Criminal Law

"People Who are Well Represented at Trial do not Get the Death Penalty."

Posted on April 12, 2008
Two pieces addressing racial and economic inequality, legal representationand the death penalty:*Printed in Counterpunch: Opening remarks in the Senate's subcommittee onthe Constitution Hearing on "The Adequacy of Representation in CapitalCases"*New Hampshire Public Radio: Two Very Different Death Penalty Defendants"(To listen to the piece, go to http://www...

Put an end to Mississippi autopsy misconduct

Posted on April 12, 2008
Put an end to Mississippi autopsy misconduct Posted: April 8, 2008 3:50 pmThe Innocence Project and the Mississippi Innocence Project today formally asked officials to revoke the medical license of Dr. Steven Hayne, whose fraud and misconduct has led to an unknown number of wrongful convictions...

Two Very Different Death Penalty Defendants

Posted on April 11, 2008
http://www.nhpr.org/node/15776Two Very Different Death Penalty DefendantsBy Dan Gorenstein on Thursday, April 10, 2008.The two defendants in New Hampshire facing the death penalty couldn¹t bemore different.There¹s John Brooks, a white millionaire who¹s charged with plotting andhiring men to kill an associate...

Medellín Case Has Huge Implications Abroad

Posted on April 11, 2008
Medellín Case Has Huge Implications AbroadApril 9, 2008; Page A13 Your March 26 editorial "International Law, and Domestic Order," correctly recognizes that the importance of the recent Supreme Court decision in Medellín v. Texas is not related to the death penalty, but instead on the relationship between U...

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Kentucky Lethal Injection Procedure Released

Posted on April 11, 2008
Kentucky Lethal Injection Procedure Released The redacted procedure, in Adobe .pdf format is here. The state's justification for secrecy is here. The Louisville Courier-Journal reports, "Kentucky releases rules for executions."Kentucky's once secret protocol for executing inmates by lethal injection describes in chilling detail what to do if an execution goes bad, and even spells out measures to revive the condemned if there is a last-minute stay...

Suspend death penalty, decriminalize misdemeanors

Posted on April 11, 2008
Suspend death penalty, decriminalize misdemeanors 2 SUGGESTIONS FOR FLORIDA COURTS TO REDUCE COSTS http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/letters/orl-myword11b08apr11,0,5383492.story Robert Wesley April 11, 2008 News of the past few weeks includes reports of budget cuts for hospitals, nursing homes and schools...

Kentucky DOC justification for secrecy

Posted on April 11, 2008
http://www.floridasupport.us/Baze/DOC_justification_for_keeping_protocol_portion_under_seal.source.prod_affiliate.79.pdf

Kentucky releases rules for executions----Supreme Court orders Kentucky to release policy

Posted on April 11, 2008
http://www.floridasupport.us/Baze/Baze_v__Rees_JA_Vol__IV_redacted_version_filed_with_SCOTUS.source.prod_affiliate.79.pdfKentucky releases rules for executions----Supreme Court orders Kentucky torelease policyKentucky's once secret protocol for executing inmates by lethal injectiondescribes in chilling detail what to do if an execution goes bad, and evenspells out measures to revive the condemned if there is a last-minutestay...

Doctor says prisoners die worse than dogs

Posted on April 08, 2008
AP via Google NewsCleveland Plain DealerLorain Chronicle-Telegram- - - - -http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jUdzDJsVKYD8hDRPuIJ48w4d2qEQD8VTKRB02Tuesday, April 08, 2008Hearing Continues Over Lethal InjectionBy JOE MILICIA - 4 hours agoELYRIA, Ohio (AP) -- Ohio's lethal injection method was assailed asunfit foreven household pets byan anesthesiologist testifying in a case challenging theconstitutionality ofthe procedure...

