The StandDown Texas Project

More From Gallup on the 2014 Polling

Gallup posts, "Americans: 'Eye for an Eye' Top Reason for Death Penalty," is by Art Swift.

Americans who favor the death penalty most often cite "an eye for an eye" as the reason they hold their position, with 35% mentioning it. "Save taxpayers money" and "they deserve it" tie as the second-most-popular reasons Americans volunteer in this open-ended measure, at 14% each.

And:

While a majority of Americans tilt in favor of the death penalty, the one in three Americans who oppose it also have a diversity of views as to why the ultimate penalty should not be used. "Wrong to take a life" has been the top reason for opposing it since 1991, by comfortable margins.

"The Trend Line: Five Key Findings on the Death Penalty in America," is a video report from Gallup on the poll findings.

Earlier coverage of this year's Gallup polling on capital punishment attitudes begins at the link.

Historical tracking of public opinion on the death penalty by Gallup and last year's Gallup Poll are also available.

Related posts are in the public opinon polling category index.

Just Mercy

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption is by Bryan Stevenson, and it's getting a lot of attention.  He's the founding director of the Alabama-based Equal Justice Initiative. 

A multi-city book tour kicks off next week at Washington, DC's legendary Politics & Prose.  You can order a signed book, and they will be happy to mail it to you after the event.

The New York Times OpEd columnist Nicholas Kristof writes, "When Whites Just Don’t Get It, Part 3."  Here's the beginning of this must-read:

SOME white Americans may be surprised to hear Archbishop Desmond Tutu describe Bryan Stevenson, an African-American lawyer fighting for racial justice, as “America’s young Nelson Mandela.”

Huh? Why do we need a Mandela over here? We’ve made so much progress on race over 50 years! And who is this guy Stevenson, anyway?

Yet Archbishop Tutu is right. Even after remarkable gains in civil rights, including the election of a black president, the United States remains a profoundly unequal society — and nowhere is justice more elusive than in our justice system.

When I was born in 1959, the hospital in which I arrived had separate floors for black babies and white babies, and it was then illegal for blacks and whites to marry in many states. So progress has been enormous, and America today is nothing like the apartheid South Africa that imprisoned Mandela. But there’s also a risk that that progress distracts us from the profound and persistent inequality that remains.

 Vanity Fair also takes note of the book.  It leads the montly Hot Type column in the November issue.

America the complicated. Defense lawyers down South are too often compared to Atticus Finch, but Bryan Stevenson, whose Just Mercy (Spiegel & Grau) chronicles his crusades for the rights of the oppressed and unjustly incarcerated, proves he's deserving.

The Huntsville Times reports, "Can American courts be color, income-blind?"  It's by Kay Campbell.  He'll be in Huntsville, Alabama on Sunday, November 2.

Stevenson has been recognized internationally for his work to point out biases in the American criminal justice system that result in incarceration rates that rise or fall in a reverse relationship to the income of the accused.

"We have a system of justice in this country that treats you much better if you're rich and guilty than if you're poor and innocent," Stevenson said during his TED Talk in March 2012. "Wealth, not culpability, shapes outcomes."

And it's the disconnect between what is reality for so many in impoverished neighborhoods and the reality of Americans with adequate income, influence and sense of confidence that has resulted in a sense, for most Americans, that "these are problems that are not our problems," Stevenson said.

Just Mercy is also one of five nonfiction finalists for the Kirkus Reviews Book Awards.

Related posts are in the books category index.  Here's the link to his 2012 TED Talk.

More From Bob Autobee

"'The Death Penalty is a Hate Crime': Bob Autobee Speaks Out to Spare Life of Son’s Killer," is the segment of today's Democracy Now.  There is video at the link; a transcript will be available later today.  Here's the introduction:

We are joined by Bob Autobee, a Colorado resident who is opposing the death penalty for the prisoner who killed his son Eric, a prison guard, in 2002. During the original trial, Autobee supported a death sentence for Edward Montour. But the Colorado Supreme Court threw out Montour’s sentence in 2007 because it was imposed by a judge, not a jury as is required.

A decade later, Autobee has now changed his mind. In the new murder trial that begins today, he wants to make a victim’s statement to the jury asking them not to impose the death penalty — but the judge in the case has barred him from doing so. Autobee describes why he opposes the death penalty in this case, and why he wants to see it abolished overall.

"You’ve got to be willing to heal, and you’ve got to let the hate go," Autobee says. "To me the death penalty is a hate crime, a crime against humanity." We are also joined by Democracy Now! producer and criminal justice correspondent Renée Feltz, who notes that 80 percent of Colorado voters actually passed a constitutional amendment in 1992 that enshrines the rights of victims to make a statement in cases like Autobee’s.

Today's Denver Post reports, "Opening arguments to begin in death penalty case against Montour," by Jordan Steffen.

Edward Montour spent four years on death row for attacking corrections officer Eric Autobee from behind and beating him to death with a soup ladle in a prison kitchen.

Now — nearly 11 years after he originally pleaded guilty — a Douglas County District Court jury must decide whether Montour was sane when he killed Autobee in 2002.

Much like the death penalty case against James Holmes, the gunman who killed 12 people and injured dozens more at an Aurora movie theater in July 2012, the focus of the trial against Montour will not center on guilt. Montour, like Holmes, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, and his attorneys have repeatedly stated in court that Montour's attack on Autobee was unprovoked and undeserved.

Instead, Montour's trial will probably revolve around events and circumstances that took place more than a dozen years ago.

Opening arguments are scheduled to begin Wednesday morning. A jury and six alternatives were selected Monday.

Earlier coverage of this Colorado case begins at the link.

Google+ Hangout Tonight for CNN's Death Row Stories

CNN's new, original series, "Death Row Stories," premieres Sunday night.  Tonight, it previews with a Google+ Hangout.  Click the link to join in the discussion.  The Google+ Hangout begins at 6:00 pm EST, 5:00 pm CST.

"Talk with us: America's death penalty under scrutiny," is by Thom Patterson at CNN.

CNN's Ashleigh Banfield will join Executive Producers Alex Gibney and Brad Hebert and other special guests to discuss the legal issues brought up in "Death Row Stories" in a special Google Hangout at 6 p.m. ET Wednesday. You can join the conversation by sharing questions in the comments below. For more, watch "Death Row Stories," a CNN Original Series, at 9 p.m. ET/PT Sunday. Follow us at facebook.com/cnn or Twitter @CNNorigSeries using #DeathRowStories

And, here's the beginning:

What does the United States have in common with Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia? Answer: the death penalty.

Together, the four nations killed 1,052 prisoners in 2012, accounting for 82% of the world's confirmed executions that year, according to Amnesty International. The world's most populous nation, China, won't release its execution stats.

State-sanctioned killing is a divisive issue for many reasons, not the least of which is an imperfect justice system. "Upwards of 10% of all death row prisoners are later exonerated for the crimes," writes author and historian Thomas Cahill. But as New York Law School Professor Robert Blecker writes, society kills some of its criminals intentionally "because they deserve it."

This is a topic worth discussing. That's why we're hosting a CNN Google Hangout video conversation about this issue with CNN's Ashleigh Banfield and top legal experts right here on this page at 6 p.m. ET Wednesday.

The Nation posts, "CNN Launches Important New Series vs. Death Penalty in USA," by Greg Mitchell.  Here's an extended excerpt:

CNN has just announced an upcoming eight-part original series starting this Sunday on the death penalty in America, with award-winning, and tireless, documentary film maker Alex Gibney and some guy named Robert Redford as executive producers, plus  Susan Sarandon (let's not forget her role as Sister Helen Prejean in the great Dead Man Walking) as narrator.  

Death Row Stories already boasts a full web site up and key details here. It will, they vow, "call into question various beliefs surrounding America's justice system and the death penalty." 

That sounds like a good thing, and echoes my two books on the subject, including this recent ebook, Dead Reckoning.

Gibney promises, “The series provides stark examples of the struggle between the powerful and the powerless. The stakes—life or death—couldn’t be higher.”

Each show will spotlight one particular controversial case with guilt and innocence at stake.

 Related posts are in the journalism and the webcast category indexes.

Lethal Injection Roundup

Andrew Cohen writes, "America Is Terrible at Killing People Legally," for Politico Magazine.

Herbert Smulls, a convicted murderer, was put to death by Missouri officials while his final appeal was still being considered by the United States Supreme Court. The process by which lethal drugs were pushed into the condemned man’s veins began at 10:11 p.m. Missouri officials told me last Friday that they proceeded with the execution, despite the pendency of an appeal, because there were no stays in place at the time and because the justices in Washington had repeatedly rejected Smulls’ requests for a stay in the hours leading to his death. Smulls was pronounced dead at 10:20 p.m. In figuring that the Supreme Court would again decline to stop the execution, Missouri guessed correctly this time. The Court denied Smulls’s final stay request at 10:24 p.m. He was dead four minutes before his legal rights were exhausted. Death penalty experts, people who have spent decades working on capital cases, were mortified. It’s just not supposed to happen that way.

This is just the latest episode suggesting a level of chaos, a form of lawlessness even, in the administration of the death penalty in America. Other examples abound and include the continued execution of the “mentally retarded,” (an outdated term the Court continues to use) which was supposed to be outlawed by the Supreme Court in 2002 but which is occurring anyway. Another example lies in the Court’s lax standards, and negligible oversight, in evaluating capital cases involving prosecutorial misconduct or ineffective assistance of counsel. In Texas, even the correctional officers’ union is calling for improved conditions for death row inmates while lawmakers in states like Virginia and Missouri (and others) are considering the return of firing squads and electric chairs. Through inaction or indifference, the justices have signaled to state officials that they can push envelopes in capital cases they would not have pushed five or 10 years ago.

The most litigious current example of this phenomenon surrounds the use of secretive new approaches by state officials in Missouri, Louisiana, Texas and elsewhere to hide critical information about the drugs they want to use to execute inmates. This lack of transparency raises profound constitutional questions and yet so far the justices have been unwilling or unable to provide answers. Thus we have entered a newly unsettled era of death penalty law—unsettled even by the contentious standards of modern death penalty jurisprudence—that requires judicial oversight. The Supreme Court must act now to bring order to this growing chaos.

Democracy Now posts, "Execution Chaos: Witnesses Say Executions Are Botched As States Use Untested, Secret Drug Cocktails," with Amy Goodman.  There is video at the link.

 As drug companies refuse to let their products be used for the death penalty, states are using untested drug combinations that have resulted in deaths like that of Dennis McGuire in Ohio, where the state used untested two-drug method despite warnings it might cause immense suffering. We speak with the reporter who witnessed the execution, and with a lawyer for a man executed in Missouri with an entirely different lethal drug cocktail, made by a pharmacy the state refused to name.

And:

We speak with Alan Johnson, reporter with the Columbus Dispatch in Ohio, who witnessed McGuire’s execution and says he observed him gasping for air, and that he appeared to be choking. We are also joined by Cheryl Pilate, one of the lead attorneys for Herbert Smulls, who was executed Jan. 29 with a lethal dose of pentobarbital that was made by a compounding pharmacy the state refuses to name. Also joining is is Megan McCracken, attorney with the University of California, Berkeley School of Law’s Death Penalty Clinic, where she is an expert on lethal injection methods.

