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Maryland could follow New Jersey in move towards abolition

 

Maryland's commission to study capital punishment announced this morning that its members had voted 13-9 to recommend repealing the death penalty.

Its report to the General Assembly outlines the commission's findings after listening to 35 hours of testimony over five months, including the determination that it is possible to execute an innocent person and that racial and jurisdictional biases play into the application of the death penalty.

The report is expected to form the basis for a push during next year's legislative session to outlaw the death penalty, a topic that has divided the General Assembly in recent years.

"There is no good and sufficient reason to have the death penalty," Chairman Benjamin R. Civiletti said at a news conference. Explaining the commission's recommendation of repeal rather than reform, he said, "There are so many faults, so many flaws within the system that we could not imagine ... ways in which to cure it."

 

State Attorney, Scott Shellenberger was initially critical of the commission, appointed by Gov. Martin O'Malley, who is opposed to capital punishment. But after the news conference this morning, Shellenberger said he thought his 21 fellow commissioners were fair and open-minded. "I don't at all feel like the deck was stacked."

Several legislators on the commission said they would urge the General Assembly to pursue repeal in the legislative session that begins in January.

Source: Baltimore Sun

Save Robert Jean Hudson: Execution Date of November 20th, 2008

Abolition UK support the campaign to save the life of Robert Jean Hudson. We are asking you to all take action to urge the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to give clemency to Mr Hudson. You can send an email directly to the Pardons and Parole Board by clicking here.

Gregory Wright - Sad news

 

It with deep sadness that we bring to you the news that Gregory Wright was executed by the State of Texas on October 30th 2008. Our hearts go out to Connie and Greg's family at this difficult time. Our kind thoughts are with those who have had loved ones taken from them through murder or state sanctioned execution.

 

We will continue stronger than ever in our fight to stop innocent people being executed and bring an end to the death penalty, in the name of justice and for the families of the executed, of those on death row and for the murder victims family members who have been let down by the death penalty system.

Stay of Execution for Troy Davis

The federal appeals court in Atlanta on Friday halted Troy Anthony Davis’ execution, the third time his life has been spared shortly before he was to be put to death. Davis’ claims of innocence, based largely on the recantations of prosecution witnesses, have attracted international attention and protest. He was set to be executed by lethal injection Monday evening for the 1989 murder of an off-duty Savannah police officer.

For the third time in 16 months, Troy Davis was granted a stay of execution.

The 11th Circuit’s ruling is the latest in what has been a roller-coaster ride of last-ditch appeals in which Davis, 40, has been repeatedly denied relief only to be spared again and again.

Martina Correia, Davis’ sister, said she and her mother, Virginia Davis, were packing for the trip to death-row when they got the news.

“I’ve been praying,” Correia said. “He deserves to be free. He at least doesn’t deserve to die for something he didn’t do.”

Since Davis’ 1991 trial, seven of nine key prosecution witnesses have backed off their testimony. Others have come forward and implicated another man in the killing of 27-year-old Savannah Police Officer Mark Allen MacPhail.

The witnesses’ recantations have prompted leaders across the globe to call for Davis’ death sentence be commuted. But Chatham County prosecutors say they are certain Davis is a cop killer and deserves to die for it.

When the 11th Circuit issued its stay, Davis’ supporters were holding a mock funeral at the state Capitol. Demonstrators carried a coffin and a petition with 140,000 signatures to the state Board of Pardons and Paroles. Davis’ supporters also delivered a letter signed by more than 100 members of Georgia’s clergy to the Governor’s office.

Correia talked to Davis after the court issued its stay. “To all the people around the world working hard and fighting for him, he wants to say thank you and this fight has to continue,” she said.

The officer’s 75-year-old mother, Anneliese, expressed fury and exasperation.

“It’s unbelievable,” she said. “It’s tearing us apart. I’m at the end with my nerves. I can’t sleep, I can’t eat. This is ridiculous.”

