Death Penalty

Abolition of the Death Penalty

Navi Pillay | Posted 12.16.2009 | World


Navi Pillay

This month we mark the 20th anniversary of the adoption of a key treaty that aims to bring about the abolition of the death penalty.

Ohio's Perverse First Place

Deborah W. Denno | Posted 12.09.2009 | Politics


Deborah W. Denno

Over the decades, lethal injection has never met its purported goal of humaneness. And Ohio's latest method of using a single-drug formula does nothing to correct this.

The Death Penalty Revisited, Again

Christopher Brauchli | Posted 12.04.2009 | Politics


Christopher Brauchli

Some innocent dead men walking can now take hope. Two cases have been decided in the last four months that suggest it may actually make a difference whether or not the visitor to the death chamber is guilty or innocent.

Killing Uganda's Gays: The Long Reach of American "Reconstructionist" Fascism

Frank Schaeffer | Posted 12.04.2009 | Politics


Frank Schaeffer

The ideological link between the members of the Family on C-Street to the Ugandan fascists wanting to kill gays can be best summed up by looking at several quotes from RJ Rushdoony.

China Executes 2 People Over Tainted Milk Scandal

AP | CHRISTOPHER BODEEN | Posted 11.24.2009 | World


BEIJING — China executed a dairy farmer and a milk salesman Tuesday for their roles in the sale of contaminated baby formula – severe puni...

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 ...

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed And The Death Penalty: Why We Can't Kill Him

Beau Friedlander | Posted 11.21.2009 | Politics


Beau Friedlander

There is no solving the problem of mass murder. We can only hope to move past it, and perhaps that the spiritual and emotional wounds of 9/11 will turn into the proud flesh of a new humanist outlook.

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.

Governor Candidate Ryan Says Sorry For Wrongfully Putting Two Men On Death Row

Chicago Sun-Times | DAVE McKINNEY AND ABDON M. PALLASCH | Posted 11.12.2009 | Chicago


GOP gubernatorial candidate Jim Ryan issued his first outright apology Thursday for wrongfully putting two men on Death Row instead of prosecuting the...

Cook County Prosecutor Continues to Investigate Students for Trying to Free an Innocent Man

Judge H. Lee Sarokin | Posted 11.12.2009 | Chicago


Judge H. Lee Sarokin

Cook County prosecutors continue their relentless attempt to discredit the work of the students of the Medill Innocence Project in their efforts to exonerate Anthony McKinney.

Stop Sending Innocent People to Death Row: End the Death Penalty

Chad Stokes Urmston | Posted 11.12.2009 | Impact


Chad Stokes Urmston

Every morning for the last 18 years, Troy Davis has woken up on death row, despite the absence of evidence. This is a flagship case for why the death penalty is wrong and we must continue to advocate for its abolition.

An Execution and What Remains

Tamar Abrams | Posted 11.10.2009 | Living


Tamar Abrams

You had to live in the DC area that horrible month to know the impact the Sniper had on us. Fear was a constant companion.

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.

Lula's Red Carpet Welcome for Ahmadinejad

Robert Amsterdam | Posted 10.29.2009 | World


Robert Amsterdam

Why, with so much going for him and his country, should the president of Brazil make such controversial choices in his friends? The logic of the relationship with Iran is perplexing.

China Executes 2 Tibetans For The Roles In 2008 Riots

AP | By HENRY SANDERSON | Posted 10.27.2009 | World


BEIJING -- Two people have been put to death for their roles in deadly protests last year in the Chinese-controlled region of Tibet, the first known e...

Will the Chinese Courts Allow Another Mentally Ill Individual Be Executed?

Elizabeth Lynch | Posted 10.26.2009 | World


Elizabeth Lynch

The true test of a society's criminal justice system is how well it protects society's most vulnerable.

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.

Death from Cluelessness: State Killing Machines and the Penalty of Indifference

Jeff Schweitzer | Posted 10.21.2009 | Politics


Jeff Schweitzer

Carl Sagan famously said that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. The claim that killing prisoners acts as a deterrent or keeps police safe is indeed extraordinary.

James Degorski Spared Death Penalty For Brown's Chicken Murders

AP | KAREN HAWKINS | Posted 10.20.2009 | Chicago


CHICAGO — A Chicago jury decided Tuesday that a former handyman will spend the rest of his life in prison, rather than be sent to death row, for...

Xinjiang Riots: China Sentences 6 To Death

AP | CHRISTOPHER BODEEN | Posted 10.13.2009 | World


BEIJING — A court in China's far western Xinjiang region sentenced six men to death Monday for murder and other crimes committed during ethnic r...

Lethal Injection Revisited

Christopher Brauchli | Posted 10.14.2009 | Politics


Christopher Brauchli

It is so easy to view the death penalty as nothing more than a means to an end that we sometimes overlook the fact that it shouldn't be an unpleasant experience for the person involved.

Trial by Firefight

Rob Fishman | Posted 10.07.2009 | Media


Rob Fishman

It's clear that Cameron Todd Willingham was (mis)tried by a kangaroo court, but will justice be better served by the media zoo that's ensued?

Does a Botched Execution Constitute Double Jeopardy?

Judge H. Lee Sarokin | Posted 10.05.2009 | Politics


Judge H. Lee Sarokin

Despite our personal desire for vengeance and punishment, it should not be the function or policy of the government to impose the death penalty.

Welcome to Texas: The Death Penalty State

Rachel Farris | Posted 10.05.2009 | Politics


Rachel Farris

As the case against Cameron Todd Willingham, executed in 2004, sinks like a rock, the truth has started to float to the top and the rats are streaming out from all sides, led by none other than Texas Governor Rick Perry.