"New complications in executions bring new death penalty discussions," is by Patricia Zapor of Catholic News Service.  It's via the Boston Pilot.

International law, the risk of using inhumane methods of execution and opposition to capital punishment by the survivors of murder victims are among issues that are bringing fresh energy to debate about the death penalty.

In mid-January, Father Lawrence Hummer, of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Chillicothe, Ohio, witnessed the execution of Dennis McGuire for the 1989 rape and murder of 22-year-old Joy Stewart, who was 30 weeks pregnant.

A week later, publications around the world were printing the priest's account of watching what he called an inhumane procedure in which the convicted murderer struggled for 26 minutes while a previously untested mixture of drugs was used to execute McGuire.

At about the same time, the execution of a Mexican citizen drew international attention and warnings from the U.S. State Department that the refusal of the State of Texas to review the man's conviction in light of an international court ruling might put U.S. citizens at risk while traveling abroad.

Meanwhile, in Colorado, the parents of a prison guard who was beaten to death by an inmate in 2002 are battling the county prosecutor for the right to be heard at the retrial of the man who previously confessed to killing their son.

"States that actually murder by the death penalty," syndicated columnist and civil libertarian Nat Hentoff's latest.  It's via the Columbia Daily Herald.

While some states have ended the death penalty, it still persists in others, and capital punishment remains a federal death sentence.

Indeed, a shocking (and, to me, sickening) lead editorial in The New York Times last week revealed the means that certain states use to continue creating death penalty corpses. These states viciously violate not only the Constitution, but also the most basic American rules of law and our most profound national values.

How many of us know what those are?

Deserving at the very least a Pulitzer, this editorial explained how certain remaining death penalty states “hide the means by which they kill people”

 Earlier coverage of Herbert Smulls' execution, Andrew Cohen's earlier writing on Missouri's rush to execute, Ohio's botched execution of Dennis McGuire, Texas execution of Edgar Tamayo Arias, and Bob Autobee's demonstration in Colorado, at the links.

Related posts are in the lethal injection index.

DPIC Issues 'The Death Penalty in 2013: Year End Report'

The Death Penalty Information Center's The Death Penalty in 2013: Year End Report is available at the link.  You can also find a news release, infographic, and a video at the link.

The Guardian is hosting a live chat today at 1:00 pm (ET), 12:00 noon (CT), 6:00 pm (GMT).

Join reporter Ed Pilkington and report author Richard C Dieter in a live chat about the state of the death penalty in the US at 1pm ET, 12:00 noon CT (6pm GMT.) Tweet your questions to @EdPilkington, or leave them in the module below (at link.)

Here's a roundup of coverage:

"Executions in US drop close to 20-year low in 2013," is by Pete Yost for the Associated Press.

Reliance on the death penalty continues to decline with 39 people executed this year, only the second time in 19 years that fewer than 40 people were put to death, a private group reported Thursday.

The Death Penalty Information Center, a nonprofit organization that opposes executions and tracks the issue, also said the number of new death sentences was near its lowest level since capital punishment was reinstated in the 1970s. There have been 80 new death sentences so far this year, three more than in 2012 and down from 315 in 1996, the group said.

The 39 executions were carried out in nine states. Texas had the most, 16, followed by Florida, which had seven. Oklahoma had six, Ohio three, Arizona and Missouri two each, and Alabama, Georgia and Virginia, one each.

Texas, the leader in executions, illustrates the downward trend. It recorded 48 death sentences in 1999. This year, it was nine, marking the sixth year in a row that Texas had less than 10 death sentences.

The New York Times reports, "In Death Penalty’s Steady Decline, Some Experts See a Societal Shift," by Erik Eckholm.

The death penalty in the United States continued its pattern of broad decline in 2013, with experts attributing the low numbers to a critical shortage of drugs used for lethal injection, increasing public concern over judicial mistakes and the expense of capital cases, and a growing preference for life without parole.

Eighty death sentences were imposed by American courts this year, compared with a peak of 315 in 1994, and 39 executions took place, compared with 98 in 1999, according to an annual accounting released on Thursday by the Death Penalty Information Center, a private group in Washington.

“A societal shift is underway,” said Richard Dieter, the executive director of the information center, which opposes capital punishment.

In May, Maryland became the sixth state in the last six years to abolish the death penalty, leaving 32 states with capital punishment on the books. But for the second straight year, only nine states put prisoners to death.

Douglas A. Berman, an expert on criminal sentencing at Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law, said a significant retrenchment in the use of the death penalty was taking place, but also noted that “a majority of states and people still favor using it for the most serious crimes.”

"State of the Death Penalty as 2013 Ends," is by Maggie Clark for Stateline.

States continued to turn away from the death penalty this year, with just 39 people executed in nine states, according to a year-end report from the Death Penalty Information Center. Maryland repealed the death penalty this year, continuing a six-year trend of one state each year ending the punishment.

"Number of executions and new death sentences decline," by Kevin Johnson for USA Today.

Although the 80 new death sentences this year represent three more than in 2012, the number has declined dramatically since 1996 when it reached a high of 315.

At the same time, a decline in the numbers on death row has outpaced the number of executions. There were 3,108 inmates on death row across the country as of April 1, down from 3,170 at the same time last year.

"Fewer death sentences, fewer people on death row will mean fewer executions,'' said Richard Dieter, the center's executive director.

Texas, with traditionally the busiest execution chamber in the U.S., maintained that position with 16 executions this year, one more than 2012. But Dieter noted that those numbers may not be sustained because there were fewer new death sentences issued this year — nine — than there were executions.

National Journal posts, "Death Penalty Opponents Are Winning … Almost Everywhere," by Dustin Volz.

Executions are on the decline across the United States—unless you live in Texas or Florida.

The U.S. put to death 39 people in 2013, just the second time in the past two decades that number has fallen below 40, according to data compiled by the Death Penalty Information Center. Additionally, the number of new death sentences issued in 2013 was near its lowest level since capital punishment was reinstated in the 1970s.

Total executions fell by four overall from last year, but the two states that carried out the most—Texas (16) and Florida (7)—both increased their pace from 2012. Together, the two accounted for 59 percent of all U.S. executions in 2013, although Texas carried out fewer than 10 death sentences for the sixth consecutive year—a stark contrast to the 48 recorded in 1999.

"Death penalty in the United States gradually declining," by Bill Mears at CNN.

A shortage of lethal injection chemicals has contributed to declining use of capital punishment in the United States with a new report on Thursday noting only 39 executions this year.

It is only the second time in the past two decades the annual number of inmates put to death has dropped below 40.

The total represents a 10 percent reduction from last year. No further executions are scheduled in 2013.

"Twenty years ago, use of the death penalty was increasing. Now it is declining by almost every measure," said Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, and the author of the report.

"Drug Shortage Helps Lead to Fall in 2013 Executions," by Ashby Jones of the Wall Street Journal.

The long-running controversy over lethal-injection drugs helped push the number of executions in 2013 down by about 10%, according to a new report published Thursday.

In 2013, nine states were responsible for 39 executions, four fewer than the 43 carried out in both 2012 and 2011, according to an annual study of the death penalty by the Death Penalty Information Center, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit organization.

With the exception of 2008, in which 37 inmates were put to death, the 2013 figure represents the lowest since 1994, when 31 people were executed.

"U.S. executions continued to decline in 2013," by David G. Savage for the Los Angeles Times.

The drop-off is especially noteworthy in Texas, the nation’s leader in carrying out executions. This year, the Lone Star State saw nine new death sentences, marking the sixth year in a row it has recorded fewer than 10.

Richard Dieter, the report’s author, says the drop-off may be explained by a 2005 change in the law that gave juries the choice of sentencing murderers to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Before, jurors had to sentence a murderer to die to be assured he would never go free.

AFP posts, "The US executed fewer people in 2013," via GlobalPost.

The UN General Assembly called in 2007 and 2008 for a worldwide moratorium on the death penalty — an EU initiative that the United States voted against alongside the likes of China, North Korea and Iran.

"39 Death Row Executions in 2013, a 10% Drop from Last Year," by Courtney Subramanian at Time.

National Law Journal reports, "Support for Death Penalty Slipping, Organization Finds," by Marcia Coyle.

"Report: U.S. Executions Dipped in 2013," by Steven Nelson for US News & World Report.

"Declining executions could become obsolete in US by 2025, advocate says," by Massoud Hayoun at Aljazeera America.

"European boycott of death penalty drugs lowers rate of US executions," by Ed Pilkington for the Guardian.

Politico posts, "Report: Executions dip in 2013," by Mackenzie Weinger.

Later today I'll have state-specific news reports.

NPR 'Hear & Now' to Feature Duane Buck Case

Today's edition of Here & Now, the WBUR produced NPR program, will feature a report on the Duane Buck Case.  On Austin's KUT-FM, the program airs at 1:00 pm (CST.)  You can listen live at the link, or check your local NPR station for broadcast time.

Earlier coverage of Duane Buck's case begins at the link.

Catholics Mobilizing Network to Host Event November 9

"Where Justice and Mercy Meet: Catholic Opposition to the Death Penalty," will be held on Saturday, November 9 from 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM (ET) at the Catholic University of America, in Washington, DC.

The day-long program will also be webcast.  Registration is required for attending in person or watching the streaming video webcast.

Here's the full program description:

The Catholic Mobilizing Network to End the Use of the Death Penalty and the Institute for Policy Research & Catholic Studies at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. are co-sponsoring a national conference entitled “Where Justice and Mercy Meet: Catholic Opposition to the Death Penalty.” Everyone is welcome!

CMN is excited to promote the latest in the progression of the Church’s teaching on the pro-life issue of the death penalty. Pope John Paul II made it absolutely clear that we as Catholics are called to preserve life and to act to end the use of the death penalty. Pope Benedict XVI expanded on this, urging us to engage on the issue in our efforts to impact public policy. At the World Congress Against the Death Penalty held in Madrid in June, Pope Francis reiterated the Holy See’s support for “the abolition of the death penalty.”

CMN was founded to educate Catholics on the Church’s teaching on the death penalty and  restorative justice and to prepare Catholics for informed involvement in campaigns to pass death penalty reform and repeal legislation. CMN’s Mount St. Mary’s University office, staffed by Vicki Schieber, worked in collaboration with the faculty on the just-published book, Where Justice and Mercy Meet: Catholic Opposition to the Death Penalty.

Our conference on November 9th will feature panel discussions with Mount Saint Mary’s University and Catholic University professors and authors discussing their work and how Catholic teaching has evolved on the issue. We will discuss where we stand today, and how Catholics are leading in the winning campaign to end the death penalty in the United States through public policy advocacy. Among the presenters will be CMN’s Vicki Schieber, and a keynote address by our founder and noted Catholic anti-death penalty advocate Sister Helen Prejean, CSJ.

