No Death Penalty WI

Death penalty not foreseen soon here

2006-11-08T18:44:00.000-06:00

Death penalty not foreseen soon here
Despite referendum passing Tuesday

By Anita Weier

Though 56 percent of Wisconsin voters approved an advisory referendum asking for establishment of the death penalty, there is no chance that capital punishment will become law anytime soon.

"I am a realist. There is no prospect," said state Sen. Al Lasee, R-DePere, the author of the referendum and a longtime supporter of capital punishment. "The Democrats took control of the Senate and Gov. Doyle got re-elected."

Gov. Jim Doyle opposes the death penalty and could veto any bill enacting the death penalty, and Lasee rammed the advisory referendum through the Legislature when both houses were controlled by Republicans and he was president of the Senate.

"But we laid the foundation for the fact that Wisconsin citizens are interested in supporting the death penalty," Lasee said. "It will not pass this session or maybe next, but at some time the Legislature will come around to the thinking of Wisconsin residents."

However, Stacy Harbaugh, community advocate at the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin's Madison office, said the ACLU and other members of a coalition that opposed the referendum would continue to fight a death penalty bill every step of the way.

"This was introduced very late, and we did not have a lot of time to organize. We knew it would be a hard fight from the beginning, due to the biased nature of the question, with the DNA clause," Harbaugh said.

"The question makes it seem like an open-and-shut case, but this is a much more complicated issue."

The death penalty would require a costly infrastructure for a state with no death rows, Harbaugh said, and appeals are very costly.

"Once people realize how unevenly the death penalty is applied in other states, they tend to change their minds," she said. "In states that have the death penalty, a similar crime can be committed and one person gets the death penalty and the other does not. It has to do with the race and class of the person who committed the crime and the race and class of the victim. It has to do with how much money the defendant has. And it is up to the prosecutor to decide whether to seek the death penalty, so it is different from state to state and county to county."

Lasee still plans to introduce a bill that would restore the death penalty in Wisconsin after 153 years, though the measure would differ from the phrasing in the advisory referendum.

That question on the ballot asked whether the death penalty should be enacted in Wisconsin for cases involving a person convicted of first-degree intentional homicide, if the conviction was supported by DNA evidence.

Lasee said his bill would spell out what types of murders and make sure that all evidence, including DNA, would be included in the finding of innocence or guilt.

"It would apply to the more vicious, gruesome, brutal murders, such as those involving kidnapping, rape, murder and mutilation," Lasee said. " That is the way it is done in 38 other states. Not every murderer ends up on death row."

E-mail: aweier@madison.com
Published: November 8, 2006

Diverse clerics agree death penalty is wrong

2006-11-06T15:38:00.000-06:00

Dolan, Jacobus, Berkson: Diverse clerics agree death penalty is wrong
The Capital Times

By Most Rev. Timothy Dolan, Very Rev. Russell Jacobus and Rabbi Marc E. Berkson

We are religious leaders from Wisconsin's Jewish, Protestant and Catholic faith communities. Though we speak from different traditions, we share a commitment to the common good of society and justice and compassion for all persons.

It is because of that commitment that we are united in opposing the death penalty.
On the November ballot, Wisconsin voters will confront an advisory referendum question that asks: "Should the death penalty be enacted in the state of Wisconsin for cases involving a person who is convicted of first-degree intentional homicide, if the conviction is supported by DNA evidence?" We believe the answer to that question should be NO.

Accounts of murder arouse in us some of the strongest and most heated human emotions. We are angry at the evil that takes life. We grieve for the loss of innocent life, and for the suffering of families, friends and communities. And we fear for ourselves and our loved ones in a world where such violence is possible.

Such emotions are understandable. But we cannot let raw emotion determine our decision about how we, as a society, should respond to the willful and needless taking of a human life. Instead, we must look to our moral and spiritual traditions of respect for life, the pursuit of justice, and prudent acknowledgment of human fallibility. In doing so, we firmly believe that capital punishment serves neither the common good nor the ideal of equal justice for all.

Respect for life requires protecting society from those who would harm others. But respect for life also demands that, where we have a choice, we make use of non-lethal means to do so. In protecting society from those without regard for human life, we do have an alternative to capital punishment - life imprisonment.

Some argue that the death penalty shows the value we put on the victim's life. But can we teach that killing is wrong by killing those who have killed others? Is not the very idea self-contradictory? The solution to violence is not more violence.

Although we can do our best to remove error and bias, no human system of justice can be perfect. As long as there is capital punishment, there is the risk of executing an innocent person - an error that cannot be corrected. Many persons have been released from death row when errors that led to their wrongful conviction have been brought to light.

Even if a person is rightfully convicted of murder, the sentence imposed on that person may not be just or equitable. Some may feel that it is the most vicious or violent murderers who deserve the death penalty. But all too often, the wealth of the offender, the skin color of the victim or other irrelevant factors play a greater role in determining whether a person receives a sentence of death. We are grateful that Wisconsin has not had the death penalty for over 150 years. Wisconsin is a better place as a result. We pray it will remain so.

For these reasons, we urge all voters to say NO to the death penalty on Tuesday.

This column was submitted by the Most Rev. Timothy Dolan, archbishop of Milwaukee and president, Wisconsin Catholic Conference; the Very Rev. Russell Jacobus, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Fond du Lac and president, Wisconsin Council of Churches; and Rabbi Marc E. Berkson, president, Wisconsin Council of Rabbis.

Published: November 4, 2006

Go out and vote!

2006-11-03T18:09:00.000-06:00

Check out this helpful link on frequently asked questions about voting: http://www.wisconsin.gov/state/core/faq_wisconsin_voting_elections.html

Victims' Families Divided Over Death Penalty Vote

2006-11-03T17:19:00.000-06:00

From Wisctv.com:
MADISON, Wis. -- Wisconsin families who have lost loved ones to murder are split on next week's vote on whether the state should bring back the death penalty.

One Madison family said the issue boils down to the Ten Commandments and the rule against killing.

If killing is wrong, then the family reasons that state-sponsored killing is also wrong.

Hank and Sharon Starkey's son Mark was murdered in 1990, slain by a drifter who had been in Madison only a few hours.

"I don't believe in killing, and so if the person that killed our son, if he were put to death, would that end my grief for Mark? No," said Sharon Starkey. "In prison for life? Sure. I'm not sure I really want to see him walk the streets again, but I don't want to see him put to death."

"The man who killed Mark, his last words in court were he would do it again. Still, I do not wish him death," said Hank Starkey.

But other families, like the parents of Cora Jones, would like to see at least some murders put to death.

In 1994, their 12-year-old was one of two young girls abducted and killed by pedophile David Spanbauer.

Several years ago, when the death penalty was also being debated, Cora's father, Rick Jones, was featured in political ads.

"Uncivilized criminals can't be treated civilized. They're going to turn right around and kill someone else. It's almost like Wisconsin is attracting these people," said Rick Jones.

The Jones story is one of many horribly tragic cases Senate President Alan Lasee has cited as a rationale for reinstating the death penalty.

"I think if it were to pass by a substantial margin, 60 percent or more, I think legislators who probably would have voted 'no' will take a second look at how their district feels about this topic, and perhaps can come forward and say we support it," said Lasee, who was the catalyst behind next week's advisory vote.

But Dane County Assistant District Attorney Bob Kaiser said before that happens, lawmakers should take a hard look at what he sees as a severe shortage of state prosecutors. He said there are 10 fewer in his office than when he started 20 years ago.

"We have people running for office right now saying they're all in favor of fighting crime. How are you in favor of fighting crime if one of your platforms isn't to put more prosecutors in courtrooms? You can arrest all the people you want. I can't shoot them," Kaiser said. "The only thing I can do is convict them, and that's where we do it in the courtroom in front of jurors, and I and the other prosecutors in the state are the lawyers for the people. And if you don't have enough lawyers for the people, they can't do the people's business."

Prior to his arrival in Dane County, Kaiser worked death penalty cases in Illinois and said he knows the enormous time commitment they take.