Ohio?s Use of Lethal Injection is Unconstitutional, Says ACLU

Posted on April 08, 2008
04.03.08 Ohio?s Use of Lethal Injection is Unconstitutional, Says ACLU Media Advisory For immediate release CLEVELAND- The ACLU of Ohio is challenging Ohio?s administration of lethal injection as illegal and unconstitutional in the Lorain County Court of Common Pleas...

Serial killer sues state on execution method

Posted on April 08, 2008
Serial killer sues state on execution method Tuesday, April 08, 2008 STAN DIELNews staff writer Alabama's new execution procedure, which critics have blasted as a thinly veiled attempt to get around a federal moratorium on the death penalty, still amounts to cruel and unusual punishment, a Death Row inmate argues in a lawsuit against the state...

Doctor: Ohio's Lethal Injection Inhumane

Posted on April 08, 2008
Doctor: Ohio's Lethal Injection InhumaneApr 7, 6:50 PM (ET)By JOE MILICIA http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080407/D8VTABNG0.htmlELYRIA, Ohio (AP) - An anesthesiologist testified Monday that Ohio's lethal injection procedure isn't appropriate for dogs or cats, let alone humans...

Judge orders death row inmate Paul House released

Posted on April 08, 2008
Judge orders death row inmate Paul House releasedFreedom scheduled after hearing May 28BY CHRIS ECHEGARAY ? STAFF WRITER ? APRIL 8, 2008The decades-long court saga of convicted rapist and killer Paul Housetook a dramatic turn Monday when a federal judge ordered thecondemned man's release from prison...

Race plays key role in death-row cases, says speaker

Posted on April 08, 2008
ALABAMA:Race plays key role in death-row cases, says speakerMore often than not, race of the victim and the defendant determineswhich criminals land on death row in Alabama, death penalty opponent BryanStevenson told an audience at Auburn Montgomery on Sunday...

Number of Innocents on Death Row Mandate Moratorium

Posted on April 08, 2008
John Holdridge http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-holdridge/number-of-innocents-on-de_b_95524.htmlNumber of Innocents on Death Row Mandate Moratorium Posted April 7, 2008 | 06:57 PM (EST) Support for the death penalty in the U.S. is at its lowest point in many years...

Head Strong: Evidence the Pa. death penalty is punishment existing in name

Posted on April 06, 2008
PENNSYLVANIA:Head Strong: Evidence the Pa. death penalty is punishment existing in nameonlyMaureen Faulkner called me in a panic.She'd just retrieved a voice mail from Philadelphia Assistant DistrictAttorney Hugh Burns, alerting her to a federal appellate decisionconcerning the man who a jury said murdered her husband...

Death penalty no joke to judge

Posted on April 06, 2008
Death penalty no joke to judgeBrad Dicken | The Chronicle-Telegram ELYRIA ? Darth Vader won?t be making an appearance next week when county Common Pleas Judge James Burge holds hearings on the constitutionality of the state?s lethal injection process...

A successor to Greenhouse

Posted on April 06, 2008
A successor to Greenhouse Friday, April 4th, 2008 3:47 pm | Lyle Denniston The New York Times indicated on Friday that its new Supreme Court reporter will be Adam Liptak, succeeding Linda Greenhouse, who is headed for an academic appointment at Yale Law School...

Burge says he can offer fair hearing in death case

Posted on April 06, 2008
Burge says he can offer fair hearing in death case By MATT SUMAN, Morning Journal Writer04/04/2008 ELYRIA - Lorain County Common Pleas Judge James Burge said despite his efforts to save the life of the last inmate executed in Ohio, he can conduct a fair hearing for two death penalty defendants challenging Ohio's method of lethal injection...

With injustice of AEDPA, presidential candidates must discuss death penalty

Posted on March 28, 2008
With injustice of AEDPA, presidential candidates must discuss death penalty http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/24072 To the Editor: The AEDPA law mentioned in Ben Jones? column ?Still, candidates avoid death-penalty debate? (3/26) is affecting my father, Alabama death row inmate, Thomas Arthur Z-427...