All are welcome to attend this event which will be hosted at the Columbus School of Law on the Catholic University campus.  The conference is free and open to the public, but we ask that all interested participants complete the online registration form provided by IPR to guarantee ample space for everyone.

For those that cannot attend in person, the conference will be available online via live streaming on November 9th.  If you plan to use this option, please still register online and simply mark the box that you will be attending online.

Additional supporters for the event include the Sant’Egidio Community of Washington, D.C. and the Franciscan Action Network.

The schedule for the conference is available on the event website.

To help spread the word, please download and share this flyer about the event.

You may also purchase the book of the same name co-edited by Vicki Schieber.

More information on the book is also available from the Catholics Mobilizing website.  The book is edited by David Matzko McCarthy, Trudy D. Conway, and Vicki Schieber; with a Forward by Sister Helen Prejean.

REMINDER - Constitution Project Webcast Begins Soon

The Constitution Project's 2013 Constitution Day program, False Confessions: When the Innocent Confess and the Guilty Go Free, will be webcast today, beginning at 12 noon (EDT) / 11 am (CDT) / 10 am (MDT) / 9 am (PDT). 

The Constitution Project has details on the program.  It's expected to last approximately two hours.

On September 17, 2013, from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., The Constitution Project (TCP) will present its annual Constitutional Commentary Award to the award-winning filmmaker Ken Burns and his colleagues for their documentary, THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE. Ken Burns will be present to accept the award and will participate in a Constitution Day panel discussion focusing on wrongful convictions, and more specifically false confessions.

THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE tells the story of five teenagers from Harlem who were wrongly convicted of raping a woman in New York City’s Central Park in 1989, in part, based upon their false confessions.  But unfortunately, their case is not an anomaly – false confessions are one of the leading causes of wrongful convictions in this country.  The panel discussion will explore the phenomenon of innocent people confessing to crimes they did not commit and policies that can be adopted to help fix the problem.  There are various factors that contribute to false confessions – the age and mental state of the suspect, police interrogation tactics – but research shows that practical steps can be taken to protect the innocent while improving policing capabilities and the justice system as a whole.  The panel will explore the various best practices being adopted by law enforcement agencies across the country to help prevent the tragedy of wrongful convictions.

Earlier coverage of the Constitution Day program is at the link.

Additional Coverage of Warren Hill's Case

In advance of tomorrow's Georgia court hearing on the secrecy of the state's lethal injection drug, there is fresh coverage of Warren Hill's case.

"Warren Lee Hill's execution reset for Friday," is the AP report, via the Florida Times-Union.

State officials have rescheduled the execution of Georgia death row inmate Warren Lee Hill for Friday.

Hill was originally scheduled to be executed on Monday, but a Fulton County judge issued a temporary stay so she could consider a legal challenge filed by Hill’s attorneys. Hill is challenging a new state law prohibiting the release of certain information related to Georgia’s supply of lethal injection drugs.

A hearing on that issue has been scheduled for Thursday morning.

Separately, Hill’s attorneys have appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the execution, arguing Hill is mentally disabled and should not be put to death.

Today's Columbus Ledger-Enquirer publishes the editorial, "Execution, state secrecy and due process in Georgia."

This stay, rather, is about a recently enacted Georgia law that classifies the identities of companies that manufacture, prescribe and mix the execution drugs as a "confidential state secret." According to proponents of the Lethal Injection Secrecy Law, pharmaceutical companies making these drugs faced harassment and political pressure. As a result, Hill's lawyers argue, the state is using "an unknown, anonymously produced substance."

Georgia has already run into problems. The DEA once confiscated the state's execution drug supply after mixtures not approved by the FDA were used for two executions that witnesses say involved "significant pain and suffering."

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the state attorney general's office released a document from an ostensibly independent lab that claims Georgia's current lethal injection mix passes muster.

The name of the lab, along with other identifying information about the tests, was redacted.

This issue ought to concern capital punishment's proponents at least as much as, and perhaps even more than, it concerns those unalterably opposed to the death penalty. If secrecy surrounding the integrity of Georgia's execution process opens the door for more "cruel and unusual punishment" defenses, the already slow course of capital cases could become positively glacial.

And:

The larger issue here is not Warren Hill's rights, but ours. When the state conducts legally sanctioned executions in the name of The People we deserve the legal right, and bear the moral responsibility, to know the who and the how as well as the why.

Huffington Post Live has an excellent segment, "The Sad State Of Habeas Corpus," hosted by Mike Sacks.  It's available in archived streaming video at the link.  It's a must-watch.  It features one of our finest legal analysts, Andrew Cohen, and law professors Lee Kovarsky, Martha Rayner, and Steve Vladeck.

Vladeck also posts, "A reprieve for Warren Hill, but not the Supreme Court," at MSNBC.  Here's the beginning:

Hours before Warren Lee Hill, Jr., was scheduled to be put to death on Monday, a Georgia state court judge temporarily halted his execution in order to ensure that the drugs Georgia uses as part of its lethal injection protocol—and the way the state obtained them—are legal. In the process, Judge Gail Tusan didn’t just provide a reprieve to Hill, but also to the U.S. Supreme Court, for which Hill’s death sentence poses a constitutional question the significance of which goes far beyond his case. And as with Hill’s reprieve, the Supreme Court’s absolution is likely to be temporary, at best.

Hill is not an innocent man. His capital sentence arises from his 1990 killing of a fellow prisoner while serving a life sentence for the murder of his girlfriend. In a country in which 32 states (and the federal government) still allow capital punishment, Hill might seem an unlikely candidate to become anything other than a statistic: But for Monday’s stay, he would have been the 19th prisoner to be subjected to capital punishment within the United States in 2013, and the 1,339th since the Supreme Court ended its self-imposed moratorium on the death penalty in 1976.

But if Hill’s execution is eventually carried out, it will set a very dangerous precedent—even for those who are not generally opposed to capital punishment. Hill is, by all accounts, mentally retarded (the pejorative term still in vogue in legal analysis).

Slate has posted, "Georgia Goes to Great Lengths to Make Sure You Don't Know Who Makes Its Execution Drugs," by Josh Voorhees.

Georgia isn't the only state to pass such laws: Arkansas, South Dakota and Tennessee have also introduced similar shields designed to protect the companies who profit from making the legal drugs.

Earlier coverage of Warren Hill's case begins at the link.

Texas' 500th Execution Scheduled for Wednesday

Texas is set to carry out its eighth execution of 2013; the 500th post-Furman Texas execution since 1982. Texas is responsible for more than 37% of the nation's  post-Furman executions.

"Texas woman set to be 500th execution in state," is the Associated Press report filed by Juan A. Lozano.

Texas, the nation's busiest death penalty state, is set to mark a solemn moment in criminal justice Wednesday with the execution of convicted killer Kimberly McCarthy.

If McCarthy is put to death in Huntsville as planned, she would become the 500th person executed in Texas since the state resumed carrying out the death penalty in 1982. The 52-year-old also would be the first woman executed in the U.S. since 2010.

McCarthy's attorney, Maurie Levin, said she has exhausted all efforts to block the execution, after denials by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

"If there was something to appeal, I would," said Levin.

Texas has carried out nearly 40 percent of the more than 1,300 executions in U.S. since the Supreme Court allowed capital punishment to resume in 1976. The state's standing stems from its size as the nation's second most populous state as well as its tradition of tough justice for killers.

With increased debate in recent years over wrongful convictions, some states have halted the practice entirely. However, 32 states have the death penalty on the books. Still, it's clear the debate over capital punishment has touched Texas, with lawmakers providing more sentencing options for juries and courts narrowing the cases for which death can be sought.

Houston's KPFT-FM will host Execution Watch on the web and its HD radio broadcast signal beginning at 6:00 p.m. (CDT), this evening.

According to TDCJ, seven additional executions have been scheduled by Texas state district court, including one in January 2014.

Earlier coverage of Kimberly McCarthy's case begins at the link.

Update with additional coverage.  The Guadian posts, "It hardly feels like 'ultimate justice' as Texas is set to execute 500th prisoner," by Sadhbh Walshe.

On Tuesday evening, the Texas court of criminal appeals denied Kimberly McCarthy's motion to stay her execution paving the way for the African American woman to become the 500th person the state puts to death. Although Texas has long been the most execution prone state in the union, there has been some encouraging signs in the recent past that it is growing less comfortable with this dubious distinction. This decision by the court to deny McCarthy's appeal is a victory for those who support "ultimate justice" at any cost, however, and a major setback for those who believe that justice served with a racist tinge, is no justice at all.

In addition to becoming the 500th person the state will execute, McCarthy will also be the 185th black person. This is significant because it means that in a state where African Americans make up just 12.2% of the population, they account for around 37% of those who are executed. This is disturbing of itself, but all the more so because McCarthy's application for a stay was based on claims that her conviction and death sentence were the result of a process that was infected by racial discrimination.

"Texas prepares for 500th execution since high court revived death penalty," is an AP report, via the Washington Post, examining 31 years of Texas executions.

Over the years, the Texas execution list has provided a portrait of violent crime in a state where many people are armed, both good and bad, and juries have little tolerance for murderers.

Those executed have ranged from relatively common cases — robbers who killed store clerks, drug users who killed other drug users, spouses killing each other — to the bizarre and sensational. Ronald Clark O’Bryan, nicknamed the “Candy Man,” poisoned his son’s Halloween candy to collect on an insurance policy. Angel Resendez, a serial killer, rode the rails, stopping along the way to murder strangers. Lawrence Russell Brewer dragged a black man behind a pickup truck in a racist killing.

In the prison town of Huntsville, executions have become a well-worn ritual.

For more than 20 years, Dennis Longmire has been a fixture outside the fortress-like prison on execution evenings, holding a lit candle on a street corner. Hundreds of demonstrators once gathered there, but interest has long since subsided.

“Texas continues to march to a different beat,” as other states drop the death penalty, says Longmire, a criminal justice professor at nearby Sam Houston State University. He calls the execution total “staggering.”

AP also posts the sidebar, "A history of capital punishment in Texas." It's via the Bryan-College Station Eagle. Another AP sidebar is, "10 key Texas executions," via the Corpus Christi Caller Times.

Helen Prejean's Impact

Amy Goodman's latest syndicated column is, "The Catholic nun who changed the US debate on the death penalty forever.  Sister Helen Prejean's Dead Man Walking shook American attitudes on capital punishment. And 20 years on, it still inspires."  It's via the Guardian.

Thirty years ago, a Catholic nun working in a poor neighborhood of New Orleans was asked if she would be a penpal to a death row prisoner. Sister Helen Prejean agreed, forever changing her life, as well as the debate on capital punishment in the US.

Her experiences inspired her first book, "Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States," which has just been republished on its 20th anniversary. She was a penpal with Patrick Sonnier, a convicted murderer on death row in Louisiana's notorious Angola prison.

"Dead Man Walking: Extended Interview with Sister Helen Prejean on Decades of Death Penalty Activism," is the Democracy Now interview conducted by Amy Goodman and Nermeen Shaikh.  There is video at the link.