"Give us the people, and we'll be able to do what needs to be done. But without the people, I don't know how it possibly can be done," he said.

Reposted from WISCTV.com

Innocent Man Released after 25 years in Prison

2006-11-02T16:38:00.000-06:00

By ROBERT THARP / The Dallas Morning News

First the judge apologized, then the prosecutor. Finally, after 25 years in prison, 58-year-old Larry Fuller triumphantly walked out of the courthouse Tuesday a free man.

"There's no bitterness," he said. "This is what life is about – trial and tribulation."

But outside the courtroom, those who worked five years to secure the DNA testing that would prove his innocence had harsh words for the Dallas County justice system. They demanded that Mr. Fuller's exoneration become more than just the latest case of DNA testing righting a legal wrong from a generation ago.

With 10 such exonerations in the last five years, Dallas law enforcement should undergo a critical self-examination and embrace tighter standards when relying solely on eyewitnesses, said lawyer Barry Scheck, co-director of the national Innocence Project.

"Every time a case like Larry's occurs, we have to learn a lesson," Mr. Scheck said.

But police and prosecutors say they understand that eyewitnesses are notoriously unreliable and that they no longer operate under the practices that resulted in Mr. Fuller's wrongful 1981 rape conviction and 50-year prison sentence.

Dallas police have volunteered to be a test city to try out progressive new eyewitness identification techniques recommended by the Police Executive Research Forum. The proposed changes have been delayed until grant funding occurs, police officials said.

Mr. Scheck also asked that prosecutors review the 10 recent exoneration cases to determine how they occurred and make sure the same mistakes are not repeated.

Cases from 1980s

Assistant District Attorney John Rolater, who supervises the office's appeals for DNA testing, said the district attorney's office might consider Mr. Scheck's request if a specific proposal is presented to the office.

Mr. Rolater noted that all but one of the 10 exonerations date to the 1980s and involve four different police agencies and assorted prosecutors and courts.

And while Mr. Rolater acknowledged that any wrongful conviction is bad, he disputed that 10 exonerations are a cause for concern. Although the exonerations have occurred in the last five years, they represent prosecutions that date back 25 years and the office prosecutes about 20,000 cases a year.

"It doesn't seem like an abnormally high number to me," he said. "I don't think they've identified a systemic problem in our methods."

Mr. Fuller's case is typical of the nine other recent exonerations in Dallas County. He was arrested and charged with aggravated rape after a sexual assault victim picked him out of a photo lineup.

The victim in the case initially told police that she could not provide a detailed description of her attacker because the assault occurred in the dark. She later picked him as the suspect only after she was presented with two photo lineups in which he was the only person present in both lineups.

Roy Malpass, a psychology and criminal justice professor at the University of Texas at El Paso, said it was wrong for police to present the woman with a second photo lineup because she probably inadvertently recognized him from studying the first lineup.

"That's really scary for the cops to do that," Dr. Malpass said. "They have their answer after the first one – she couldn't make an identification. If they really believe it's him then let's find some other evidence. Eyewitness testimony is cheap, especially if you can cook them."

Dallas Assistant Police Chief Ron Waldrop said detectives rarely present a second lineup to a witness anymore.

Mr. Rolater said the 10 men exonerated so far would not have been prosecuted today because their evidence would be tested before they reached trial.

Mr. Scheck said DNA is not a panacea for the justice system because about 90 percent of crime investigations don't recover DNA evidence.

Eyewitness accounts

Although eyewitness accounts have long been the backbone of the justice system and are considered by juries to be more reliable than circumstantial evidence, numerous studies have found they are notoriously inaccurate.

Under the stress of an attack, witnesses' recollections can be distorted. Some experience "weapon focus," where they are fixated by the weapon they are being threatened with and remember little else.

"Wouldn't you look at the barrel of a .45, if it was pointed at your face," said Dallas forensic psychologist Bill Flynn.

Studies have also proved that witnesses of one race have trouble accurately describing an attacker of another race.

And after a crime occurs, memories can be influenced by how detectives mold their questions and the manner in which they present a photo lineup of possible suspects, Dr. Malpass said.

If Mr. Fuller's experience is like those of other recent Dallas exonerees, his release from prison is not a cure-all, and more struggles are almost sure to come. Greg Wallis, Billy Smith and Billy Miller, who all attended Mr. Fuller's hearing Tuesday, said they have had a hard time finding work and getting on with their lives since their release from prison.

They are eligible for up to $250,000 compensation for their wrongful imprisonment, but the money can take months to receive and is taxed heavily.

"I'm still struggling, trying to find a place to stay, employment, health insurance," said Mr. Smith, who served more than 19 years in prison. "I'm just out here, and I'm struggling."

Staff writer Jason Trahan contributed to this report.

Human nature can't be trusted with death penalty

2006-10-30T16:39:00.000-06:00

Human nature can't be trusted with death penalty

Humankind does not deal in absolutes very well. Being flawed creatures,
we've never done anything perfectly. Being moral creatures, we've never
deliberately destroyed anything without a greater purpose in mind.

And because we're intellectual creatures, everyone will have a different
opinion on those two sentences and how they balance out in our world.
Experience tells us, however, that every endeavor that has involved a
human being no matter its ultimate success has had a mistake at some
point.

That is why the death penalty is not needed in Wisconsin.

There are many arguments for and against capital punishment. Some studies
say it works as a deterrent as a crime, others say its effects are
unquantifiable. Some say it brings relief to victims' families, but some
victims' families are against it. Some say it serves as an equitable
punishment for heinous crimes, others say two wrongs don't make a right.
Everyone has a point. But there are two undeniable facts involved that
should cut moral and social debate short.

One is that death is irreversible. The other is that man is prone to
error. And the first time an undeserving person is put to death, it
undermines the validity of the entire process. We don't say "if," because
such a mistake is bound to happen. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but
eventually. That is human nature.

Advocates for the current proposal note the DNA provision; namely, that
irrefutable DNA evidence is needed to make a convict eligible for the
death penalty. This is surely a step in the right direction, but still far
from a guarantee. While DNA science itself is 100 percent accurate, every
step in the judicial process is not.

One honest mistake by a crime scene technician, laboratory analyst, police
officer, district attorney or expert witness is all that is needed to
corrupt the integrity of the evidence or its interpretation and, by
extension, the death penalty itself.

Capital punishment is an attempt to bring rationality to irrational
behavior, to make sense of senseless action, to bring order to chaos.
Understandable, but futile. The death penalty will not end or even
tangibly reduce horrific criminal behavior. Perhaps it will make us feel
better, but even that will be temporary.

Because eventually we will kill the wrong person, and every Wisconsinite
should fear that day.

(source: Editorial, Appleton Post-Crescent)

Another DA Questions Cost of Death Penalty

2006-10-25T19:04:00.000-05:00

Portage County's District Attorney says he's afraid a death penalty case here would bankrupt the county."It's incredibly expensive to do a death penalty case. It taxes thesystem. They take much longer to go through the process," says D.A. Tom Eagon.

(source: WSAW News)

Pennsylvania Man Freed From Death Row

2006-10-23T18:51:00.000-05:00

Dennis Counterman was freed from a Pennsylvania courtroom on October 18, 2006 after serving many years on the state's death row. Counterman had been convicted and sentenced to death in 1990 for allegedly setting a fire in his own house that resulted in the death of his three children. That conviction was overturned in 2001 because prosecutors had withheld evidence from the defense indicating that the oldest child had a history of fire-setting.

At Counterman's orignial trial, the prosecution witnesses said that a burn pattern was discovered that indicated an accelerant was used, even though no accelerant was found. At later hearings, however, an expert hired by the prosecution said that the prosecution's theory of how the fire started "is not properly supported by today's standards."

Rather than face the uncertainty of another trial, Counterman agreed to enter an Alford plea, that is one in which the defendant does not admit guilt but agrees that the prosecution might have been able to convince a jury of his guilt. The plea was to a charge of third-degree murder and carried a maximum term of 18 years in prison. Since Counterman had already served the maximum time, he was released immediately by Lehigh County Judge Lawrence Brenner. After his release, Counterman said, "I am more frustrated than angry. I spent all this time for something I didn't even do." (The Morning Call (PA), Oct. 19, 2006).

