Last Week In Capital Punishment (1/27-2/2)

By Jake Brooks, OJRC Research Assistant

-Republican and Democratic lawmakers introduced a house measure to eliminate the Death Penalty in Washington state.
-A King County judge in Washington state ruled that two people could not be sentenced to the Death Penalty.
-Abolition advocates optimistic about death penalty bill in Montana, as they believe  this year they have enough support to get it passed.
-In national news, there were two big stories out of Texas this past week: (1) Texas Woman’s Execution Halted; DA Will Not Appeal. The execution is stayed until April 3rd “so lawyers for the former nursing home therapist could have more time to pursue an appeal focused on whether her predominantly white jury was improperly selected on the basis of race. McCarthy is black.” (2) A Judge in Texas on Wednesday delayed convicted killer Larry Swearingen’s scheduled Feb. 27 execution date. “The motion heard Wednesday was filed recently by the New York-based Innocence Project and sought testing of crime scene evidence to support Swearingen’s claims of innocence.”

Read more stories from last week:

1-28-13

• Maryland Death Penalty Debate
• Report Catalogues Exonerated Americans who Served more than 10,000 Years in Prison
• Two Lousiana Death Penalty Appeals Cases Rejected
• State of Texas Scheduled to Execute Kimberly McCarthy
• Ohio Supreme Court Justice Calls Death Penalty Unconstitutional
• Could the Death Penalty Be Eliminated in Indiana?

1-29-13

• Texas Woman’s Execution Halted; DA Will Not Appeal

1-30-13

• Washington update 1/30 (Death penalty foes introduce measure in Olympia)
• Death Penalty Opponents Seek Abolition in Arkansas
• Will Texas Put an Innocent Man to Death?
• Execution Delayed for Montgomery County Convict

1-31-13

• Across the U.S., the Death Penalty is on the Run
• Kentucky Moves Forward with Reinstating Lethal Injections

2-1-13

• Former Death Row Inmate Testifies Against the Death Penalty
• Kentucky Officials Say Executions Should Resume

2-2-13

• Washington update 2/2 (Prosecutor to seek emergency review of decision barring death penalty in Carnation slayings)
• Montana update 2/2 (Abolition advocates optimistic about death penalty bill)

Categories

Ninth Circuit

• Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness(speaking event, Portland,Oregon) 1/20
• CA Death Penalty:  Will State Follow AZ, Which Has Resumed Executions After a Long Hiatus? 1/22
• Killers, Hidden Bodies, and Lawyers’ Ethics 1/22
• King County Bar Association passes resolution supporting repeal of Washington’s death penalty 1/22
• Washington update 1/30 (Death penalty foes introduce measure in Olympia) 1/30
• Washington update 2/2 (Prosecutor to seek emergency review of decision barring death penalty in Carnation slayings) 2/2
• Montana update 2/2 (Abolition advocates optimistic about death penalty bill) 2/2

Abolition

• Maryland and the Death Penalty 1/19
• King County Bar Association passes resolution supporting repeal of Washington’s death penalty 1/22
• Our Death Penalty: Inciting Murder and Killing Arbitrarily 1/22
• Maryland Death Penalty Debate 1/28
• Ohio Supreme Court Justice Calls Death Penalty Unconstitutional 1/28
• Could the Death Penalty Be Eliminated in Indiana? 1/28
• Washington update 1/30 (Death penalty foes introduce measure in Olympia) 1/30
• Death Penalty Opponents Seek Abolition in Arkansas 1/30
• Across the U.S., the Death Penalty is on the Run 1/31
• Former Death Row Inmate Testifies Against the Death Penalty 2/1
• Montana update 2/2 (Abolition advocates optimistic about death penalty bill) 2/2

Appeals

• Two Lousiana Death Penalty Appeals Cases Rejected 1/28
• Washington update 2/2 (Prosecutor to seek emergency review of decision barring death penalty in Carnation slayings) 2/2

DNA

• Should an Execution Move Forward When There is Untested DNA Evidence? 1/25
• Will Texas Put an Innocent Man to Death? 1/30
• Execution Delayed for Montgomery County Convict 1/31

Executions

• State of Texas Scheduled to Execute Kimberly McCarthy 1/28
• Texas Woman’s Execution Halted; DA Will Not Appeal 1/29
• Will Texas Put an Innocent Man to Death? 1/30
• Execution Delayed for Montgomery County Convict 1/31

Intellectual Disability

• Mentally Retarded Crafton Heights Man Won’t Face Death Penalty 1/23

Legislation

• Dallas DA: Texas Should Pass “Racial Justice Act” 1/22
• South Dakota Senate Passes Bill to Protect Identities Related to Lethal Injections 1/22
• Maryland Death Penalty Debate 1/28
• Could the Death Penalty Be Eliminated in Indiana? 1/28
• Washington update 1/30 (Death penalty foes introduce measure in Olympia) 1/30
• Death Penalty Opponents Seek Abolition in Arkansas 1/30
• Former Death Row Inmate Testifies Against the Death Penalty 2/1
• Montana update 2/2 (Abolition advocates optimistic about death penalty bill) 2/2

Lethal Injection

• South Dakota Senate Passes Bill to Protect Identities Related to Lethal Injections 1/22
• Kentucky Moves Forward with Reinstating Lethal Injections 1/31

Op-Eds

• Our Death Penalty: Inciting Murder and Killing Arbitrarily 1/22

Public Defense

• ‘True Believers in Justice’ 1/24

Race

• Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness(speaking event, Portland, Oregon) 1/20
• Dallas DA: Texas Should Pass “Racial Justice Act” 1/22
• Race and the Death Penalty 1/24
• Texas Woman’s Execution Halted; DA Will Not Appeal 1/29

Wrongful Convictions

• Gideon v. Wainwright – Anthony Graves, an Exonerated Death Row Prisoner from Texas 1/22
• Lawmaker in State with Most Death Row Exonerations Wants to Speed Up Executions 1/24
• A Human Tragedy: The stories of 24 exonerees who spent years in Texas prisons for crimes they didn’t commit. 1/25
• Report Catalogues Exonerated Americans who Served more than 10,000 Years in Prison 1/28
• Will Texas Put an Innocent Man to Death? 1/30
• Execution Delayed for Montgomery County Convict 1/31
• Former Death Row Inmate Testifies Against the Death Penalty 2/1