Here's a brief excerpt from this must-watch, must-read interview:

AMY GOODMAN: It’s interesting that Archbishop Desmond Tutu wrote the introduction to the new book, which has a new subtitle, Dead Man Walking: The Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty That Sparked a National Debate. And he writes, "As we held our national 'Truth and Reconciliation Commission' hearings and worked to rebuild our country, people around the world were making the same connections about the death penalty—how racist, unfair, and broken it is—and slowly a new global movement for the abolition of the death penalty began." So, you wrote this book 20 years ago. Eighteen states have now banned the death penalty. I think most people don’t realize that of the thousands of murders that take place, far less than 1 percent of those cases is a death penalty imposed. And as you point out—so, when people just say, "Well, of course, if you murder someone, you should be murdered," as you point out, you want to look at who actually gets murdered in that very small—who actually gets the death penalty in that small percentage of cases.

SISTER HELEN PREJEAN: Yeah, yeah.

AMY GOODMAN: So what about the fact that 18 states have banned the death penalty and where it’s going today?

SISTER HELEN PREJEAN: Yeah. We started seeing in 2001 a trend away from the death penalty, in huge contrast to the 10 Southern states that practiced slavery, that do 80 percent of all the executions in this country, and we just have witnessed in Rick Scott, Florida governor, who said, "We’re going to put the death penalty on a fast track. It’s taking too long." And he has the power to do that as governor. And so, there are 13 people who have exhausted their appeals in the courts that he’s lining up on a fast track to be executed. And I just read that his—that he just got bumped up in terms of support of the people.

We have different cultures in this country. The Deep South states have always been the ones with the toughest penal reform. We are the highest incarcerator in the world, and Louisiana, my state, is the highest incarcerator of everybody. And we’re one of the death penalty states. All the Southern states are. And here’s another constitutional issue. Here’s another thing the court never looks at: the huge disparity of practice that 80 percent of all the worst of the worst people, who are on death row, happen to be in the 10 Southern states that practiced slavery. Whereas, when New York had it, when New Jersey had it, and the states that don’t have it—you know, they did less than 1 percent of all the executions. So the Northeast has been the first states to do away with it.

There is more coverage of Sister Helen's work at the link.

Duane Buck Case Featured on HuffPost Live Today

The Duane Buck case will be featured on Huffington Post Live today at 1:00 pm CDT (2:00 pm EDT).  NAACP LDF attorney Christina Swarns and former Texas Governor Mark White will discuss the case.

LDF has also released a new video on the case.  Here's more from the news release:

Today, the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. released a new video highlighting the racial discrimination in the Texas death penalty system and the shocking case of death-sentenced prisoner, Duane Buck.  Mr. Buck was sentenced to death in Harris County (Houston), Texas, after his trial prosecutor elicited testimony from a psychologist indicating that Mr. Buck was more likely to be dangerous because he is Black. The video was produced by award-winning documentary filmmakers Emily Kunstler and Sarah Kunstler.

The video is “A Broken Promise in Texas: Race, the Death Penalty and the Duane Buck Case.”

“A Broken Promise in Texas” contains powerful, never-before-seen interviews with Texas civil rights leaders, elected politicians, the surviving victim in the Buck case, one of Mr. Buck’s trial prosecutors and Mr. Buck’s family members, among others, calling for a new, fair sentencing hearing.  The video’s release comes at a critical juncture, as Mr. Buck may soon be at risk of execution:  the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is currently considering Mr. Buck’s appeal for a new sentencing hearing free of racial bias and the Court is expected to rule in the coming weeks.
 
"Everyone who sees this powerful video will come away from it with the alarming realization that if Duane Buck can be sentenced to death - and possibly executed -- based on racial stereotypes, then our criminal justice system is broken not just for Mr. Buck, but for all of us," said Christina Swarns, Mr. Buck's attorney and Director of the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc.'s Criminal Justice Project.  "A properly functioning criminal justice system does not condone the flagrant exploitation of racial fears and stereotypes to secure a death sentence.  It cannot countenance a racially biased and unfair execution."
 
Former Texas Governor Mark White, who oversaw the executions of 19 individuals, narrates the video and urges citizens to take action: “It’s unfair to have someone on death row if they are not supposed to be there … Don’t wait until it is too late … Join me and more than 100 civil rights leaders, clergy, former prosecutors, and judges in calling for a new and fair sentencing hearing for Mr. Buck. Tell Texas to keep its promise.” 
 
Over 50,000 people from Texas and around the country have signed a petition calling on Texas officials to grant Mr. Buck a new sentencing hearing. The newly released video exposes the injustice of Duane Buck’s case and encourages support for the petition for a new, fair sentencing.

As the video shows, at Mr. Buck’s 1997 capital sentencing hearing in Harris County, the trial prosecutor elicited testimony from a psychologist that Mr. Buck posed a future danger because he is black. The prosecutor relied on this testimony in arguing in favor of a death sentence. The jury then found Mr. Buck would be a future danger and sentenced him to death. 
 
Three years after Mr. Buck’s capital trial, in 2000, then-Texas Attorney General (now U.S. Senator) John Cornyn identified seven cases, including Mr. Buck’s, in which the State of Texas impermissibly relied on testimony linking race and dangerousness to secure a death sentence. The Attorney General promised to support new sentencing hearings for the seven identified defendants and kept its promise as to six of them. But Texas reneged on its promise to Mr. Buck and is now aggressively pursuing his execution.
 
“It is virtually unprecedented for a state official to confess error in a capital case. And in this situation, [the Attorney General] confessed error in six capital cases,” said Kathryn Kase, Executive Director of Texas Defender Service, in the video. 
 
Mr. Buck’s life was saved by the U.S. Supreme Court before his September 2011 scheduled execution. Two U.S. Supreme Court justices agreed that Mr. Buck’s death sentence requires review because “our criminal justice system should not tolerate” a death sentence “marred by racial overtones.”
 
“When we apply the death penalty and we seek criminal sentences, we have to do so in a color-blind manner. Allowing this kind of racial testimony in any capital sentence proceeding undermines the entire justice process,” said Kate Black, Mr. Buck’s attorney, in the video. 

Earlier coverage of Duane Buck's case begins at the link.  Related posts are in the race category index.

Gary Bledsoe on the Buck Case - TxRJA Proposal Gets Hearing

Today's Dallas Morning News publishes the OpEd, "Turn the page on racism in Texas death penalty," by Gary Bledsoe.  He's the President of the NAACP of Texas, and a former Texas Assistant Attorney General.  Here's the beginning of this must-read:

When I was about 10 years old, growing up in Odessa, I got picked up by the police because a car had been stolen the night before. I didn’t know how to drive. In fact, I didn’t even know how to put a key in the ignition. I was late to school that day for no reason.

Actually, there was a reason, just not a good one. I was picked up because I am black. The same thing happened to my friends and members of my family.

That was the early 1960s. A lot has changed for the better since then. Even so, there are still wrongs from our state’s history with racism that haven’t been made right.

Duane Buck was convicted of murder in Harris County in 1997. At his sentencing hearing, the prosecutor relied on testimony from a psychologist who said that Buck would be more dangerous in the future because he is black. The jury agreed that Buck posed a future danger and sentenced him to the ultimate punishment.

People have different views on the death penalty. But we can all agree that we must have compassion for all victims, and also that no one should be sentenced to death because of the color of his skin.

Racial discrimination, or at least the appearance of it, was prevalent among some in the district attorney’s office at the time of Buck’s case. We might add that the perceived bias is historical and not just isolated to one point in time, as we are aware that one DA resigned in recent years after circulating racist emails with his subordinates.

There is also additional video coverage of the Buck case.  HuffPost Live streamed, "Killing Duane Buck," hosted by Marc Lamont Hill.  Houston ABC affiliate's KTRK-TV News program "Crossroads," hosted by Melanie Lawson, also provided coverage of the case.

Today, the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee will hear Senfronia Thompson's HB 2458.  The Committee agenda is available in Adobe .pdf format.  The Committee will convene upon adjournment of the House.  You can watch streaming video of the meeting at the link.  Be aware that bills may be brought up out of order of the printed agenda.

NAACP LDF has issued a news release, "Former Governor, Former Prosecutor, Civil Rights Leaders, and Other Prominent Individuals Offer Testimony in Favor of Texas Racial Justice Act.  Testimony: Duane Buck’s Case, Whose Sentencing Hearing Was Poisoned With Racial Discrimination, Shows That Texas Needs The Racial Justice Act." 

Here's the beginning of the release:

Several prominent Texans submitted testimony to the House of Representatives Criminal Jurisprudence Committee today in support of the Racial Justice Act, which seeks to prohibit the imposition of a death sentence or execution under any judgment that was sought or obtained on the basis of race.  The Harris County, Texas, death penalty case of Duane Buck was cited as a clear example of how racial discrimination corrupts Texas’ death penalty system. Mr. Buck, an African American man, was condemned to death in 1997 after his sentencing jury was told that he posed a future danger because he is Black. 

The Criminal Jurisprudence Committee is hearing testimony today on House Bill 2458, Texas Racial Justice Act, sponsored by Representative Senfronia Thompson, who represents District 141, which includes part of Harris County.

Those offering testimony in favor of the Racial Justice Act include: Mark White, Texas Governor (1983-1987); Linda Geffin, former Harris County Assistant District Attorney who served as a prosecutor in Mr. Buck’s case; and Yannis Banks, Texas NAACP Legislative Liaison.

“The way we determine punishment in the United States is with a fair trial and sentencing. Duane Buck did not receive that. His case, and other cases, shows how racial discrimination can infect Texas’ courtrooms. We cannot condone any form of racial discrimination in our criminal justice system and we must act to end it,” said Governor White in testimony submitted to the Committee. Governor White and more than 100 civil rights leaders, clergy, elected officials, past ABA Presidents and former judges and prosecutors delivered a letter to Harris County District Attorney Mike Anderson urging a new, fair sentencing hearing for Mr. Buck.

Earlier coverage of the Duane Buck case begins at the link.

Archived Video of Moyers & Company Program Available

If you missed Moyers & Company, "And Justice for Some," Friday night, the full program is now available in streaming video.

Fifty years ago, the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in the case of Gideon v. Wainwright established the constitutional right of criminal defendants to legal representation, even if they can’t afford it. The Court ruled there shouldn’t be one kind of justice for the rich and another for the poor, but the scales of the American legal system still tilt heavily in favor of the white and wealthy. Attorney and legal scholar Bryan Stevenson joins Bill to expose the system’s failures, and ongoing struggles at the crossroads of race, class and justice.

Stevenson’s Alabama-based Equal Justice Initiative has reversed the death sentences of more than 75 inmates. But right now, there are more than 3,100 inmates on death row, and more than 60% are members of racial or ethnic minorities. Over time, Supreme Court Justices have fine-tuned the circumstances under which the death penalty may still apply, but no set of laws or jurisprudence can undo wrongful executions — or, it seems, completely prevent them. According to journalists Martin Clancy and Tim O’Brien, authors of Murder at the Supreme Court, in recent years at least 18 inmates were released from death row because DNA evidence proved their innocence. These cases are among more than 140 death penalty exonerations over the last three decades.

