v. Tenace, the Court for the first time reversed a death sentence based on the extraordinarily troubled life of the defendant.

ACLU Opposes Constitutionally Flawed Death Penalty Legislation, Proposed Changes Would Violate Eighth Amendment’s Protections (03/30/2006)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union signaled its opposition today to the Death Penalty Reform Act of 2006 (DPRA), which is being considered in the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. This bill would violate the Eighth Amendment by allowing for the execution of persons with mental retardation, and by making virtually every crime resulting in death and involving a firearm eligible for the death penalty.

ACLU Challenges Maryland’s Death Penalty (01/20/2006)
BALTIMORE – The American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland today called for an immediate halt to executions in the state. The lawsuit, filed in Baltimore City Circuit Court, says the regulations that govern the state’s administration of the death penalty violate the law.

ACLU Expands Capital Punishment Project (12/09/2005)
NEW YORK - In the wake of the 1,000th death penalty execution in the modern era, the American Civil Liberties Union today announced the hiring of John Holdridge as the new director of its Capital Punishment Project. The project is expanding its resources and programs to now include litigation in addition to public education as part of the ACLU’s longstanding effort to end the death penalty in the United States.

Virginia Governor Grants Death Row Inmate Clemency, Commutes Sentence to Life in Prison (11/29/2005)
RICHMOND, VA -- Governor Mark Warner today granted clemency to Robin Lovitt and commuted his sentence to life in prison without the possibility for parole. Lovitt was scheduled to die tomorrow evening by lethal injection, and would have been the 1,000th execution in the United States since the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976.

New Report Finds Fatal Flaws in Alabama's Death Penalty (10/20/2005)
MONTGOMERY, AL - According to a major new report, structural and procedural flaws in Alabama's criminal justice system stack the deck against fair trials and appropriate sentencing for capital defendants. The report, released today by the American Civil Liberties Union, details unfair and discriminatory practices in the state's administration of the death penalty.

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 Welcomes Landmark Supreme Court Ruling Striking Down Death Penalty for Juveniles (03/01/2005)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union welcomes today's decision finally declaring the execution of juveniles in the United States unconstitutional.

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.