28 December 2003

Death - Trends:

(1) Here's an article arguing that support for the death penalty has dropped in the U.S. to somewhere between 50-64%:
If you are going to commit a murder, you might want to pick your spots. "The practice of the death penalty became more isolated in 2003," the report says. "Only three states outside of the South conducted executions in 2003: Indiana, Missouri and Ohio. Three states in the South, Texas, Oklahoma and North Carolina, accounted for 69 percent of the executions in 2003. All together, the South was responsible for 89 percent of the executions this year."


(2) Despite being opined incompetent by two psychologists and a psychiatrist a man is allowed to waive the appeal after he has been sentenced to death. The author urges abolition as the only way to stop such injustices. And here's a knee jerk letter to the editor in reply.

(3) Meanwhile, in Maryland legislators plan to increase the breadth of the death penalty statutes.

(4) Meanwhile, in Massachusetts (a State with no death penalty statute), a man is sentenced to death in the federal court.

(5) Judge John Gleeson, pro-prosecution judge, fires a broadside at Ashcroft's policy of forcing prosecutors to pursue the death penalty after they have recommended against it.

(6) New York's SUpreme Court refuses to allow people to killed by the State.

(7) Illinois is willing to pay $300,000 per in order to be able to kill Defendants. How dare those evil Defense attorneys actually spend money in trying to defend someone the State is trying to kill.

(8) Are people becoming skeptical about the death penalty?

(9) An lawyer-author and and policeman-author both address the death penalty.

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