The broadcast closes with a Bill Moyers Essay on the hypocrisy of “justice for all” in a society where billions are squandered for a war born in fraud while the poor are pushed aside.

Be sure to watch the segment with Bryan Stevenson, the founding director of Alabama-based Equal Justice Initiative.

Earlier coverage of the program begins at the link.

Tonight on Moyers & Company - The Death Penalty's Fatal Flaws

Tonight's edition of the PBS program Moyers & Company is," The Death Penalty's Fatal Flaws."

The program airs tonight on most PBS stations.  You can check the broadcast time in your market.

Fifty years ago, the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in the case of Gideon v. Wainwright established the constitutional right of criminal defendants to legal representation, even if they can’t afford it. The Court ruled there shouldn’t be one kind of justice for the rich and another for the poor, but the scales of the American legal system still tilt heavily in favor of the white and wealthy. On this week’s Moyers & Company, attorney and legal scholar Bryan Stevenson exposes the system’s failures, and ongoing struggles at the crossroads of race, class and justice.

Later on the show, Martin Clancy and Tim O’Brien, authors of Murder at the Supreme Court, join Bill to share the human stories behind the evolution of capital punishment in America, and the death penalty’s fatal flaws.

The broadcast closes with a Bill Moyers Essay on the hypocrisy of “justice for all” in a society where billions are squandered for a war born in fraud while the poor are pushed aside.

 

 

Moyers also posts, "WATCH: The Death Penalty's Fatal Flaws," at Huffington Post.

Right now, there are more than 3,100 inmates on death row -- more than 60 percent of them members of racial or ethnic minorities. Over time, Supreme Court Justices have fine-tuned the circumstances under which the death penalty may still apply, but no set of laws or jurisprudence can undo wrongful executions -- or, it seems, completely prevent them.

According to journalists Martin Clancy and Tim O'Brien, authors of Murder at the Supreme Court and my guests on this weekend's program, at least 18 inmates were released from death row in recent years because DNA evidence proved their innocence. These cases are among more than 140 death penalty exonerations over the last three decades.

The Annapolis Capital Gazette notes, "Bookworm: Death penalty book authors have signing in Annapolis."  It's by Theresa Winslow.

The authors of a new book about the Supreme Court and death penalty cases have a book signing from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday at The Annapolis Bookstore.

"Murder at the Supreme Court: Lethal Crimes and Landmark Cases" came out last month. Authors Martin Clancy and Tim O'Brien are ABC News veterans.

The duo is also scheduled to appear on "Moyers & Company" on public television stations this weekend.

Earlier coverage of Gideon's 50th anniversary begins at the link.

Duane Buck Case Live Chat Today at 12 Noon, CDT/1:00 PM, EDT

"Duane Buck case live chat: what's next for inmate sentenced by race?" will go live in just over an hour, at 12:00 noon (CDT), 1:00 pm (EDT).

Join Ed Pilkington and Christina Swarns, director of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, to discuss Buck's case.

What does his case tell us about the way African Americans are treated generally in the application of the death penalty in America? Join Guardian reporter Ed Pilkington and Christina Swarns, director of the NAACP legal defence and educational fund, to discuss the case from 1 to 2pm ET Wednesday.

Other questions to consider:

• What is the current role of race in US capital punishment?

• Why do his advocates say Buck was sentenced to death because of his race?

• How did Buck's lawyer allow such evidence to be presented in court?

• What is the status of Buck's new sentencing hearing?

Guardian writer Pilkington also posts, "Texas convict's death row sentence challenged over claim of racial bias."

More than 100 prominent civil rights leaders, lawyers, politicians and clergy are calling on the state of Texas to provide a new fair sentencing hearing for Duane Buck, the African American man who was put on death row in 1997 after the jury was told he was a danger to society because he was black.

The Buck case is rapidly becoming a focal point for anxieties that the application of the death penalty across America is riddled with racial discrimination. Last week an appeal was filed in the Buck case that included new research showing that at the time of his sentence black defendants in Houston, Texas – the death penalty capital of the US – were three times more likely to be charged with a capital crime than whites.

The statement put out by 102 national and Texan leaders calls for a new fair sentencing hearing for Buck that would be free from racial bias. "The state of Texas cannot condone any form of racial discrimination in the courtroom. The use of race in sentencing poisons the legal process and breeds cynicism in the judiciary," it says.

The signatories include Linda Geffin, who was one of the prosecutors in the original trial of Buck, as well as Phyllis Taylor who was shot by Buck but survived. The statement says that Taylor has "forgiven Mr Buck and does not wish to see him executed".

Earlier coverage of Duane Buck's case begins at the link.  Related posts are in the race category index.

Colorado House Judiciary Committee Streaming

You can listen to the Colorado House Judiciary Committee hearing, live now.

Earlier coverage of the Colorado repeal legislation begins at the link.

Maryland Senate in Session

The Maryland Senate is in session now. Streaming media is a click away at the Live button on the right side, center of the Maryland General Assembly website.

"Death penalty repeal poised to pass Senate," is by Julia Maldonado of Capital News Service.  It's via Delmarva Now.

The Maryland Senate is poised to pass Gov. Martin O’Malley’s death penalty repeal bill after a number of amendments from Republicans, and one Democrat, failed.

A final vote could come as early as this morning, with the bill then moving to the House of Delegates. If it passes, Maryland would become the 18th state to eliminate capital punishment.

The legislation also would allow the governor to commute or change a sentence of death to a sentence of life without the possibility of parole.

Earlier coverage of the Maryland repeal legislation begins at the link.

Oregon Repeal Bill To Be Heard by House Judiciary Committee

"Death penalty ban gets a hearing: Oregon Legislature Today," is the report by Harry Esteve in today's Oregonian.

Oregon's death penalty takes center stage Tuesday at the Legislature, which will hold a public hearing on whether to eliminate it.

House Joint Resolution 1, sponsored by Rep. Mitch Greenlick, would put the question to voters on the November 2014 ballot. The issue arose when Gov. John Kitzhaber declared a moratorium on executions to prevent convicted killer Gary Haugen from being put to death in Oregon.

Greenlick's bill asks voters to substitute the sentence, "A sentence of death may not be imposed or executed," for language in the state constitution that allows for capital punishment.

Greenlick plans to hold a news conference about the proposal at noon. The hearing, which will be livestreamed, is at 1 p.m. in House Judiciary.

The AP reports, "Oregon lawmakers to consider death penalty repeal."  It's by Jonathan J. Cooper, via KOMO-TV and the Columbian.

Oregon's complicated relationship with capital punishment takes center stage this week as a House committee takes up Gov. John Kitzhaber's plea for a public vote on repealing the death penalty.

On Tuesday, the House Judiciary Committee will hear public testimony on a measure that would ask voters in 2014 whether to insert 10 words in the state constitution: "A sentence of death shall not be imposed or executed."

The proposal doesn't seem likely to go very far, especially after voters in California rejected a similar measure last year.

House Speaker Tina Kotek said she wants to see more evidence the measure could pass in Oregon, although she stopped short of ruling out a 2014 vote.

"I think it was unfortunate that California wasn't successful, and I think that impacted our ability to be successful in the near term," Kotek said.

Rep. Mitch Greenlick, the Portland Democrat sponsoring the measure, said he believes it would pass, and he'd like to see the measure go forward. Kitzhaber told reporters last month that he'd like to see a vote in 2014 even if polling showed the measure was unlikely to pass.

One Republican, Rep. Bob Jenson of Pendleton, has signed on. He said death penalty cases are expensive to try and to appeal, and forensic evidence has proven the innocence of some death row inmates around the country.

"Once you throw the switch, it's impossible to reverse those mistakes," said Jenson said.

Earlier coverage from Oregon begins at the link.  The state currently has a moratorium on executions by order of the governor.

Gideon Webcast - Starting Soon

American Bar Association Section of Litigation is about to present a live streaming webcast, "The 50th Anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright."  Here's the info:

A program commemorating the 50th anniversary of the landmark decision, Gideon v. Wainwright will be live streamed on January 18, 2013. This decision recognized a constitutional right to the appointment of counsel for indigent criminal defendants charged with felonies. Mr. Gideon was in prison when he submitted his handwritten petition to the U.S. Supreme Court requesting counsel.

Speakers include:
--  Professor Bruce Jacob, Dean Emeritus and Professor of Law at Stetson University College of Law
--  Anthony Graves, Motivational Speaker and Legal Consultant
--  Carlos J. Martinez, Miami-Dade Public Defender
Moderating will be JoAnne A. Epps, Dean of Temple Beasley School of Law.

Experience this event on your mobile device by downloading the UStream App. Follow the directions below to download the app to your iPad, iPhone, Kindle Fire and other Android devices. Upon downloading the app, simply search the name of the event.

Don’t just watch. Participate! During this event, online participants are encouraged to submit any questions they may have. Some questions will be addressed during the event while others will be provided to the panelist during a 10-15 minute Q&A period at the end of the event. We will attempt to address as many questions as possible during the allotted time period.

Coverage of the Senate Hearing on Solitary Confinement

"Senators Start a Review of Solitary Confinement," is the  New York Times report by Erica Goode.

Solitary confinement “is inhumane and by its design it is driving men insane,” a former inmate who spent 18 years in prison in Texas, a decade of that time in isolation on death row before being exonerated, told a Senate panel in a hearing on Tuesday.

“I lived behind a steel door that had two small slits in it, the space replaced with iron and wire, which was dirty and filthy,” said Anthony Graves, whose conviction for involvement in multiple murders was overturned in 2006. “I had no television, no telephone and most importantly, I had no physical contact with another human being.”

The hearing, held before the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights, represents the first time lawmakers on Capitol Hill have taken up the issue of solitary confinement, a form of imprisonment that many human rights advocates believe violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition of “cruel and unusual punishment” and that has drawn increasing scrutiny in recent months in the United States and internationally.

The practice, which is widespread in American prisons, has also been the target of a growing number of lawsuits, including a class-action suit filed on Monday on behalf of mentally ill inmates held in solitary at ADX, the federal super-maximum-security prison in Florence, Colo.

Last month, civil rights lawyers representing prisoners held for more than 10 years in isolation at Pelican Bay State Prison in California filed suit in federal court, arguing that solitary confinement is unconstitutional.

Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the assistant majority leader, began the hearing — which he said had the support of both Democratic and Republican committee members — by noting that more prisoners are held in isolation in the United States than in any other democracy and that about half of all prison suicides occur among inmates in solitary confinement.

"Solitary confinement 'is driving men insane,' exonerated convict testifies," is Jamie Goldberg's report for the Los Angeles Times and Tribune News Service.

For most of his 12 years on death row, Anthony Graves lived in what he called an 8-by-12 "cage." To see outside he would stand on top of his rolled-up plastic mattress and look through a small window at the top of the concrete wall in the back of his cell. He spent 22, sometimes 24, hours a day in this room.

"Solitary confinement does one thing: It breaks a man's will to live and he ends up deteriorating. He's never the same person again," said Graves, who served over 18 years in a Texas prison before being exonerated of all crimes in 2010.