Ruling: Bush can't order hearing for condemned Mexican

Posted on March 26, 2008
SUPREME COURT | DEATH PENALTY CASE Ruling: Bush can't order hearing for condemned Mexican The Supreme Court sided with Texas against President Bush in denying an appeal for a Mexican national who is on Death Row in Texas. Posted on Wed, Mar. 26, 2008 h1:first')...

Still, candidates avoid death-penalty debate

Posted on March 26, 2008
Still, candidates avoid death-penalty debateGuest ColumnistPublished Wednesday, March 26, 2008As contenders for the presidency tailor their campaigns to addresspredominately middle-class concerns ? health care, the economy, Iraq? they are giving short shrift to other issues that, though pressing,fail to capture the attention of their primary demographic...

Nebraska retains the death penalty

Posted on March 26, 2008
Nebraska retains the death penalty By ANNA JO BRATTONAssociated Press Writer function PopupPic(sPicURL, sHeight, sWidth) { window.open( "http://media.kansascity.com/static/popup.html?"+sPicURL, "", "resizable=1,HEIGHT=" +sHeight+ ",WIDTH=" +sWidth); } Nebraska Legislature Nebraska lawmakers rejected an attempt to repeal the death penalty on Tuesday, a month after courts left the state with no way to execute its killers...

Death penalty debate coming back to the Capitol

Posted on March 24, 2008
Death penalty debate coming back to the Capitol <script language="'JavaScript1.1'">if (document.layers) {document.write('<scr' language="JavaScript1...

Vigil against capital punishment is today

Posted on March 24, 2008
Vigil against capital punishment is today staff reports ? Argus Leader ? March 21, 2008The 11th annual Good Friday vigil against the death penalty is set for noon to 1 p.m. today at the state penitentiary.The event, hosted by the South Dakota Peace and Justice Center, will be near the flagpole at the entrance to the Jamison Annex, just north of the main prison...

No urgency this time on executions

Posted on March 24, 2008
No urgency this time on executions By: Leslie Reed, Midlands News Service 03/24/2008 Updated 03/24/2008 11:31:41 AM EDT LINCOLN -- The Nebraska Supreme Court last month decided to pull the plug on the electric chair. This week, the Legislature will consider whether to close the execution chamber for good...

Activist walks to abolish death penalty

Posted on March 24, 2008
Activist walks to abolish death penalty katia-r Updated: 2008-03-21 23:10:59-06 Andre Latallade, hip-hop artist and prison rights activist, also known as Capital-X, will walk from New Jersey to Texas to advocate for the abolishment of capital punishment in the US...

Are legislators up to the test?

Posted on March 24, 2008
Are legislators up to the test? Monday, March 24, 2008 THE ISSUE: Alabama is one of only a handful of states without a law to help wrongly convicted people get access to DNA testing. Our Legislature should change that. People convicted of crimes before DNA science had been developed ought to have access to testing now if it could prove their innocence...

HOW LETHAL INJECTION REFORM CONSTITUTES IMPERMISSIBLE RESEARCH ON PRISONERS

Posted on March 24, 2008
http://www.floridasupport.us/Baze/impermissibleresearch.htmhttp://www.floridasupport.us/Baze/2008.shaw.pdfHOW LETHAL INJECTION REFORM CONSTITUTES IMPERMISSIBLE RESEARCH ON PRISONERS Seema Shah** This essay exposes how recent attempts at lethal injection reform have involved unethical and illegal research on prisoners...

Baze v. Rees

Posted on March 23, 2008
Baze v. Rees http://www.law.berkeley.edu/clinics/dpclinic/LethalInjection/Public/briefs.html Supreme Court Briefs Party Briefs Brief for Petitioners Brief for Respondents Reply Brief for Petitioners Amicus Briefs Amicus Briefs Filed in Support of Petitioners Brief for Michael Morales, Michael Taylor, et al...

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