'Simply put, we cannot support the death penalty'

2006-10-20T13:54:00.000-05:00

Posted: Oct. 14, 2006

There are many articulate and compelling arguments for rejecting the death penalty referendum on the Nov. 7 ballot.

We will not rehearse those arguments here. As religious leaders, we wish to present a straightforward, values-based argument. We believe that it is important to go beyond the electoral and political aspects of this issue and focus on the deeper moral, ethical and religious questions raised by capital punishment.

Simply put, we cannot support the death penalty. Some religious traditions believe that capital punishment is simply wrong. Others of us believe that either it is not needed in a modern society or it cannot be applied justly.

We are deeply concerned about the possibility that the death penalty might be restored in Wisconsin.

Our state has been without the death penalty for 153 years. We do not believe that reinstating the death penalty will bring healing to our communities nor address the serious concerns we all share regarding violence and its impact on all of us.

As religious leaders, we know that our congregations and clergy see the tremendous pain that the injustice of violence causes in our society.

We know that the grief and hurt can seem unbearable for families who have lost someone to violence.

We are all sickened by the violent behavior that plagues our society, and we mourn with all who have suffered violence or lost someone to violence.

All of us in society are vulnerable to feelings of revenge and retribution when we are angered. We cannot let such feelings, often very personal feelings, dictate public policy.

While we recognize that there is a difference of opinion between thoughtful, faithful people on this topic, we simply do not believe that a death penalty is necessary nor will it prevent violent crime.

We also believe that policy making around issues as significant as the death penalty, even when a proposed referendum is only advisory, should be very deliberate and thorough.

Surely our state legislators have their own views on capital punishment.

We are also all aware of numerous public opinion polls that reveal general support for the death penalty (although this support declines when life without parole is an option, as it is in Wisconsin).

We then must ask why our state Legislature felt it was necessary to place this referendum on the November ballot.

If, as people of faith, we believe that each person is created by God, we cannot sanction an unjust and unfair system of punishment that involves the calculated and deliberate killing of a person who would otherwise be incarcerated and removed from society, no matter how offensive and heinous his or her crime.

We specifically question whether the death penalty can be administered justly since, as human beings, we are incapable of creating any system or structure that is perfect.

We urge people of faith to give serious consideration to this important topic.

In recent years, we have seen our state face very serious social issues. We have also seen a trend toward a less compassionate approach to vexing issues such as poverty and violence.
It is our hope and prayer that this state can find ways to address violence without resorting to the use of violence ourselves.

This statement was issued Friday by these Milwaukee religious leaders:

Othman Atta, president, Islamic Society of Milwaukee

Rev. Dr. Thomas Bentz, United Church of Christ

Rabbi Marc Berkson, president, Wisconsin Council of Rabbis

Priscilla Camilli, clerk, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)

Rev. Keith Cogburn, Lakeland Baptist Association

Bishop Sedgwick Daniels, Church of God in Christ

Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, Archdiocese of Milwaukee

Rev. Dr. Bobbie Groth, Southeastern Wisconsin Unitarian Universalist Congregations

Bishop Steven Miller, Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee

Rev. Gregg Neel, Presbyterian Church (USA), Presbytery of Milwaukee

Rev. Dr. Arlo Reichter, American Baptist Churches of Wisconsin

Rev. Dan Schwerin, United Methodist Church, Metro Districts

Paula Simon, executive director, Milwaukee Jewish Council for Community Relations

Bishop Paul Stumme-Diers, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Assembly Candidates Debate Death Penalty Referendum

2006-10-19T13:13:00.000-05:00

The UW-Barron County chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa fraternity held a forum on Wednesday regarding the upcoming referendum. Invited were Democratic state Rep. Mary Hubler of Rice Lake and her opponent, Dari McDonald of Birchwood. Each were given 18 minutes to speak with faculty and students about their views on the death penalty and referendum.

McDonald, who took approximately five minutes to explain her position on the referendum and death penalty, said the referendum was narrow and only applied to 1st degree murder convictions that had corroborating DNA evidence. She expressed her support for the death penalty for certain crimes: "For repeat sex offenders, especially against juveniles, for terrorists, and for crimes against policemen, law enforcement, or armed forces personnel serving here or abroad."

She concluded that advocating for the death penalty as a criminal justice tool gave consideration to the victims, those who have lost their lives as well as possible future victims.

By contrast, Rep. Mary Hubler listed five reasons to oppose the death penalty: the practice of taking a person's life, regardless of the way in which it is done, is morally wrong; it costs too much; DNA evidence is not infallible; the death penalty discriminates; and it does not function as a deterrent to crime.

"It fulfills the need for vengeance," she stated, "But we're a civilized society, and we can look at other options."

Other than moral opposition to the death penalty, she argued cost is the biggest reason to oppose the reinstatement of the practice in Wisconsin.

"States that have the death penalty spend more time and more money to get prepared for administering the punishment-- whether they are ever going to use it or not," said Hubler. "It costs a lot of money for capital trials. There are appeals in both the state and federal courts. You have to build death penalty facilities, and you have to train people to run the equipment. All of this costs money."

New York and New Jersey, Hubler noted, have spent over $350 million to prepare for administering the death penalty in those states, and they have yet to execute a single person.

The issues of discrimination in assigning the death penalty cannot be ignored either, argued Hubler. Most people on death row are people of color or are poor. People of color, especially African Americans, are more likely to get the death penalty for similar crimes to those committed by whites, stated Hubler.

She expressed concern that innocent people could be executed, and finally argued that the death penalty doesn't make communities safer: "We have a lower crime rate than most states that have the death penalty. You want to be safe? Lock them up and throw away the key. We have a death sentence in Wisconsin-- it's called life in prison with no chance of parole."

John Grisham's New Book

2006-10-18T15:41:00.000-05:00

I am very excited about John Grisham's new book, An Innocent Man, which was released on October 10th. It is his first work of nonfiction and it details the life of an innocent man who ended up on death row for a crime he didn't commit.

This is the statement the publishers have released about the book:

In the major league draft of 1971, the first player chosen from the State of Oklahoma was Ron Williamson. When he signed with the Oakland A's, he said goodbye to his hometown of Ada and left to pursue his dreams of big league glory.

Six years later he was back, his dreams broken by a bad arm and bad habits - drinking, drugs, and women. He began to show signs of mental illness. Unable to keep a job, he moved in with his mother and slept twenty hours a day on her sofa.

In 1982, a 21-year-old cocktail waitress in Ada named Debra Sue Carter was raped and murdered, and for five years the police could not solve the crime. For reasons that were never clear, they suspected Ron Williamson and his friend Dennis Fritz. The two were finally arrested in 1987 and charged with capital murder.

With no physical evidence, the prosecution's case was built on junk science and the testimony of jailhouse snitches and convicts. Dennis Fritz was found guilty and given a life sentence. Ron Williamson was sent to death row.

If you believe that in America you are innocent until proven guilty, this book will shock you. If you believe in the death penalty, this book will disturb you. If you believe the criminal justice system is fair, this book will infuriate you.

U.S. judge again rules lethal injection procedure is unconstitutional

2006-10-18T14:16:00.000-05:00

A federal judge has ruled for a 2nd time that Missouri's use of a 3-druglethal injection for executions is unconstitutional, confirming his rulinglast month that the procedure could cause "torturous" pain.

The ruling issued Monday by U.S. District Judge Fernando Gaitan Jr.follows his September ruling that said the death penalty protocol couldsubject inmates to an unreasonable risk of cruel and unusual punishmentand halted all executions in the state.

Gaitan had first ordered in June that the Missouri Department ofCorrections make sweeping changes to its execution protocol. At issue ishow painful lethal injection can be if the three drugs used are not givencorrectly. If the injection is given improperly, an inmate could be inpain but would be paralyzed and unable to show it, Gaitan said in hisSeptember ruling.