Speaking at what was described as the first congressional hearing about solitary confinement, Graves told a Senate Judiciary Committee subcommittee that the practice was "inhumane and by its design is driving men insane."

Psychological studies indicate that approximately a third of prisoners in solitary confinement suffer from mental illness and 50% of prison suicides occur in solitary confinement, said Craig Haney, a psychology professor at UC Santa Cruz.

This month, the Center for Constitutional Rights sued the state of California for its practice of isolating prison inmates suspected of having gang affiliations. The lawsuit focuses on 300 inmates who have been held at Pelican Bay State Prison's Security Housing Unit for more than a decade.

Charles Samuels, director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, told the committee that inmates were only placed in solitary confinement to protect the safety of the prison population. The bureau attempts to limit time spent in solitary confinement, which is not supposed to be used for seriously mentally ill inmates, he said.

"Sen. Richard Durbin urges revamping prison solitary confinement," by Annika McGinnis for McClatchy News.  It's via the Charlotte Observer.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., repeatedly asked the director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Charles Samuels, whether he thought there were any negative effects to such treatment. Samuels said it wasn’t the “preferred option,” and cited a 2010 Colorado Department of Corrections study that he said had found no negative effects from solitary confinement.

Haney, who helped lead the Stanford Prison Experiment in 1971, which demonstrated the psychological impact of confinement on prisoners and guards, said that living in what he called extreme, inhumane and “zoolike” conditions often caused serious mental illness and was a danger to public safety.

About 95 percent of prisoners in solitary confinement ultimately are released back to society; Haney charged that the system lacks meaningful transitional services and formerly isolated prisoners are more prone to violence after they’re released.

Prison officials are supposed to monitor prisoners’ mental health and move them to psychiatric wards if they exhibit signs of illness. Samuels said the system had an extensive network of such officials and an intensive psychological screening process before prisoners were placed in solitary confinement. He said that only the most dangerous prisoners, who posed a threat to other inmates or guards, were placed in solitary confinement and that the number was very small.

Christopher B. Epps, the commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, said his efforts to revamp that state’s prisons had reduced the number of segregated inmates by 75 percent.

Durbin’s legislation, which has yet to be introduced, would cut the number of prisoners in solitary confinement, improve mental health screenings and give prisoners greater opportunities to challenge decisions.

Texas exoneree Anthony Graves has posted, "An Innocent Man’s Tortured Days on Texas’s Death Row," at the ACLU.  Here's the beginning of this must-read:

On November 1, 1994, I heard the gavel fall and the judge announce, “Anthony Graves, I hereby sentence you to death by lethal injection.” The jury had already convicted me of murdering six people and burning down their house down to cover up the crime. I was completely innocent: they had the wrong guy. I was scared of dying for a crime I did not commit, but I believed in my innocence and hoped someone, somewhere would make it right.

What I didn’t know then was that this wrongful death sentence was only part of the torture I would experience for the next 18-and-a-half years. I didn’t know that I would be forced to live in an 8x12 cage. I didn’t know I would have to use a steel toilet, connected to my steel sink, in plain view of the male and female corrections officers would walk the runs in front of my cell. I didn’t know that for years on end I would have no physical contact with a single human being.

I didn’t know that guards would feed me like a dog, through a slot in my door. Instead of providing basic nutrients, the food sometimes contained rat feces, broken glass, or the sweat of the inmate who cooked it. This diet caused me health problems that continue today. The prison gave me no phone to call my loved ones, no television to keep up with the world and local events, and no real medical care. I lived behind a steel door, with filthy mesh-covered windows looking out to the run; my only window to the outside world was a tiny one on the top of the back wall of my cell. With its peeling, old, and dull paint, my cage was the image of an abandoned one-room project apartment. If I had known when I was sentenced all I would have to go through before I would win my freedom, I don’t know if even my faith in my own innocence would have been enough to sustain me.

Earlier coverage of the U.S. Senate hearing begins at the link.  Related posts are in the incarceration index.

David Dow at TED

University of Houston Law prof David Dow's TED Talk is, "Lessons from death row inmates."

What happens before a murder? In looking for ways to reduce death penalty cases, David R. Dow realized that a surprising number of death row inmates had similar biographies. In this talk he proposes a bold plan, one that prevents murders in the first place. Filmed at TEDxAustin.

David R. Dow has defended over 100 death row inmates in 20 years.

A related post is Bryan Stevenson at TED.

Solitary Confinement Gets Senate Attention

The Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights holds a hearing this morning in Washington, DC.  It begins at 10:00 am (EDT/9:00 am (CDT); about 10 minutes from now.

Texas exoneree Anthony Graves is one of the witnesses.

“Reassessing Solitary Confinement: The Human Rights, Fiscal and Public Safety Consequences," will be webcast.  You can view the hearing at the link.  Here's a list of the witnesses:

Witness List

Panel I
The Honorable Charles Samuels, Director
Federal Bureau of Prisons; Washington, DC

Panel II
Commissioner Christopher Epps, Mississippi Department of Corrections
Jackson, MS

Stuart M. Andrews, Jr., Partner
Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP; Columbia, SC

Anthony Graves, Founder
Anthony Believes; Houston, TX

Dr. Craig Haney, Professor of Psychology
University of California, Santa Cruz; Santa Cruz, CA

Pat Nolan, President
Justice Fellowship/Prison Fellowship Ministries; Leesburg, VA

Thanks to Solitary Watch, which has more.

Historic Connecticut Vote Set for Wednesday

The Connecticut House of Representatives will take up the death penalty repeal bill, SB 280, tomorrow afternoon.  As was the case last week in the Connecticut Senate, a lengthy debate is expected.  One difference, however, is that obervers expect the bill to pass with a wide majority.  Governor Dannel Malloy has already said that he will sign the bill into law when it reaches his desk.

"Connecticut House to take up death penalty repeal bill," is the AP post, via the Norwich Bulletin.

The Connecticut House of Representatives will be voting on the high-profile death penalty repeal bill Wednesday, a week after the bill passed in the state's Senate.

Doug Whiting, spokesman for House Speaker Rep. Christopher Donovan of Meriden, told the Associated Press Tuesday that the House will take up the bill mid-afternoon Wednesday.

The proposed bill would abolish the death penalty for all future cases, but would not directly affect the sentences of current 11 inmates on Connecticut's death row.

Streaming video of the Connecticut House of Representatives session will be available from the General Assembly website.

Earlier coverage of the Connecticut repeal legislation begins at the link.

The Responsibilities of Prosecutors

The American Bar Association has posted an excellent discussion, "Prosecutorial Accountability in the Post-Connick v. Thompson Era: Reforms and Solutions," on its website.  The panel discussion was held at the ABA Midyear Meeting in New Orleans, this February.  Here's a brief description:

Prosecutors play a crucial role in the administration of justice, and rules concerning the performance of their important responsibilities should promote their respect for and compliance with the law. But twice in the past two years the alleged misconduct of the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office has been the subject of a case before the United States Supreme Court. This program brought together prosecutors, ethics experts, a former death row prisoner, and academics to discuss these important cases, whether and how prosecutors should be held accountable for misconduct, and possible solutions and reforms which will help limit future misconduct.

Prosecutorial Accountability Project from Bruce France on Vimeo.

 

It was co-sponsored by several ABA groups; Death Penalty Representation Project, Criminal Justice Section, Section for Individual Rights and Responsibilities, Section of Litigation, and Death Penalty Moratorium Implementation Project.

Earlier coverage of Connick v. Thompson begins at the link.  Related posts are in the ABA and prosecutorial misconduct indexes.

Thanks to Tristin Aaron for forwarding.

Bryan Stevenson at TED

Bryan Stevenson, leader of the Alabama-based Equal Justice Initiative, has a TED Talk, "We need to talk about an injustice."  It's a much-watch.

In an engaging and personal talk -- with cameo appearances from his grandmother and Rosa Parks -- human rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson shares some hard truths about America's justice system, starting with a massive imbalance along racial lines: a third of the country's black male population has been incarcerated at some point in their lives. These issues, which are wrapped up in America's unexamined history, are rarely talked about with this level of candor, insight and persuasiveness.

Bryan Stevenson is the founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, fighting poverty and challenging racial discrimination in the criminal justice system

One takeaway:

"We have a system of justice in [the US] that treats you much better if you're rich and guilty than if you're poor and innocent. Wealth, not culpability, shapes outcomes.”

He will be the keynote speaker at a UT Law symposium later this month in Austin, Lynching and the Death Penalty, noted at the link.

David Baldus Academic Conference & Tribute Online

The University of Iowa College of Law has released podcasts of the David Baldus Academic Conference and Tribute. 

The Baldus Academic Conference and Tribute are available online. 

The event was held October 20, 2011.  The program and list of speakers is at the link.

Earlier coverage of the Baldus program and the Batson at 25 symposium is at the link.

Troy Davis Memorial Service - Live Webcast

The NAACP is webcasting today's Celebration of Life for Troy Davis.  It is live, right now from the Jonesville Baptist Church in Savannah, Georgia.

More from the NAACP at, "The World Will RememberTroy's Name."

Webcast Today

The Constitution Project's Constitution Day program on wrongful convictions will be webcast today, live from Georgetown Law School in Washington, DC.

Annual Celebration of Constitution Day
Fifth Annual Constitutional Commentary Award Presentation and Discussion with the Honorees

Join The Constitution Project, the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project, and Georgetown University Law Center as we recognize distinguished authors Jim and Nancy Petro and Brandon Garrett for their respective books, False Justice: Eight Myths that Convict the Innocent  and Convicting the Innocent: Where Criminal Prosecutions Go Wrong. In both works, the authors discuss the flaws in our criminal justice system that continue to result in wrongful convictions. The Constitution Project will present the three authors with its Constitutional Commentary Award, given annually to the author or producer of an outstanding work that has improved the quality of public discourse through insightful, articulate analysis of a constitutional issue of the day.  Following the award presentation, Jeffrey Rosen will host a discussion with the three authors.

The webcast will be available here.

WHO:  
Brandon Garrett, Professor of Law, University of Virginia School of Law, author of Convicting the Innocent: Where Criminal Prosecutions Go Wrong

Jim Petro, Former Republican Attorney General of Ohio (2003-2007), and Nancy Petro, co-authors of False Justice: Eight Myths that Convict the Innocent 

Jeffrey Rosen (moderator), Legal Affairs Editor, The New Republic; Professor of Law, George Washington University

WHAT:
Fifth Annual Constitutional Commentary Award Presentation and  discussion with the authors.

WHEN:
Thursday, September 15, 2011 from 3:30-6:30 pm EDT/ 2:30-5:30 pm CDT/ 1:30 pm MDT/ 12:30 pm PDT

WHERE:
Georgetown University School of Law  
Gewirz Student Center, 12th Floor
120 F Street N.W.  
Washington, D.C. 20001

More information at the Constitution Project website.  Earlier coverage of this event is at the link.

Constitution Day - September 15

For Constitution Day, the Constitution Project has put together a great program dealing with wrongful convictions.  The Constitution Project has teamed with the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project and Georgetown Law.

