Criminal Law

Families of victims reject death penalty

Posted on January 07, 2008
Not every victims' family wants the offender executed. All too often, the needs of the victims' families are ignored. This factor was taken into consideration when New Jersey abolished the death penalty.read more | digg storyDefenders of the death penalty have frequently invoked the image that every victims' families want to see the offender executed...

15th Dallas County Inmate Since 2001 Is Freed by DNA

Posted on January 04, 2008
Charles Chatman was released after nearly 27 years in prison after a DNA sample recently taken from him did not match the profile from a rape victim's vaginal swab of 1981.read more | digg storyThe initial reaction to this story may be that the system is so unreliable that reformation is needed immediately...

Death Penalty Walking

Posted on January 03, 2008
The death penalty costs millions, but is only successful in a handful of cases. After hundreds of years of application and thousands of executions, why can't we get it right? Perhaps because the death penalty can never work as intended?read more | digg storyStudies have consistently shown that seeking and imposing a death sentence is 2-5 times greater than the cost of a life sentence without parole...

Death row inmate for 32 years gets 4th sentencing hearing

Posted on January 03, 2008
The longest serving death row inmate in Texas has received his fourth sentencing hearing. This case is an example of the extreme failure rate of the capital sentencing system in the U.S.read more | digg storyDoes anyone reading this story think that the money expended in the case a wise investment? Is it fair to the victims' family and to the defendant (and his family)? Most reasonable individuals can see that the goals of retribution and deterrence are undermined by cases such as this one...

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Falling out of love with the death penalty

Posted on January 01, 2008
Though a majority of Americans back capital punishment, surveys find growing unease over it.read more | digg storyThis statement is accurate, to a point. As I have repeatedly pointed out, when respondents are asked the question, "Do you favor or oppose the death penalty for convicted murderers?" a majority respond that they support the death penalty...

Chipping at tough crack sentencing

Posted on December 30, 2007
Laws were ineffective and the drug's ravages overblown, experts say.read more | digg storyWe can learn a great deal about a society by studying "social artifacts" such as its legal code and its practices. The so-called "war on drugs" in U.S. society is a classic example...

Preventing AIDS Prevention

Posted on December 28, 2007
Congress and President Bush should act to eliminate the law that prohibits the use of federal funds for needle-exchange programs in the United States or abroad.read more | digg storyThis is a case where ideology trumps research. We would rather have higher rates of transmission of disease, greater expense treating the disease after the fact, and more human suffering rather than appear to be "soft on crime...

State's prison budget soars - Los Angeles Times

Posted on December 26, 2007
Court orders and ballot measures like Jessica's Law have helped fuel spending, which has climbed 79% since '03.read more | digg storyThe check is due! We have been incarcerating more people for a longer period of time and now we have to pay for that luxury...

A young Icelandic woman's recent experience visiting USA

Posted on December 25, 2007
The story of Eva Ósk Arnardóttir: During the last twenty-four hours I have probably experienced the greatest humiliation to which I have ever been subjected. During these last twenty-four hours I have been handcuffed and chained, denied the chance to sleep, been without food and drink and been confined to a place without anyone knowing my whereabouts, imprisoned...

Death Penalty in Review

Posted on December 23, 2007
IN MANY ways 2007 was a remarkable year in the history of the death penalty. Forty-two people were executed, the fewest since 1994 and down from last year's 53. According to a year-end report by the Death Penalty Information Center, fewer prisoners were sentenced to death in 2007 than in any year...

Milestone in Death Penalty Fight, but Still a Way to Go

Posted on December 22, 2007
Religious opponents of capital punishment were heartened by a United Nations resolution against the death penalty that passed on Tuesday. read more | digg story

In Ending Executions, Soul Searching

Posted on December 22, 2007
For many New Jersey lawmakers, the change of heart on the topic of the death penalty was something of a spiritual eureka moment.read more | digg story

Death penalty issues linger in Georgia

Posted on December 22, 2007
It is time to reinstate proportionality review. We know that sentencing someone to death is just as capricious and arbitrary today as it was prior to the Furman decision in 1972.read more | digg story

New Jersey Abolishes Death Penalty

Posted on December 17, 2007
New Jersey became the first state to abolish capital punishment since the U.S. Supreme Court authorized its use in 1976. After reviewing a report produced by a commission, elected officials concluded that the death penalty was a failed policy.read more | digg storyIf there is a poster child for failed policies, the death penalty is it...

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