In that order, Gaitan gave the state until Oct. 27 to provide a revisedprotocol. But the state resubmitted the same proposal Oct. 6, arguing thatit was constitutional and asking the judge to reconsider his decision.

Read more: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/10/17/america/NA_GEN_US_Execution_Procedure.php

Event Tomorrow in Green Bay

2006-10-16T16:34:00.000-05:00

The Peace and Justice Center at St. Norbert College will host "Faithful Citizenship: A Forum on the Death Penalty" at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 17th in the Fort Howard Theatre.

The event is free and open to the public.

Several speakers with perspectives on theology, political science and the death penalty will promote peaceful and faithful citizenship before the Nov. 7 elections, which include an advisory referendum about the death penalty in Wisconsin.

The keynote speakers include Hank Schultz, first assistant state public defender of Brown County; James Wiley, a St. Norbert College political science professor; and Arthur Thorsen, associate professor of mathematics at St. Norbert College. Thorsen is affiliated with Amnesty International, Wisconsin Coalition Against the Death Penalty and the American Civil Liberties Union.

For more information on the event, contact the Peace and Justice Center at (920) 403-3881, or at pjc@snc.edu. (Source: Green Bay Press-Gazette)

A Brief History of Death Penalty Abolition in Wisconsin

2006-10-12T14:05:00.000-05:00

"At the first Wisconsin Constitutional Convention of 1846, several prominent delegates sought the adoption of an article prohibiting capital punishment. The issue of the death penalty was extensively debated. Those speaking in favor of a proposed constitutional provision prohibiting the death penalty argued:

1) The death penalty is a relic of a barbarous age;

2) Juries often refuse to convict otherwise guilty persons when the penalty is death;

3) Public executions "harden" those who witness them, thus making them more susceptible to committing crimes;

4) Since juries are frequently unwilling to convict, or even indict, when the penalty is death, certain elements of the population are more likely to resort to lynching to ensure punishment;

5) The punishment falls disproportionately on the poor;

6) The Bible does not require the death penalty (example given: Cain was exiled, not
executed, for the murder of Abel);

7) A majority of people in Wisconsin supported abolition.

Wisconsin law has been without the death penalty now for nearly 150 years. Wisconsin has steadfastly maintained this tradition longer than any other state in the nation. While claims of first and longers are often risky... Wisconsin may well have been without the death penalty longer than any presently existing nation."

Source: Blain Renfert and Alexander (Sandie) Pendleton, writing for the Wisconsin Lawyer, August 1993 (updated January 2003)

Amnesty International Gears up for the Weekend of Faith in Action Against the Death Penalty

2006-10-10T16:11:00.000-05:00

The National Weekend of Faith in Action (NWFA) is an opportunity for faith communities, interfaith groups, human rights activists, and others to examine the death penalty from a faith-based or values-based perspective. Set aside some time during the weekend of October 20-22 for an activity or event that focuses on the death penalty issue, using the ideas and resources provided by Amnesty International USA as your guide.

To find out more info or see a list of events in your area, visit: http://www.amnestyusa.org/faithinaction/EventList.php

Tomorrow is World Day Against the Death Penalty

2006-10-09T13:38:00.000-05:00

October 10, 2006 is the 4th Annual World Day Against the Death Penalty. World Day is officially supported by the European Union and the Council of Europe. This year's theme is "The Death Penalty: A Failure of Justice."

The 2005 edition of the World Day, the theme of which was "Africa - Towards Abolition" was celebrated in 46 countries including Morocco, Burundi, the Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Togo, the United States, Brazil, Japan, India, the Philippines, New Zealand, France, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland. In total, 263 events were organized throughout the world. An international petition asking African heads of State to abolish the death penalty received 42,300 signatures.

For more info, visit: http://www.worldcoalition.org/bcoalintro.html

Morocco: Capital Punishment On Its Way Out

2006-10-05T12:58:00.000-05:00

Within the next few months, a bill to abolish capital punishment will be presented to parliament in Morocco. Deputy of the opposition party Le Front des Forces Democratiques (FFD) Bouchra Khiari, is at the forefront of the movement. Other than her group, Khiari anticipates the endorsement of parties such as the Le Parti du Progres et du Socialisme (PPS).

A member of the central committee of PPS, Malika Oulialy, said: "The issue concerns the whole Moroccan society and the whole process of democratisation in the country." She added, "Abolition (of capital punishment) goes in the same way with building a democratic society which respects freedom and rights."

Ahmed Kouza, of Amnesty International, pointed out why capital punishment has no place in today's Morocco: "In the past, the death penalty used to be inflicted on political opponents." Human rights groups estimate that 528 persons were killed during the reign of King Hassan II, in judicial and extra-judicial executions.

Resistance to the project is expected from some Islamist groups, who believe that Shari'a law dictates that capital punishment be used in crimes such as murder and adultery. "I think that Islamists will oppose the project of death penalty abolition because such an opposition suits completely with their ideological fundamentals," Oulialy said.

However, Oulialy-- who is Muslim-- noted: "Islam has prohibited killing. Therefore, there is no contradiction between Islam and a human rights culture."

If the abolition of the death penalty is adopted by parliament, Morocco will be a leader among North African states and the Arab Muslim world.

-- Alison, No Death Penalty Wisconsin

Events in Wisconsin This Week

2006-10-03T17:42:00.000-05:00

Programs on the death penalty in Wisconsin are scheduled as
follows:

Wednesday, Oct. 4 - Showing of the film "The Exonerated" followed by
discussion, 6:30 p.m. at the Racine Public Library, 75 Seventh St.

Thursday, Oct. 5 - Death Penalty Forum, 7 p.m. at Carthage College, 2001 Alford
Park Drive, Kenosha, WI. Amnesty International student group will host Amnesty International organizer Morgan McLean and a death row exoneree who will talk about their experiences with the death penalty system in the U.S.

Saturday, Oct. 7 - "Race, Poverty and Capital Punishment," 7 p.m., Olympia Brown
Unitarian Universalist Church, 625 College Ave. Racine, WI. Three local African-American pastors will join Amnesty international organizer Morgan McLean in exploring the inequalities of the death penalty system in the U.S.

Tuesday, Oct. 10 - "Keeping Wisconsin Free of the Death Penalty," 7 p.m., Racine
Public Library, sponsored by the Racine Coalition for Peace and Justice.

NJ Lawmaker Changes His Mind on Death Penalty

2006-10-02T18:01:00.000-05:00

State Assemblyman Nelson T. Albano of Cape May, New Jersey, announced at a forum on the death penalty that he has changed his mind and now opposes capital punishment. Albano said that his change of heart came after reading a book about Kirk Bloodsworth, the 1st death-row inmate in the United States to be exonerated by DNA evidence. The book led him to the insight into that the capital-punishment system is flawed and should be put on hold.

"I think we owe it to the people in our prisons who are innocent to stop executing," he said. Albano noted that his 19 year-old son was killed in 2001 by a drunken driver who was a 5-time repeat offender. He considers his son's killing an act of murder.

Nevertheless, he said a life sentence was more appropriate than the death penalty. "I know what it feels like to want revenge," he said. "Let the guilty truly suffer and live their lives without freedom."

The state currently has a moratorium on executions while a commission is reviewing all aspects of the death penalty system. (Sources: Death Penalty Information Center and Atlantic City Press, Sept. 19, 2006).

Report: "The Death Penalty: No Evidence for Deterrent"

2006-09-28T13:11:00.002-05:00

In the 2000 Presidential debates, George Bush asserted that the "only reason to be for (the death penalty)... is because it saves other people's lives," echoing the prevalent myth that the death penalty acts as a deterrent to crime and murder.

The evidence, however, overwhelmingly indicates that the death penalty has little effect on the murder rate. In 2004, as the use of the death penalty continued to decline in the United States, the number of murders and the national murder rate dropped.

A report published in April 2006 by John J. Donohue, professor at Yale Law School and Justin Wolfers, professor at the Wharton School of Business (both of whom are Research Associates at the National Bureau of Economic Research), states "...The evidence suggests that he death penalty may increase the murder rate although it remains possible that the death penalty may decrease it. If capital punishment does decrease the murder rate, any decrease is likely small."
Donohue and Wolfers offered in their report a strong critique of the statistical methods used in recent studies that purport the death penalty deters crime.