Fifth Annual Constitutional Commentary Award Presentation and Discussion with the Authors

Join TCP and the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project on Thursday, September 15, 2011 as we recognize distinguished authors Jim and Nancy Petro and Brandon Garrett for their respective books, False Justice: Eight Myths that Convict the Innocent and Convicting the Innocent: Where Criminal Prosecutions Go Wrong. In both works, the authors discuss the flaws in our criminal justice system that continue to result in wrongful convictions. Following the award presentation, Jeffrey Rosen, Legal Affairs Editor for The New Republicand Professor of Law at George Washington University, will host a discussion with the three authors.

The event will take place on the 12th floor of the Gewirz Student Center at Georgetown University School of Law from 3:30-6:30 pm. Be sure to RSVP ([email protected]) to reserve a seat.

More on the participants:

• Brandon Garrett, Professor of Law, University of Virginia School of Law, author of Convicting the Innocent: Where Criminal Prosecutions Go Wrong
• Jim Petro, Former Republican Attorney General of Ohio (2003-2007), and Nancy Petro, co-authors of False Justice: Eight Myths that Convict the Innocent
• Jeffrey Rosen (moderator), Legal Affairs Editor, The New Republic; Professor of Law, George Washington University

The program is open to the public.

There will also be a live webcast of the September 15 program for individuals and groups unable to be in Washington, DC.  The webcast will be archived for later viewing, as well.  I'm hoping that innocence projects in the states and other groups involved in criminal justice reform will consider organizing local screenings of the event.

Earlier coverage of Brandon Garrett's recently published, Convicting the Innocent: Where Criminal Prosecutions Go Wrong is at the link.

Sandra Babcock on Democracy Now!

Sandra Babcock appeared on Democracy Now!, earlier today.  "Mexican Denied Consular Rights Faces Texas Execution Tonight Despite White House Opposition."

Leal’s family still maintains he is innocent and defense attorney says his case was also hurt by inadequate counsel by his court-appointed attorney. Barring a last minute stay by Texas Governor Rick Perry or the U.S. Supreme Court, Leal is set to be executed at 6pm. We speak with Humberto Leal’s attorney, Sandra Babcock.

You can watch the streaming video at the link.

Earlier coverage of Humberto Leal's case begins with the preceding post.  For more on the case, and a petition, go to the Humberto Leal website.

A Campaign for Clemency Get International Attention

Nina Martyris writes the OpEd, "Victims don't want the US's death penalty," for today's Guardian.  Martyris is a US-based journalist who is a consulting editor with The Times of India Crest.

The US death penalty debate is back in the national spotlight thanks to a 9/11 hate-crime victim who was shot at and blinded in one eye, but is campaigning for his shooter's death sentence to be commuted to life imprisonment.

In September 2001, crazed by the death of his sister in the World Trade Centre, a heavily tattooed, bandana-sporting stone-cutter named Mark Stroman set out with his shotgun. He killed two men, assuming they were Arabs (one was an Indian Hindu, the other a Pakistani Muslim), and then walked into a gas station and shot into a third man's terrified face after asking "Where are you from?".

Rais Bhuiyan, who is also not an Arab but a Bangladeshi, survived, but had to undergo four operations and now lives with a dead eye and a face and head pitted with metal lumps. Remarkably, then, the 37-year-old aeronautics graduate who quit the Bangladesh air force to fly to the US in search of "more freedom", has been working with Amnesty and Stroman's lawyer to reduce Stroman's sentence. He says his main crime is ignorance and that killing him will only continue "the cycle of hitting and hitting back". Bhuiyan has been accused of being motivated more by the glitter of publicity than the glow of forgiveness, but whether or not that is true, this case is significant for several reasons.

And:

Third, and perhaps most important, here is yet another case of a victim opposing the death penalty. Bhuiyan, who keeps in touch with the other two victims' families, says that one of the families is actively supporting him, thereby countering the pro-death camp's argument that while it's all very well for nuns and liberals to sing from the abolitionist songbook, families whose loved ones have been murdered, raped or tortured have an emotional and moral need to see the perpetrator punished with death in order to get some kind of justice and closure. This, despite the anguished testimony of innumerable victims' families that capital trials, with their endless hearings and appeals, only prolong their trauma, and that, eventually, when the execution does take place, watching the offender die brings neither catharsis nor redemption.

Earlier coverage of Bhuiyan's campaign for a commutation of his attacker's death sentence begins at the link.  Stoman's execution date is July 20.

Abe Bonowitz of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty will host a live Facebook chat with Rais Bhuiyan today at 1:00 pm (EDT), 12:00 pm (CDT), 11:00 am (MDT), 10:00 am (PDT).  Details at the link.

Illinois Signing Ceremony Webcast

The Media Availability webcast is about to go live at the Illinois Governor's website.

Today's news coverage is at the link.

Illinois Governor Expected to Sign Repeal Bill at Noon

That's the word from legislators this morning.  The private signing is set to be webcast at the Illinois Governor's website at 12:00 noon, today.

"Quinn will likely sign death penalty bill at noon today - Watch it live right here" is Rich Miller's post at Capitol Fax, an Illinois political news service.

* No surprise…

    Gov. Pat Quinn is expected to sign historic legislation abolishing the death penalty in Illinois on Wednesday, according to the House sponsor and sources familiar with the governor’s plans.

    The Democratic governor on Tuesday quietly invited death penalty opponents to a private bill-signing ceremony scheduled for late Wednesday morning in his Springfield office. Quinn’s office confirmed that the governor has an event at the Capitol on Wednesday to announce his decision on the death penalty measure.

    “They point-blank told me they were signing the bill (Wednesday),” sponsoring Rep. Karen Yarbrough told the Tribune.

    Quinn has until March 18 to sign or veto the legislation or it automatically becomes law. He was poised to deal with it late last week but decided to continue listening to both sides of the issue. On Monday, Quinn told reporters he planned to act this week.

* As of last night, the governor’s office wasn’t confirming anything…

    Quinn’s office would not divulge the governor’s intentions nor did it release his Wednesday schedule, saying an itinerary for the day’s events likely would be forthcoming early in the day.

    “Unfortunately, I can’t confirm anything for tomorrow,” said Quinn spokeswoman Annie Thompson late Tuesday.

* But shortly after 7 o’clock this morning, they sent out this press release…

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, March 9, 2011

    GOVERNOR’S PUBLIC SCHEDULE **Wednesday, March 9, 2011**

    SPRINGFIELD - Governor Pat Quinn will hold a press availability.
    WHO: Governor Quinn
    WHEN: 12 p.m.
    WHERE: Governor’s Office
    207 Statehouse
    2nd and Monroe
    Springfield, 62706

    ADDITIONAL: The availability will be streamed live on www.Illinois.gov.
    Due to space constraints, press credentials will be required.

They usually don’t stream press avails live on the Interwebtubies, so that’s a pretty darned good indication that this one is important. Watch it here.

The latest AP report is, "Lawmakers: Quinn to sign death penalty ban," by Deanna Bellandi.  It's via the Springfield State Register-Journal.

Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn has said he supports capital punishment if it's fairly applied, but one of his Republican predecessors felt so uneasy about the state's power to mete out the ultimate punishment that he placed a moratorium on executions that has lasted for the past 11 years.

On Wednesday, Quinn plans to abolish Illinois' death penalty at a signing ceremony in his capital offices, according to two sponsors of the legislation, State Rep. Karen Yarbrough and state Sen. Kwame Raoul, who said they were invited to witness the event.

"It's going to happen," Raoul said.

The governor's office Wednesday morning issued a notice that Quinn will hold a meeting with reporters in his office at noon. The meeting will be streamed live at illinois.gov.

Quinn's signature would make Illinois the 16th state without capital punishment when it takes effect July 1. But a decision to sign has not come easily.

Quinn's office declined to comment Tuesday about his intentions, but he has said he personally supports the death penalty when properly implemented and would make a decision on the bill based on his conscience.

"I've heard from many, many people of good faith and good conscience on both sides of the issue. And I've tried to be very meticulous and writing down notes and studying those notes and books and e-mails. They've really spoken from the heart. I've been very proud of the people of Illinois," Quinn said recently.

The Chicago Tribune says, "Quinn expected to sign death penalty ban."  It's written by Ray Long and Monique Garcia.

Gov. Pat Quinn is expected to sign historic legislation abolishing the death penalty in Illinois on Wednesday, according to the House sponsor and sources familiar with the governor's plans.

The Democratic governor on Tuesday quietly invited death penalty opponents to a private bill-signing ceremony scheduled for late Wednesday morning in his Springfield office. Quinn's office confirmed that the governor has an event at the Capitol on Wednesday to announce his decision on the death penalty measure.

"They point-blank told me they were signing the bill (Wednesday)," sponsoring Rep. Karen Yarbrough told the Tribune.

Quinn has until March 18 to sign or veto the legislation or it automatically becomes law. He was poised to deal with it late last week but decided to continue listening to both sides of the issue. On Monday, Quinn told reporters he planned to act this week.

And:

The ban would come about 11 years after then-Gov. George Ryan declared a moratorium on executions after 13 condemned inmates were cleared since Illinois reinstated capital punishment in 1977. Ryan, a Republican, cited a Tribune investigative series that examined each of the state's nearly 300 capital cases and exposed how bias, error and incompetence undermined many of them.

Since then, Illinois approved reforms to the capital punishment system, including taping interrogations under a proposal forged by President Barack Obama when he served in the Illinois Senate. Only two days before leaving office in January 2003, Ryan commuted the death sentences of 164 prisoners to life in prison. Quinn and his predecessor, Rod Blagojevich, kept the moratorium in place.

"Yarbrough: Pat Quinn to sign bill repealing Illinois death penalty," is by Dave McKinney at the Chicago Sun-Times.

Gov. Quinn plans to sign landmark legislation today that will repeal the state’s death penalty, said a key House lawmaker and sources briefed on his plans.

State Rep. Karen Yarbrough (D-Maywood), the bill’s chief House sponsor, said she received notification from a Quinn legislative aide late Tuesday afternoon that the governor would enact the death-penalty abolition bill Wednesday morning.

“For Illinois, I think we’ll be on the right side of history,” she told the Chicago Sun-Times.

Quinn’s office would not divulge the governor’s intentions nor did it release his Wednesday schedule, saying an itinerary for the day’s events likely would be forthcoming early in the day.

“Unfortunately, I can’t confirm anything for tomorrow,” said Quinn spokeswoman Annie Thompson late Tuesday.

Quinn’s expected move will add Illinois to 15 other states that have abolished the death penalty since the late 1970s.

Not clear are Quinn’s intentions for those now on death row, a group of 15 men that includes serial killer Brian Dugan, who was convicted in the 1983 murder of 10-year-old Jeanine Nicarico.

Earlier coverage from Illinois begins at the link.

FSC to Resume Willingham Consideration Today

The Forensic Science Commission meets today in Austin, and the Todd Willingham case is on its agenda.  The Innocence Project will be webcasting the meeting, which begins at 9:30 a.m.

