Capital Punishment

Death Penalty A Question For 9/11 Jury

AP | TOM HAYS | Posted 11.20.2009 | New York


NEW YORK — New York juries are often loath to impose the death penalty, even for terrorists. In fact, a jury spared the lives of two Osama bin ...

If This Is War, What Are We Doing?

Craig Alan Silverman | Posted 11.16.2009 | Denver


Craig Alan Silverman

The government's easier path toward execution is through a tribunal, and yet Holder has chosen the risky path of seeking the death penalty in New York. This is political correctness run amok.

D.C. Sniper John Muhammed Executed

AP | DENA POTTER | Posted 11.11.2009 | Home


JARRATT, Va. — John Allen Muhammad, the mastermind behind the sniper attacks that left 10 dead, was executed Tuesday as relatives of the victims...

Beyond a Lingering Doubt: It's Time for a New Standard on Capital Punishment

Louis Klarevas | Posted 11.18.2009 | Politics


Louis Klarevas

As a nation, we face a dilemma when it comes to capital punishment: No one wants to see an innocent person put to death -- but some criminals deserve to die for their offenses.

The Death Penalty Is Frightening -- and Not Just on Halloween

Diann Rust-Tierney | Posted 10.30.2009 | Politics


Diann Rust-Tierney

I'm scared by the real life capital punishment system. As of this week, 139 individuals have been exonerated after being sentenced to die -- and some came terrifyingly close to execution.

Governor Rick Perry and His Texas Death Machine Are In Big Trouble

David A. Love | Posted 10.24.2009 | Politics


David A. Love

Cameron Todd Willingham is now a free man, but unfortunately it took death to release him from the confines of his prison bars.

Former New Mexico Governor, Toney Anaya, Talks Death Penalty Politics

Dave Maass | Posted 09.25.2009 | Politics


Dave Maass

New Mexico repealed the death penalty during the 2009 Legislative session, but since the lawmaking body is prohibited from enacting retroactive laws the two men currently on death row are still eligible for execution.

Time for a Moratorium to Rethink Executions

Jennifer Brunner | Posted 09.24.2009 | Politics


Jennifer Brunner

When I served as a felony trial court judge in Columbus, Ohio, I learned firsthand that in rape and murder cases, no one is healed by the trial and punishment.

Shouldn't Innocence Matter?

David C. Fathi | Posted 09.24.2009 | Politics


David C. Fathi

The shocking truth is that even if the court concludes that Troy Anthony Davis -- who has been on Georgia's death row for 18 years -- is innocent, that may not be enough to save him from the death chamber.

"You can't play politics with people's lives."

Linda Fairstein | Posted 11.14.2009 | New York


Linda Fairstein

Leslie Crocker Snyder's vitriolic pandering is done with blatant disregard of the bedrock principles of our criminal justice system: the right of the accused to competent counsel and a vigorous defense.

Amnesty International: Japan Must Stop Executing Mentally Ill Prisoners

Posted 11.10.2009 | Impact


Though Japan has a national policy against allowing visitors access to death row inmates, Amnesty International's latest report, "Hanging By A Thread,...

Cameron Todd Willingham: Did Texas Execute An Innocent Man?

Huffington Post | Posted 10.16.2009 | Politics


Huffington Post blogger Barry Scheck, of the Innocence Project, weighs in on the new evidence revealed by an investigative report in the New Yorker on...

When It Comes to Claims of Actual Innocence, Courts Need to Consider Recantations

John Maki | Posted 09.20.2009 | Chicago


John Maki

You might think that judges would be willing to review convictions based on testimony that was later recanted, but in fact courts frequently ignore recantations.

The Gates Affair: Why We Care

Daniel Bruno Sanz | Posted 09.10.2009 | Politics


Daniel Bruno Sanz

Inheritance is White, poor credit scores, Black. A missing woman is White and a fugitive on the loose is Black.

Kenya: Death Sentences Reduced To Life By Pres. Kibaki

AP | TOM MALITI | Posted 09.03.2009 | World


NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenya's more than 4,000 death row inmates all will have their sentences commuted to life imprisonment, the president announced ...

Quinn: Keep Death Penalty Moratorium

AP | Posted 08.30.2009 | Chicago


CHICAGO (AP) -- Gov. Pat Quinn says the state's moratorium on capital punishment should continue even as DuPage County prosecutors seek the death pena...

China Executions To Be Reduced To "An Extremely Small Number"

Huffington Post | Posted 08.29.2009 | World


China, which executes more people per year than any other country, vowed this week to cut back on the habit, ABC News reports. According to Supreme P...

Egypt Death Sentences At An All-Time High

Inter Press Service | Posted 08.16.2009 | World


By Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa Al-Omrani | Inter Press Service Cairo -- Egyptian courts have handed down unprecedented numbers of death sentence...

A Simple Solution for Crime: Background

Patrick Takahashi | Posted 07.12.2009 | Politics


Patrick Takahashi

Kevin Weber was sentenced to 26 years to life for stealing four chocolate chip cookies. Many of our prisons now hold double the designed capacity, and you're paying for it. Is there a better way?

Troy Davis is Still With Us

Allison Kilkenny | Posted 06.18.2009 | Politics


Allison Kilkenny

Excerpt from an article I originally posted back in September: Two hours before Troy Davis was scheduled to die, the U.S. Supreme Court granted him a...

The 132nd Death Row Exoneree: Implications for the Troy Davis Case

Diann Rust-Tierney | Posted 06.14.2009 | Politics


Diann Rust-Tierney

One of the many disturbing aspects of capital punishment is that it has no guarantee against mistaken convictions and executions.

A Month of Killing, More on the Way?

Norm Stamper | Posted 05.14.2009 | Politics


Norm Stamper

Shooting an armed, hostage-holding assailant can be a life-saving act of heroism. But there's something fundamentally wrong with taking the life of someone in the state's custody.

Death Penalty Repeal in the Land of Enchantment

Diann Rust-Tierney | Posted 04.26.2009 | Politics


Diann Rust-Tierney

New Mexico's lawmakers concluded that they'd had enough of a system that does not deter murders, is unfairly and unequally applied, risks wrongful convictions, and diverts resources.

Iran Mulls Death Penalty For Offensive Bloggers (VIDEO)

Huffington Post | Stuart Whatley | Posted 04.25.2009 | World


A new Al Jazeera English video reports that Iran is considering a law that would make "offensive" blogging punishable by death. The video notes an Am...

Arthur Delaney

Feingold To Death Penalty: Drop Dead

HuffingtonPost.com | Arthur Delaney | Posted 04.19.2009 | Politics


Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.) reintroduced legislation Thursday to abolish the death penalty at the federal level. The "Federal Death Penalty Abolit...