In Manhattan, the annual number of murders recently dipped below 100 for the first time since the 19th century. New York City's steady murder-rate decline began after 1990, five years before the state reinstated the death penalty. The decline in murders has continued since the law was struck down as unconstitutional in 2004.

Experts attribute the drop in murder rates to a greater police presence, fewer guns, and the decrease in random violence in the city that came with the waning of the crack epidemic (death penalty opponents often point to the wasted resources used to try a capital case and keep an inmate on death row throughout the often lengthy appellate process, which could instead be used to bolster police presence or institute health and education services and anti-drug programs, for instance, in communities nationwide).

In 2005, Jeffrey Fagan of Columbia Law School, testified the following at the Hearings of the Future of Capital Punishment in the State of New York to the New York State Assembly Standing Committee on Codes, Assembly Standing Committee on Judiciary and Assembly Standing Committee on Corrections:

"If the state is going to spend $500 million on law enforcement over the next two decades, is the best use of that money going to buy two or three executions or, for example, to fund additional police detectives, prosecutors, and judges to arrest and incarcerate murderers and other criminals who currently escape any punishment because of insufficient law-enforcement resources? Nor can we expect the almost non-existent use of the death penalty to have a deterrent effect on murder. Justice White noted long ago in Furman v. Georgia that when only a tiny proportion of the individuals who commit murder are executed, the penalty is unconstitutionally irrational: a death penalty that is almost never used serves nerves no deterrent function, because no would-be murderer can expect to be executed."

-- Alison, No Death Penalty Wisconsin

Lethal Injection Trial begins in San Jose

2006-09-27T11:56:00.000-05:00

This article appeared in the SF Gate on September 26, 2006.

Morales lawyers argue lethal injection is unconstitutional

- By DAVID KRAVETS, AP Legal Affairs Writer

When California began using lethal injection as its method of execution in 1994, it was regarded as the humane alternative to death by firing squad, hanging, gas or in the electric chair.

But lawyers for a death row inmate plan to argue before a federal judge Tuesday that even that method — which pumps a three-drug cocktail into the bloodstream — is cruel and unusual punishment.

The litigation surrounding the execution of Michael Morales — condemned for raping, torturing and murdering a 17-year-old Stockton girl 25 years ago — spawned a state moratorium on capital punishment earlier this year.

Lawyers for Morales, 46, claim the injection process can mask an excruciating death if the initial sedative given to the inmate does not work, before a paralyzing agent and finally a heart-stopping drug are administered. To witnesses, it may simply appear that the inmate is falling asleep.

"There's a desire not to cause discomfort to the press, execution team and everybody else who is witnessing it," said Elisabeth Semel, director of the Death Penalty Clinic at the University of California, Berkeley, who spoke on behalf of lawyers challenging the state's execution method.

U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel, who put Morales' execution on hold in February, will hear testimony Tuesday from former wardens, execution team members and medical professionals.

Executions also have been halted in Delaware, Missouri, New Jersey as those states, too, face challenges to injection procedures. California is the first to embark on a prolonged legal hearing over lethal injection.

The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld executions in general, and has never declared any form of the death penalty unconstitutional despite the pain it may cause.

Still, the outcome of the case could have reverberations for the future of capital punishment as inmates across the country mount challenges to lethal injections.

Morales' lawyers said the state's effort to make the execution appear painless has further jeopardized the condemned.

Intravenous lines that are more than 6 feet long — allowing executioners to keep their distance from the inmate and remain out of site from witnesses — could kink and malfunction.

If improperly sedated by prison staffers who are not licensed medical practitioners, a paralyzing agent that only makes the inmate appear serene may cause internal burning pain, defense lawyers assert, citing a 2005 article in the British medical journal, the Lancet.

Medical records show Crips gang co-founder Stanley Williams was executed in December even after an executioner failed to hook up a backup intravenous line to be used if one of the others clogged.

Fogel said he was concerned that Williams and five others executed were conscious longer than they should have been.

California Attorney General Bill Lockyer claims the procedure is legal and he hopes to resume executions as 652 killers await their fate on death row, the nation's largest.

"California's lethal injection protocol is a humane and constitutional method for carrying out the criminal sentence imposed on Michael Morales more than two decades ago," said Lockyer spokesman Nathan Barankin. "Unlike Morales' brutal murder and rape of Terri Winchell in 1981, his sentence will be neither cruel nor unusual."

After reviewing medical logs of six San Quentin executions, Fogel blocked Morales' killing and said he had "substantial questions" about whether inmates were still conscious once the paralyzing agent began coursing through their veins.

Logs showed some were still breathing more than a minute after receiving the initial sedative, raising the possibility it was not working properly.

"I suppose from an existential level, we don't know whether someone being executed is suffering too much pain," said Ellen Kreitzberg, director of the Death Penalty College at Santa Clara University. "An execution doesn't have to be without any pain, just without unnecessary pain to be constitutional."

For Morales to be executed, Fogel ordered two licensed anesthesiologists to be on hand at San Quentin to ensure Morales was unconscious. Or, he said, the prison could use just a sedative, but it would have to be injected by a licensed practitioner such as a doctor, nurse, dentist, paramedic or other medical technicians.

Hours before Morales was to be executed, the anesthesiologists withdrew, citing ethical concerns. The prison then opted for the one-drug method, but couldn't find anybody licensed who would perform the injection. A host of medical trade organizations denounced licensed practitioners from participating in state-sanctioned killings.

The three-drug protocol used in previous California executions takes about 10 minutes to kill an inmate while the one-drug method takes 30 minutes or more.

Morales' defense team has said overdosing with sedatives would be more humane than the three-drug cocktail.

Winchell's mother, Barbara Christian, said Monday that she wants Morales to die as intended.

"As a mother, I don't care what kind of pain Morales feels because of what he did to my daughter," she said. "He showed her no mercy when she cried out for it. He deserves no mercy."

The case is Morales v. Tilton, 06-219.

No Death Penalty Wisconsin Event Tonight!

2006-09-21T15:58:00.001-05:00

September 21, 2006
7 PM

Rev. Jerry Hancock: "The Death Penalty Debate and Prison Conditions in Wisconsin"

Rev. Jerry Hancock, an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, will share his views of the system of the death penalty at the Burlington Area Progressives meeting. CATHE Center 125 E. State Street Milwaukee

Contact: Sean Cranley by phone at (262) 237-4351 or for more information check out: www.burlingtonareaprogressives.com

A closer look at lethal injection

2006-09-19T16:07:00.000-05:00

In January 2006, inmate Clarence Hill was saved from the grips of his executioners minutes before receiving a lethal injection. The Supreme Court ruled that Clarence's claim, that lethal injection was "cruel and unusual" under the Eighth Amendment, deserved examination by the courts.

Many people assume that compared to the grusome beheadings and handings of the past, lethal injection is a relatively "humane" method of extinuishing a person's life. In fact, Clarence's civil rights challenge is shedding light on the potential suffering that occurs during lethal injection.

Lethal injection is actually lethal injections, a deadly cocktail of three drugs is streamed into the inmates veins. The first drug, sodium pentothal, is supposed to act as an anasthetic. The second, pancuronium agent, causes the inmate to stop breathing. The third, potassium chloride, causes a massive heart attack and death.

Clarence's objections to this process lay primarily with the first drug: sodium pentothal. Specifically, Clarence voiced concerns that the anesthetic would wear off before death, making his last moments excruciatingly painful.

This is a valid concern; the American Society of Anasthesiologists (ASA) has urged its members to "steer clear" of state sponsored executions. Drugs are administered by workers who aren't necessarily up to the challenge of mixing the potentially painful lethal drugs competently.

Nine months after Clarence's execution was stayed, the District Court and 11th Circuit have denied Hill a stay of execution. Although the constitutionality of lethal injection has not been resolved, Clarence Hill is scheduled to be killed at the Florida State Prison September 20th.