Yamil Berard reports, "Forensic science panel set to deliberate Willingham case," in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

They've heard from the science experts and the lawyers. They've pored over instructional manuals about fire safety and quizzed investigators.

Now it's time for the state panel tasked with rooting out bad forensic science to roll up its sleeves and begin deliberations in the case of the Corsicana mechanic executed for setting the house fire that killed his three children.

Expectations are high from those who have closely watched the Texas Forensic Science Commission work for more than a year on the Cameron Todd Willingham murder case. At issue is whether faulty science led to investigators' conclusion that the fire was arson.

"What we really plan is for the commission really coming to a final decision to bring this to a close," said Stephen Saloom, policy director for the New York-based Innocence Project, which filed a 2006 complaint urging panel members to review the work of the arson investigators.

"I would hope they would do this in short order," Saloom said.

Commission members will meet today, but they haven't indicated how they will proceed. The agenda states that members are expected to consider the Willingham case and "assign report."

They will likely provide more details at the meeting, commission coordinator Leigh Tomlin wrote in an e-mail in response to questions. Also likely is that members will seek advice from new general counsel Lynn M. Robitaille.

"The agenda contains the full amount of information released prior to the meeting," Tomlin wrote. "All further details will be handled at the meeting."

That could mean that commissioners will dive into public discussion, now that fact-finding is done and other information has been presented. The discussion may include members' expressing independent opinions about the case.

"I don't think they've yet established how they feel," Saloom said.

Also, the commission could agree, as a whole, to ask the four-member investigatory panel it established months ago to write a report based on the commission's discussions. The panel is made up of Chairman John Bradley, a prosecutor; and members Sarah Kerrigan, a forensic science professor and chemist; Fort Worth defense attorney Lance Evans; and Tarrant County Medical Examiner Nizam Peerwani. If the commission does that, the panel would have to meet independently, then report back.

The AP report is, "Fire that led to execution returns to Texas panel," is by Michael Graczyk.  It's via the Houston Chronicle.

The disputed case of Cameron Todd Willingham, who was convicted of the arson deaths of his three small children and executed, returns to the Texas Forensic Science Commission.

The panel Friday is considering testimony it heard earlier this month from experts who differed on whether the investigation of the 1991 fire in Corsicana was botched. The commission also is to order a report written about the case.

Earlier coverage begins with the post, "Commentary on the FSC Meeting," following the Commission's meeting earlier this month.

All Willingham coverage is available through the Todd Willingham index.

The Beyler report prepared for the Forensic Science Commission is here in Adobe .pdf format.

David Grann's September 2009 New Yorker article is noted here.    Steve Mills and Maurice Possley first reported on the case in a 2004 Chicago Tribune series on junk science.  The December 9, 2004 report was titled,"Man executed on disproved forensics."

The Innocence Project has a Todd Willingham resource page which provides a concise overview of the Willingham case with links to all relevant documents.

Innocence Project Webcasting FSC Hearing

As it has done in the past, the Innocence Project is webcasting today's Forensic Science Commission meeting.

As noted in the preceding post, Texas Observer journalist Dave Mann is live tweeting from the FSC meeting.

Today's FSC Meeting Webcast Begins at 9:30 a.m.

A reminder that the Innocence Project will be webcasting today's Forensic Science Commission meeting.  It's set to begin at 9:30 this morning, in Dallas.  The arson science review involving the cases of Todd Willingaham and Ernest Willis is on the FSC agenda. 

The Innocence Project has a Todd Willingham resource page which provides a concise overview of the Willingham case with links to all relevant documents.

Earlier coverage begins here,  All Willingham coverage is available through the Todd Willingham category index.

The Beyler report prepared for the Forensic Science Commission is here in Adobe .pdf format.

David Grann's September 2009 New Yorker article is noted here.    Steve Mills and Maurice Possley first reported on the case in a 2004 Chicago Tribune series on junk science.  The December 9, 2004 report was titled,"Man executed on disproved forensics."

Forensic Science Commission Meeting Tomorrow

The Forensic Science Commission meets tomorrow in Dallas, and the Todd Willingham case is on the agenda.  The Innocence Project will once again webcast the entire meeting. 

Today's Dallas Morning News carries an editorial, "Forensics panel should hear experts."

The Texas Forensic Science Commission needs to put its discussions on the Cameron Todd Willingham case out in the open where they belong – and keep them there.

Secret committee meetings produced a tentative conclusion this summer that outmoded science, not professional negligence, was central to the arson finding that led to Willingham's execution in 2004.

The committee's rationale was not clear, given the closed-door meetings. Commission Chairman John Bradley appeared ready to move the case along to an official conclusion – kind of an official "oops" – despite the absence of open discussion involving outside experts.

The public deserves to see a public dissection of the case when the commission meets in Dallas on Friday, but it's hard to be optimistic.

And:

There are important lingering questions about the arson investigators involved in Willingham's criminal case:

• As the execution neared, did they recognize that arson science was evolving and could change their findings?

• Were they aware that outside experts had raised serious questions about the investigation based on new standards that were being adopted nationally?

• Did they have an obligation to step forward and do a re-evaluation?

The way the commission addresses these questions will show its willingness to set high expectations for how forensics professionals discharge their responsibilities. In Texas, that can be a life-and-death matter.

The AP report is, "Texas panel ready to end disputed arson inquiry," by Jeff Carlton.

A state commission that planned last year to review a report finding fault with an arson investigation that led to a Texas man's execution — until Gov. Rick Perry reshuffled the panel — is now considering a report with a much different conclusion.

A revamped Texas Forensic Science Commission, led by a Perry appointee, meets Friday in Dallas to debate a report that finds fire investigators did not commit professional negligence or misconduct. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the report through an open records request.

If approved, the report would end the commission's inquiry into the Cameron Todd Willingham case. Willingham was put to death in 2004 on Perry's watch 12 years after being convicted of deliberately setting a fire that killed his three young children.

The new report concludes Texas fire investigators adhered to professional standards that existed at the time, while acknowledging standards have evolved. The report also says the state fire marshal's office should adopt standards published by the National Fire Protection Association for all current fire investigations.

The commission "concludes that the fire investigators met the standard of practice that an ordinary fire investigator would have exercised at the time the original Willingham investigation and trial took place," according to the report.

Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley, selected by Perry to replace Austin defense attorney Sam Bassett as head of the commission, was one of four commission members who wrote the report.

And:

The report contradicts one written for the commission last year by fire expert Craig Beyler, chairman of the International Association of Fire Safety Science. He wrote that the investigators didn't follow standards in place at the time.

"I would characterize their interest in my opinion as next to zero," Beyler said of the current commission.

Beyler also said the opinions of a state fire official in the case were "nothing more than a collection of personal beliefs that have nothing to do with science-based fire investigation" and that the deputy state fire marshal appeared "wholly without any realistic understanding of fires and how fire injuries are created."

The testimony of fire investigators was the primary evidence against Willingham, who was convicted by a jury in Corsicana, south of Dallas, in 1992.

"Arson panel's draft report blasted," by Allan Turner is in today's Houston Chronicle.

After two years of sometimes acrimonious and politically charged investigation, the Texas Forensic Science Commission on Friday is set to rule on the soundness of arson probes that helped send a Corsicana man to his execution. But even as commissioners hoped to finally lay the Cameron Todd Willingham case to rest, storm clouds were rising.

In response to a commission draft report that clears state and local arson officials of professional negligence or misconduct, Innocence Project co-founder Barry Scheck on Wednesday blasted the panel's review as heavy-handed and unfair.

And Craig Beyler, the International Association of Fire Safety Science chairman hired to evaluate the investigations, worried that he has had no "substantive interaction" with commissioners since he filed his report on the case about a year ago.

The panel's review of investigations in the December 1991 house fire that killed Willingham's three young children was launched in 2008 in response to a complaint from Scheck's organization. Willingham, 36, went to his February 2004 execution claiming his innocence.

And:

Scheck criticized the draft report, which he said failed to address "highly improper statements" Vasquez made to jurors asserting that the fire told a truthful story and that Willingham had set the blaze to kill his children.

He faulted the report, too, for failing to address what he called "duty to correct." Improved standards for arson investigations promulgated by the National Fire Protection Association months after the Corsicana blaze should have been brought to the attention of prosecutors and judges before Willingham's execution, he said.

"I'm extremely disturbed by the process John Bradley has imposed," Scheck said. "This has not been exactly a robust and open discussion. ... He certainly has not given us as complainants the opportunity to be heard."

The Texas Tribune reports, "Lawmakers Criticize Panel's Arson Investigation," by Brandi Grissom.

State Sens. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, and Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, D-McAllen, sent a letter Monday to the commission with a list of grievances about the way it has conducted the Willingham investigation. The senators wrote that the process has been too secretive, that it has been diluted and that the primary question in the case has not been addressed. They wrote: "It appears that you are not interested in looking at the 'big picture' component of this complaint: Did the State Fire Marshal commit professional negligence or misconduct if it failed to inform the courts, prosecutors, the Board of Pardons and Parole, and the Governor that flawed arson science may have been used to convict hundreds or thousands of defendants?"

The senators wrote that more than 225 people each year are sent to Texas prisons on arson convictions, and more than 700 current prisons are serving time for arson. "Texans need to be confident that the flawed science used to convict and execute Mr. Willingham wasn't used to wrongly imprison many others," they wrote.

The Innocence Project news release is, "Texas Forensic Science Commission Set to Discuss Willingham Arson Case."  Here's an excerpt:

Willingham family members will be in attendance Innocence Project’s Co-Director Barry Scheck and Policy Director Stephen Saloom will be available for comments immediately following the meeting

On Friday, September 17, at 9:30 a.m., the Texas Forensic Science Commission will convene to consider the disposition of the Cameron Todd Willingham arson allegation and Ernest Willis case.

Willingham was executed in 2004 for allegedly setting a fire that killed his children. Before and after his execution, leading experts found that there was no scientific basis for deeming the fire an act of arson. Willis was convicted of arson based on the same kind of forensic analysis, but he was fully exonerated. These cases raise important questions about the integrity of forensic analysis in arson investigations statewide.

At the last meeting of the Texas Forensic Science Commission, many Commissioners expressed their belief that “flawed science” was used to convict and execute Willingham.  The only issue remaining was whether or not the state was negligent in its handling of the case.  However on Aug. 20, the Texas Fire Marshal’s Office submitted a response to the Commission claiming that the testimony of the original investigator was credible. This response doesn’t address the concerns raised by the national experts and has been thoroughly rebutted by expert John Lentini. 

Earlier coverage begins with this post.

All Willingham coverage is available through the Todd Willingham category index.

The Beyler report prepared for the Forensic Science Commission is here in Adobe .pdf format.

David Grann's September 2009 New Yorker article is noted here.    Steve Mills and Maurice Possley first reported on the case in a 2004 Chicago Tribune series on junk science.  The December 9, 2004 report was titled,"Man executed on disproved forensics."

The Innocence Project has a Todd Willingham resource page which provides a concise overview of the Willingham case with links to all relevant documents.