MacPhail’s sister, Kathy McQuary, cried when she learned of the stay from a reporter.

Davis’ lawyers expressed hope the stay leads to the new evidence being presented at a hearing.

“I am extremely relieved that the 11th Circuit, when addressed with such a grave issue as the innocence of a man set for execution, wants to hear argument and make a considered judgment,” said Tom Dunn, a member of Davis’ legal team.

The state Attorney General’s Office canceled Monday’s execution, spokesman Russ Willard said, adding that state attorneys are exploring the their options.

On Wednesday, Davis asked the 11th Circuit for permission to pursue a new federal habeas corpus petition — in which an inmate claims he is unlawfully incarcerated. The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 requires a federal appeals court to approve such a request before such a new lawsuit can be filed.

“Upon our thorough review of the record, we conclude that Davis has met the burden for a stay of execution,” the court said in an order issued by Judges Joel Dubina, Rosemary Barkett and Stanley Marcus.

The judges called the stay “conditional” and said they want to hear more from Davis’ lawyers and state attorneys. Davis must clear two difficult legal hurdles to win a new round of appeals. First, he must show that his lawyers could not have previously found the new evidence supporting his innocence no matter how diligently they looked for it. And he must show that the new testimony, viewed in light of all the evidence, is enough to prove “by clear and convincing evidence that…no reasonable fact finder would have found [him] guilty.”

The 11th Circuit added a twist. It asked the parties to address whether Davis can still be executed if he can establish innocence under the second standard but cannot satisfy his burden under the first, due-diligence question.

The court gave Davis’ lawyers 15 days to file their legal brief and state attorneys another 10 days to respond.

In July 2007, the state Board of Pardons and Paroles issued a stay less than 24 hours before Davis was to be put to death. Last month, the Supreme Court halted Davis’ execution with less than two hours to spare.

Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Join Abolition UK at the London vigil to protest the execution of Troy Davis

Please come along to the vigil at the U.S Embassy in Grosvenor Square, London to protest the imminent execution of Troy Davis on Monday 27th October at 7pm local U.S time.

Place: U.S Embassy, 24 Grosvenor Square, London, W1A 1AE

Date & Time: Monday 27th October from 5-8pm

Nearest underground stations:Oxford Circus, Hyde Park, Marble Arch, Piccadilly Circus

Please bring along any candles, placards, banners and leaflets you may have and invite as many people as you can.

Supreme Court Refuses Troy Davis Appeal

The Supreme Court today refused to hear an appeal by a Georgia man facing execution for the 1989 murder of a police officer, declining to decide whether the death penalty should be ruled out for a defendant who presents strong evidence of innocence.

The order clears the way for Georgia to proceed with the execution of Troy Anthony Davis, 40. It was issued three weeks after the high court granted him a stay with less than two hours to spare.

In refusing to hear a full appeal, the court maintained the high bar it has set for assertions of innocence following convictions in capital cases. Georgia now can set a new date for Davis's execution, because the court's stay expires with today's order.

Georgia's Supreme Court has twice refused to grant Davis a new trial, and the State Board of Pardons and Paroles rejected his request for clemency again last month despite pleas from a number of dignitaries.

The 1991 death sentence against Davis came under scrutiny after seven of nine witnesses who helped convict him recanted their testimony or changed their statements. Several told of being pressured by police to tell them what they wanted to hear. In addition, three other

people have said another man who identified Davis as the killer had confessed to being the actual triggerman.

However, relatives and supporters of the victim in the case, Mark Allen MacPhail, insist that police got the right man when they charged Davis with murdering the off-duty Savannah police officer in the early hours of Aug. 19, 1989, when MacPhail tried to stop Davis and two friends from brutally beating a homeless man in a fast-food

restaurant parking lot.

MacPhail, a former Army Ranger and father of two children, was 27 when he was killed. He was shot once in the chest--the bullet passed through a gap in his bullet-proof vest--and once in the face as he lay on the ground.