Inconsistency Prevails in Lethal Injection Controversy

2006-09-15T16:54:00.000-05:00

Death Penalty Information Center: PRESS RELEASE
September 15, 2006

Inconsistency Prevails in Lethal Injection Controversy
Many Inmates Executed While Others Are Spared

Florida Case That Was Subject of Supreme Court Review Now on Fast Track for Execution on September 20

Washington, DC - Despite the fact that the U.S. Supreme Court stopped Clarence Hill's execution at the 11th hour and unanimously ruled that he could pursue his challenge to Florida's lethal injection process, the state has set an execution date of September 20, and the lower courts have denied him an evidentiary hearing.

In other states, a far different scenario is playing out. All executions are on hold in California where a federal judge plans extensive hearings on the lethal injection issue beginning September 26. Similarly, a federal judge in Missouri has continued the hold on executions in that state at least until October 27. He has ordered the state to devise a better plan for carrying out executions. Federal judges in Delaware and Arkansas have stayed executions this year because of the lethal injection controversy. A state court in New Jersey put all executions on hold in 2004 because of this same issue. The governor of South Dakota stepped in at the last minute to halt an execution there, and has asked that the legislature amend the state law on lethal injections.

In Oklahoma, the first state to adopt the lethal injection method of execution, the protocol has recently been changed. Similarly, North Carolina recently revised its procedures as a result of challenges to their execution process.

However, in other states, despite similar lethal injection challenges, executions have proceeded on schedule. Texas has executed 21 people by lethal injection this year, half of all executions in the country.

A federal judge in a Tennessee case, commenting on the wide disparity of court responses to lethal injection challenges, pointed to the arbitrariness of these rulings:

[T]he dysfunctional patchwork of stays and executions going on in this country further undermines the various states' effectiveness and ability to properly carry out death sentences. We are currently operating under a system wherein condemned inmates are bringing nearly identical challenges to the lethal injection procedure. In some instances stays are granted, while in others they are not and the defendants are executed, with no principled distinction to justify such a result. (Alley v. Little, No. 06-5650 (6th Cir. May 16, 2006) (Martin, J., dissenting from denial of a rehearing en banc)).

Clarence Hill was about to be executed in Florida when the U.S. Supreme Court granted him a stay in January of this year. The Court unanimously ruled in June that he was entitled to bring his lethal injection challenge as a civil rights matter in federal court. Despite a previous policy of not setting execution dates until the Hill matter was resolved, Gov. Jeb Bush signed a death warrant for Hill with an execution date of September 20. Hill's attorney, Todd Doss, was then informed by the federal District Court that he had less than 24 hours to prepare for a hearing on his request for a stay of execution. The request was summarily denied on September 1 without an evidentiary hearing on the lethal injection issue. An appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit is pending.

Richard Dieter, Executive Director of the Death Penalty Information Center, noted: "Thirty years after the death penalty was reinstated, the likelihood of the death penalty being carried out is still like being struck by lightning. A punishment applied in an arbitrary fashion is a violation of the constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishments."

United States Behind Rwanda in Human Rights?

2006-09-14T13:26:00.000-05:00

Responding to the international community's overwhelming denunciation of the death penalty, the Justice Minister of Rwanda, Tharcisse Karugarama, recently announced that the government will propose a law ending capital punishment by December 2006. This move would allow Rwanda to try suspects charged with atrocities in the 1994 war, who are currently in countries that refuse to extradite prisoners if they face the death penalty.

In 2005, there were at least 2,148 executions in 22 countries around the world. China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United States were responsible for 94% of these known executions. 124 countries worldwide have abolished the death penalty in law or in practice, including all of Western Europe. Those nations frequently refuse to extradite those suspected of crimes in countries that do allow the death penalty, for fear they may be executed.

Recently, nations such as Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark and Switzerland have refused to extradite those suspected of orchestrating genocide in Rwanda. Suspects held under United Nations auspices also are not sent to the country if the death penalty is to be sought. Amnesty International, in a statement regarding death sentences in Rwanda, urged the country to commute the sentences to "other appropriate penalties, commensurate with the seriousness of the crimes which do not violate the right to life and the right not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment..... Exclusion of the death penalty is in keeping with the desire of the Rwandese people to see an end to death and violence in their country."

Rwanda's Justice Minister Tharcisse Karugarama admits the majority of the population have emphatically expressed their desire to continue using the death penalty. There are currently some 650 prisoners on death row in the country's overcrowded penitentiaries. In 1998, 22 people found guilty of masterminding the genocide were executed.

But ideas on capital punishment seem to be evolving. "In spite of genocide's aftermath," said Minister Karugarama, "Rwanda remains a country which needs to rebuild itself anew and integrate itself into the reality of standards of international justice."

Only the United States, which allows the death penalty, has extradited a genocide suspect to Rwanda. In 2005, Enos Kagaba was deported from Minnesota, after he was judged to have entered the country illegally. The United States has executed 1,045 men and women since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.

Alison, No Death Penalty Wisconsin

No death penalty for accused shooter, victims say

2006-09-12T17:53:00.000-05:00

Tuesday, September 12, 2006
No death penalty for accused shooter, victims say
By JOHN IWASAKI, Seattle P-I REPORTER

The man accused of firing bullets into six women during the fatal shooting at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle offices should not receive the death penalty, two of his recovering victims said Tuesday.

"Killing him is not really an appropriate punishment," said Layla Bush, who favors life imprisonment for the suspect, who allegedly shot her in the abdomen and shoulder on July28.

Bush's colleague, Pamela Waechter, was killed in the rampage, which also wounded four other women.

"Killing him would be a shame," Bush said. "I think it would be too easy for him."

Carol Goldman, another victim who spoke during a news conference Tuesday at Harborview Medical Center, echoed Bush's sentiments about Naveed Haq, the accused shooter. "I keep thinking, death would be too easy for him," said Goldman, who was shot in the knee. She said she prefers that he "sit and focus on what he's done in his life... I'll be fine with what the prosecutors decide."

King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng is expected to decide in the coming months whether to seek the death penalty for Haq.

Read the rest of the story: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/284814_victims12ww.html

9/11 and the death penalty: perspective from a victim's sister

2006-09-11T18:03:00.000-05:00

Americans are remembering the horrific events that took place in the United States on September 11, 2001. The newspapers are full of the pundits and politicians, pontificating about what this sombre "anniversary" means.

Instead of adding our voices to the din, we will reprint the words of Terry Rockefeller. Terry's sister died in the North tower of the World Trade Center five years ago. As a board member with Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation, Terry has a long history of opposing the death penalty. She wrote the following column in May, after terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui was spared from a death sentence:

"My sister, Laura Rockefeller, died in the North Tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. As a long-time opponent of the death penalty, a belief even this devastating personal tragedy has not altered, I am relieved by the jury's decision not to sentence Zacarias Moussaoui to death.

"Had the jury sentenced Zacarias Moussaoui to death we would have turned a man with long-term mental health problems, whose direct responsibility for the 9/11 attacks are tenuous, into a martyr. Evidence introduced during the trial cast significant doubt on Moussaoui's importance within al Qaeda. Three far higher ranking al Qaeda leaders are in U.S. custody overseas. The people of America would learn far more about how the 9/11 attacks were carried out if they were brought to trial.

"I have long been opposed to the death penalty, holding deep concerns about its unequal application. And the finality of execution, when we do discover, sometimes only after many years, that an individual has been wrongly convicted fills me with grief. But most fundamentally, I oppose the death penalty because I do not want to be the citizen of a state that kills. I do not want to be a party to more violence and killing. I believe abolition of the death penalty - even in cases like this - to be in keeping with the progress of an enlightened civilization.

"As the sister of a victim, I want truth and justice. I want everything about the hijackers to be fully and openly investigated in transparent, public proceedings. I want the hijackers' accomplices and financial supporters identified and tried in open courts. I want our government to work in concert with other nations, to adopt policies and to take actions that promote the rights and security of people throughout the world. The United States' reliance on capital punishment makes international cooperation in the war on terrorism more difficult since nations of the European Union, where prosecutions of al Qaeda terrorists are proceeding, will not extradite suspects to our country.

