Death Penalty News

Richard Gere’s Opposition to Capital Punishment
"The famous Buddhist actor believes that this measure robs criminals of the chance to seek redemption."
By Entertainment News Staff
"The PRETTY WOMAN star thinks everyone should be given the chance to atone for their sins. Richard Gere has recently declared he is against capital punishment."

OPEN FORUM: Avoiding ultimate mistake in applying ultimate punishment
By Mark Leno
"San Quentin's execution chamber is gearing up for primetime. Barring any gubernatorial pardons or last-minute reprieves, lethal injections could begin as early as Dec. 13. That's the date chosen for the execution of 51-year-old Stanley "Tookie" Williams, founder of the Crips street gang and Nobel Peace Prize nominee for his redemptive efforts to steer kids away from violence. He maintains his innocence in four 1979 gun deaths."

Embracing a culture of life
The Birmingham News
"These days, the killing is less gruesome. But the tidier dispatching of Death Row inmates cannot mask this truth: It is still taking a life. And it's not just the state of Alabama killing them. It is the state killing them on behalf of all its citizens."

Death penalty moratorium needed
By JIM CARNES
"Regardless of how Alabamians feel about the death penalty, are they willing for the state to kill people by mistake? Because according to a new study by the American Civil Liberties Union and nine other organizations, flaws in our capital justice system place African-American, low-income and disabled Alabamians at risk of wrongful execution."

Alabama's largest newspaper advocates abolishing death penalty
JAY REEVES | Associated Press
"BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - With surveys showing about three-quarters of Alabama residents in support of the death penalty and almost 200 inmates on death row, the state's largest newspaper has come out in favor of a radical change: Ending capital punishment."

House could debate Romney death penalty next week
"Romney filed his legislation in April, seeking capital punishment for "very, very rare circumstances," such as terrorism, serial killing and torturing, or murdering police or other public servants."

The People's Business - Republicans itching to discuss the death penalty
By: Todd Dorman, Iowa Newspaper Association
"GOP leaders are itching for an election-year death penalty confrontation with Democrats, hoping the emotional issue will push Republicans into clear control of the Legislature. GOP senators - forced to share power with Democrats in the 25-25 Senate - are especially aggressive."

Death penalty losing favor with public, says WestConn professor
By Karen Ali | THE NEWS-TIMES
"DANBURY — Western Connecticut State University professor Harold Schramm thinks the death penalty is on its way out.
Schramm, a professor of justice and law administration, spent this summer with 19 other scholars at the University of Maryland. They researched the death penalty as part of a program with the National Endowment of the Humanities Institute."