Davis, 40, admitted at his trial that he was at the scene of the murder but denied participating in the assault on the homeless man or the shooting of MacPhail.

His execution has been halted on two occasions, most recently on Sept. 23, when the Supreme Court held an emergency session and issued a stay less than two hours before Davis was to receive a lethal injection.

Despite witness statements recanting previous testimony or

implicating Coles in the shooting, appeals courts have refused to grant Davis a new trial. One major obstacle has been a 1996 federal law, the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, which was passed by Congress in the wake of the Oklahoma City bombing with the

aim of restricting federal reviews of state death penalty convictions.

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URGENT ACTION-TROY DAVIS SET TO BE EXECUTED SEPTEMBER 23RD

Troy Davis is scheduled to be executed by the state of Georgia on September 23rd, even though his serious claims of innocence have never been heard in court. We are asking everyone to take action NOW!!

Troy was convicted of murder solely on the basis of witness testimony, and seven of the nine non-police witnesses have since recanted or changed their testimony, several citing police coercion. Others have signed affidavits implicating one of the remaining two witnesses as the actual killer. But due to an increasingly restrictive appeals process, none of this new evidence has ever been heard in court.

On 16th July, 2007, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles stayed Troy Davis execution, stating that it would not allow an execution to proceed in this State unless and until its members are convinced that there is no doubt as to the guilt of the accused. The failure of courts to hear the compelling evidence of innocence in this case means that massive doubts about Troy Davis's guilt will remain unresolved.

Please send an email to Governor Sonny Purdue at his website: http://gov.georgia.gov/00/gov/contact_us/0,2657,78006749_94820188,00.html

You can also contact the Georgia Pardons and Parole Board by emailing: Clemency_Information@pap.state.ga.us

To read more about this case and to help further visit Troy's website at:

http://www.troyanthonydavis.org/

Enthusiastic volunteers urgently needed - can you spare an hour or two?

 

We still have stalls booked at a number of green fairs and festivals in the London area over the coming weeks. So far we have had a really great response with members of the public taking leaflets, asking us lots of questions, signing campaign letters and wanting to get more involved. It's an excellent way to spread our anti-death penalty message and you will enjoy a fun day out in the sun!! Sound good? - then check out our events and get in touch!

 

North East Against the Death Penalty

 

This month sees the launch of a new forum aimed at anti-death penalty supporters in the North East of England. It is a great resource packed full of information on the death penalty world-wide and it also includes specific information relating to the death penalty in each of the U.S states. You can post information, read the latest news, find about events, current cases and share your experiences of writing to people on death row. There is also a place to list petitions,polls and chat to other members of the forum. To read about this and much, much more please check out: http://neadp.fullboards.com/

 

 

The death penalty in Taiwan

Just over 100 people have been executed in Taiwan over the last decade, and there are currently more than 100 people on death row there. But no-one has been executed since 2005, and the momentum towards abolition has increased in recent years. For more information visit: http://www.deathwatchinternational.org/bin_it.php.

 

Death Watch International focuses on U.S death penalty

This month, anti death penalty group Death Watch International turns the focus of its campaign for global abolition to the USA.

The US is one of only a handful of democracies among the developed nations to retain capital punishment - and the country voted against a recent United Nations' resolution calling for a worldwide moratorium on the death penalty. Last year it executed 42 people, and after a 7 month moratorium, executed William Lynd earlier this month.

Death Watch International has asked its supporters to write to the US’ Ambassador to the UN, His Excellency Mr. Zalmay Khalilzad, calling on the country to abandon the death penalty - and to underline their point by adding some (non-hazardous) trash to their message.

 Death Watch International’s Director, Simon Shepherd, explained:

“As our campaign highlights, the death penalty is an outdated and barbaric practice which belongs in the trashcan of history. In retaining the death penalty the US finds itself in an increasingly small minority - we hope she will join the civilised world and abandon it.”

Visit www.deathwatchinternational.org and take action to bin the death penalty.

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