"The sheer horror of 9/11 may in some people's minds seem an obvious justification for the state's executing all those who were responsible, including Zacarias Moussaoui. I wish to convey most forcefully my and my family?s opposition to the death penalty in all cases.

"My sister Laura was an actress and a singer. She had a beautiful, clear, soprano voice and a warm, wonderful laugh. Laura loved living in New York City where she found a variety of jobs in the theatre - performing off-Broadway, touring with national theatre companies, directing and producing new plays. But on the morning of September 11th Laura reported for work at Windows on the World on the 106th floor of the World Trade Center where she had a two-day job helping to run a seminar on risk assessment and information technology. I didn't learn that she was there until late in the afternoon when one of her friends telephoned with the devastating news.

"I grieve Laura's death every day, but if 9/11 had made me change my beliefs about the death penalty I would have lost not only my sister; I would have lost the bond I feel with the cause of advancing human rights throughout the world. That is a price I will not pay."

Source: National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty

Posted by Krista, No Death Penalty WI

Capital Punishment Laws of the World

2006-09-11T16:22:00.000-05:00

Blue countries: abolished for all crimes
Green countries: abolished for all crimes not committed in exceptional circumstances (such as war times)
Orange: Abolished in practice
Red: Legal form of punishment for certain offenses

source

As you can see, if Wisconsin reinstates the death penalty, the state will join the ranks of Saudi Arabia, Uganda, China, Iraq, and other countries that aren't exactly known for having stellar human rights records.

Krista, No Death Penalty WI

Missouri Experiences Crisis in Lethal Injection Protocol

2006-09-07T12:49:00.000-05:00

The State of Missouri has executed 66 inmates since 1976, and is one of nine states to allow lethal gas as a method of execution. It is also experiencing a statewide crisis in the adminstration of lethal injection protocol. On June 26, U.S. Judge Fernando Gaitan Jr. ruled that the state's method of executing is inconsistent, and raised concern that Missouri has relied on an incompetent and dyslexic surgeon for the administration of lethal injection drugs.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch recently confirmed the doctor who devised and supervises Missouri's lethal injection procedure is Dr. Alan R. Doerhoff, 62, of Jefferson City. Doerhoff has participated in 54 state executions, and been sued for malpractice more than 20 times by his own estimate. Two Missouri hospitals won't allow Doerhoff him to practice within their walls. He was publicly reprimanded in 2003 by the state Board of Healing Arts for failing to disclose malpractice suits to a hospital where he was employed.

Judge Gaitan determined that the current administration procedure of lethal injection drugs creates the risk that condemned inmates suffer unconstitutional pain and suffering while they're being executed, and that an anesthesiologist, not a surgeon, must mix the drugs and certify the inmate is unconscious. He also ordered the state to have, apparently for the first time, a strict written policy for the procedures.

Gaitan gave the state until July 15 to change the method. On July 14, officials of the Missouri Department of Corrections informed Judge Gaitan that it could not meet his requirement to find a board-certified anesthesiologist willing to participate. Anesthesiologists are reluctant due to conflict with the Hippocratic oath, which instructs physicians not to aid or abet killing-- even, presumably, when it is state-sponsored.

Alison, No Death Penalty Wisconsin

Innocence and the death penalty

2006-09-06T15:58:00.000-05:00

Between 1976 and 2004, 6807 Americans have been sentenced to death (DPIC, 2004). Not all of these sentences have ended in executions; some individuals have been granted clemency and had their sentences reduced to life without possibility of parole. But 123 of these Americans have a particularly terrifying story - they were exonerated and freed after being found innocent.

How did 123 innocent Americans end up being sentenced to death? The most common causes of wrongful conviction are as follows:

o False and unreliable evidence
False evidence can arise from "snitch" witnesses - criminals who provide information to prosecutors in order to lessen their own sentences. False evidence can also be gathered from well-meaning citizens who make incorrect eyewitness identification.

o Illegal conduct and serious errors by police and prosecutors
Murder cases can understandably throw communities into fear and turmoil, putting much pressure on the police to catch the perpetrator. This can lead police to (consciously or unconsciously) feed information to eyewitnesses that will lead them to convict a suspect.

For instance, say a witness remembers a suspect as an African-American male with "longish hair and a beard". The police show her a batch of possible perpetrators - 1 African American man with a beard, and 5 African American men who are clean shaven. The witness will, obviously, be most likely to recognize the man with a beard - even if the real perpetrator was a different bearded man. This is a subtle technique that can greatly influence the testimony of a witness.

o Lack of adequate defense
Time and time again it's been documented: the people who end up on death row are those who cannot afford proper legal defense (ACLU).

In 1996, 4 innocent cases were discovered by Northwestern University journalism students who investigated the cases as part of a class project. Many other claims of innocence have been supported by DNA evidence. However, there are still many cases in which DNA evidence is not available, and cases that intelligent, industrious students have not had the time to explore. Although 123 death row inmates have been exonerated, it is entirely possible that there are still innocent people on death row today.

By Krista, No Death Penalty Wisconsin Campaign

The Death Penalty in Numbers

2006-09-05T19:29:00.000-05:00

Today the Death Penalty Information Center published a profile of United States executions that have taken place this year. According to DPIC:

o Since January 2006, 41 American prisoners have been sent to their deaths.

o Although about half of all murder victims are black, only 20% of these inmates were charged with killing a black person. This reinforces a prevalent theme in death penalty "justice": A criminal is much more likely to be executed for killing a white citizen than killing a black citizen.

o 80% of these executions took place in the south, and almost 50% (20 of 41) occurred in Texas.

A search through DPIC's website revealed the following information:

o By the end of December, if no stays are granted, the United States will have executed 55 people in 2006. This is on par with 2005, when 60 prisoners were killed.

o Since 1976, 229 death row inmates have been granted clemency for humanitarian reasons. The most dramatic granting of clemency occurred in Illinois in 2003. Declaring Illinois capital punishment system as "broken" and a "major catastrophe", Republican Governor George Ryan emptied his state's death row.

o Since 1976, 123 death row inmates have been found innocent and exonerated.

o 1045 inmates have been executed since 1976.

By Krista, NO Death Penalty Wisconsin Campaign

Quote by William Brennan

2006-09-01T16:47:00.000-05:00

"One area of law more than any other besmirches the constitutional vision of human dignity...The barbaric death penalty violates our Constitution. Even the most vile murderer does not release the state from its obligation to respect dignity, for the state does not honor the victim by emulating his murderer. Capital punishment's fatal flaw is that it treats people as objects to be toyed with and discarded ... One day the Court will outlaw the death penalty. Permanently." --William Brennan, former U.S. Supreme Court Justice

South Dakota Governor Orders Stay for Elijah Page

2006-08-31T13:08:00.000-05:00

On August 29, four hours before the scheduled execution of 24-year-old Elijah Page, South Dakota Governor Rounds ordered a stay. He had been alerted to a discrepancy between state procedural law on lethal injection and the policy of the Department of Corrections.

Page would have been the first person executed in South Dakota since 1947, and the 8th person to be executed under the age of 25 since the Supreme Court approved the resumption of executions in 1976. Page, who was 18 years old when he committed the brutal murder of Chester Poage on March 13, 2000, chose to waive all appeals in what his defense attorney described as a veiled suicide attempt.

He refused appeals at a time when, nationwide, courts receive challenges that lethal injection violates the 8th amendment. Postmortem examinations indicate that inmates may not always be properly anesthetized, rendering them conscious, but paralyzed, during execution. The paralytic agent administered would render an inmate incapable of expressing the pain of induced cardiac arrest, thus masking the expression of cruel and unusual punishment.

Executions are effectively on hold in California, Delaware, Missouri, New Jersey, and South Dakota because of challenges to the lethal injection process.

