Search results for: death penalty

Not only is the death penalty inhumane, it relies on a system fraught with error, discriminates based on race and socio-economic status, and takes up disproportionate time and resources.

Posted by Ray Long.SPRINGFIELD — Gov. Pat Quinn today signed into law a historic ban on the death penalty in Illinois and commuted the sentences of 15 death row inmates to life without parole. The governor said he followed his conscience. He said he believed…

A deep-red state shows the way, with conservatives in the lead.By Shari SilbersteinOn Wednesday, Nebraska senators voted 30-19 to override a gubernatorial veto and end the death penalty. Nebraska’s Senate maintains a uniquely non-partisan structure, but each senator’s party affiliation is well known – and…

by Gadi Dechter and Laura Smitherman A state commission reviewing capital punishment recommended last night an end to executions in Maryland, prompting hope among death penalty opponents that the General Assembly could soon abolish the 30-year practice. The Maryland Commission on Capital Punishment voted 13-7…

This article highlights Atlantic grantee Connecticut Network to Abolish the Death Penalty (CNADP) in its report that the Connecticut House of Representatives voted to repeal the death penalty with an 86-62 vote. The repeal now moves to the desk of Governor Dannel P. Malloy, who…

by IAN URBINA ANNAPOLIS, Md. — When Gov. Martin O’Malley appeared before the Maryland Senate last week, he made an unconventional argument that is becoming increasingly popular in cash-strapped states: abolish the death penalty to cut costs. Mr. O’Malley, a Democrat and a Roman Catholic who has…

Feingold's Longtime Effort Comes as New Mexico Repeals Death Penalty Original Source By Arthur Delaney, Huffington Post Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.) reintroduced legislation Thursday to abolish the death penalty at the federal level. The "Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act of 2009" comes just after New…

Momentum in the states is shifting toward the repeal of the death penalty. There are practical reasons for this: The death penalty is expensive, it does not work, and it is administered with a clear racial bias. Repealing it is a matter of justice, public…

by BRIAN WITTE Maryland lawmakers on Thursday approved limits to how the death penalty can be used, with supporters saying it will help protect innocent people from execution but opponents calling the restrictions a practical end to capital punishment in Maryland. The measure, which was…

Only two percent of U.S. counties have been responsible for the majority of cases leading to executions since 1976, according to this report by the Death Penalty Information Center. The disparate and highly clustered use of the death penalty raises serious questions of unequal, costly…