Alison, No Death Penalty WI

Fond du Lac County District Attorney Thomas Storm Opposed to Death Penalty

2006-08-29T14:12:00.000-05:00

According to the Fond du Lac Reporter, Fond du Lac County District Attorney Thomas Storm said while he is obligated to uphold the law and certainly does so, he believes Wisconsin's judicial system has functioned well for over a century without the death penalty. Storm elaborated, "I'm personally, philosophically opposed to the state using death as a penalty for a crime that it prohibits. There are better ways to allocate prosecutory resources," he said, noting seemingly endless appeals and costs that go along with capital punishment in other states," he said.

WI Victims Speak out Against the Death Penalty

2006-08-28T18:15:00.000-05:00

I recently ran across these powerful statements by Wisconsin residents, who depsite loosing loved ones to murder, still reject the death penalty as a solution to violence. They are truly inspiring stories.

DEBRA FIFER, Wisconsin
Mother of Kirk Bickham, Jr.,
murdered in Wisconsin in 2003

Debra Fifer's 22-year-old son was shot
and killed, along with Deshawn Windbush
and Carl Hall, in Milwaukee in 2003.
Jaki Marion was convicted of the three
murders and is serving three
consecutive life sentences in prison.

Debra founded the group Mothers
Against Gang Violence, is Chair of the
Wisconsin chapter of the Million Mom
March, and serves on the City of
Milwaukee Safety Commission. She has
spoken to numerous university and
other groups. In 2005, the
Congressional Black Caucus presented
Debra with its Celebration of Leadership
Unsung Hero Award.

"If the death penalty could bring my son
back, then sure, I'd be all for it. But
that's not how it works, and in fact I
believe that just as citizens do not have
the right to take someone else's life, the
state should not have that right either.
States that have the death penalty are
not crime-free, and it's already been
proven that the death penalty is not a
deterrent to crime. We do not need
the death penalty in Wisconsin."

THERESA MATTHEWS, Wisconsin
Mother of Ishmal Matthews,
murdered in Wisconsin in 2002

Theresa Matthews's 23-year-old son was
shot and killed in Milwaukee in 2002.
The case remains unsolved.

Theresa has been active in efforts to
oppose gun violence in Wisconsin, and
in 2004 she participated in a bell-ringing
ceremony at the state capitol
commemorating victims of homicide.
She is the organizer of a local event
called Day of Peace, held each year on
Ishmal's birthday, in which members of
the community, homicide detectives, and
members of the fire department and the
sheriff's department come together to
enjoy a peaceful day in memory of
homicide victims. Through the
organization The Children Are Crying,
Theresa has also made a scholarship in
Ishmal's name available to students at
his former high school.

"A lot of people thought that I would
want the person who did this terrible
thing to my son to be executed, but
that's not what I want. We keep our
hope that the person willl be found and
held accountable, but who are we to
say a life for a life? That's not what
Ishmal would want. We don't need the
death penalty in Wisconsin. We have
enough violence, and I don't believe the
death penalty would have prevented my
son's murder. To me the death penalty
is just legalized murder, and I'm not for
that."

South Carolina Study Finds Arbitrariness in Death Penalty

2006-08-25T18:55:00.000-05:00

Another study has just been released showing arbitrariness in death sentencing along racial, gender and geographical lines; this new study focuses on South Carolina. Take a look: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=1877&scid=64

United Nations Human Rights Committee

2006-08-24T15:48:00.000-05:00

"Our use of the death penalty also stands in stark contrast to the majority of nations that have abolished the death penalty in law or practice. Even Russia and South Africa -- nations that for years were symbols of egregious violations of basic human rights and liberties -- have seen the error of the use of the death penalty… The United Nations Commission on Human Rights has called for a worldwide moratorium on the use of the death penalty… The European Union denies membership in their alliance to those nations that use the death penalty." - Russ Feingold, U.S. Senator, Wisconsin

Just last month the United Nations Human Rights Committee, a panel consisting of 18 independent experts, reiterated its recommendation that the United States should urgently impose a moratorium on executions. Citing the 1996 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the panel stated that they are concerned by "studies according to which the death penalty may be imposed disproportionately on ethnic minorities as well as on low-income groups, a problem which does not seem to be fully acknowledged." The United States ratified the treaty in 1992 with a number of reservations, including provisions on the death penalty. The panel also urged the U.S. to limit the number of crimes that carry a penalty of death and to asses the extent to which death sentences are inflicted disproportionately on vulnerable populations.

The United States and Japan are the only democracies in the world that continue to use the death penalty. China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United States were responsible for 94 percent of all known executions in 2005.

Grisham's New Book on the Death Penalty

2006-08-23T12:23:00.000-05:00

I am very excited about John Grisham's new book, An Innocent Man, set to be released on October 10th. It is his first work of nonfiction and it details the life of an innocent man who ended up on death row for a crime he didn't commit.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I first heard that Grisham would be writing a book about wrongful conviction and the death penalty. To my knowledge Grisham, a moderate Baptist who was born and raised in the south, had never taken a public position on the issue. I do believe, however, that anyone who does an in-depth examination of the death penalty will find it hard to support the practice after really looking at the facts. Based on the information being released by the publishers, I suspect Grisham may have come to the same conclusion.

This is the statement the publishers have released about the book:

In the major league draft of 1971, the first player chosen from the State of Oklahoma was Ron Williamson. When he signed with the Oakland A's, he said goodbye to his hometown of Ada and left to pursue his dreams of big league glory.

Six years later he was back, his dreams broken by a bad arm and bad habits - drinking, drugs, and women. He began to show signs of mental illness. Unable to keep a job, he moved in with his mother and slept twenty hours a day on her sofa.

In 1982, a 21-year-old cocktail waitress in Ada named Debra Sue Carter was raped and murdered, and for five years the police could not solve the crime. For reasons that were never clear, they suspected Ron Williamson and his friend Dennis Fritz. The two were finally arrested in 1987 and charged with capital murder.

With no physical evidence, the prosecution's case was built on junk science and the testimony of jailhouse snitches and convicts. Dennis Fritz was found guilty and given a life sentence. Ron Williamson was sent to death row.

If you believe that in America you are innocent until proven guilty, this book will shock you. If you believe in the death penalty, this book will disturb you. If you believe the criminal justice system is fair, this book will infuriate you.

After Innocent Man Freed From Death Row, Real Killer Gets Life

2006-08-22T18:13:00.000-05:00

Ray Krone was convicted and sentenced to death in 1992 for the murder Kim Ancona in Arizona. Krone's conviction was eventually overturned. He was re-tried and again convicted in 1996. In 2002, DNA testing excluded Krone as the perpetrator of the crime and he was freed. Now another man, Kenneth Phillips, Jr., has pleaded guilty to the offense. On August 18, 2006, Phillips was sentenced to a term of 53 years to life in prison for the murder and sexual assault of Kim Ancona. DNA evidence linked Phillips to the crime. Initially, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office sought the death penalty against Phillips but dropped the request because of mitigating evidence presented by the defense. At the time of his release, Ray Krone was the 100th inmate since 1973 to be freed from death row after being cleared of all charges. There have now been 123 such cases. (Arizona Daily Star and Associated Press, Aug. 19, 2006, Death Penalty Information Center.)

Death Penalty Repeal Act of 1853

2006-08-21T14:26:00.000-05:00

Exactly 155 years ago yesterday, the state of Wisconsin executed John McCaffrey for the murder of his wife, Bridget McCaffrey. It was the last execution to be carried out on Wisconsin soil. The public hanging of McCaffrey proved to be the catalyst for a strong statewide movement to end capital punishment and just two years later, the Death Penalty Repeal Act was signed into law.

On November 7th, Wisconsinites will once again have to decide whether they want state-sanctioned killing to be carried out in their names. They will have to decide whether bringing back the death penalty will be a benefit or a burden for the people of Wisconsin.

This blog was created so that Wisconsinites are able to have an informed and in depth discussion about the death penalty. After reading all the facts and reviewing all the figures, we believe that Wisconsinites will reject the death penalty as a solution to crime and violence and that they will endeavor to find a more effective way of dealing with society's complex problems.

It is in this vein that we say, let the discussion begin...