DOCSLIB.ORG

The Constitution Project's Death Penalty Committee

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Constitution Project's Death Penalty Committee Copyright © 2014 by The Constitution Project. All rights reserved. No part may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of The Constitution Project. For other information about this report, or any other work of The Constitution Project, please visit our website at www.constitutionproject.org or email us at [email protected]. Cover art designed by Elias Moose THE CONSTITUTION PROJECT STAFF Larry Akey Scott Roehm Director of Communications Senior Counsel, Rule of Law Program Maria Cortina Hispanic Outreach Fellow Virginia E. Sloan President Jennifer Donley Development Coordinator Katherine Stern Senior Counsel, Christopher Durocher Rule of Law Program Government Affairs Counsel Sarah E. Turberville Louis Fisher Senior Counsel, Scholar in Residence Criminal Justice Program Kayla Haran Stephen I. Vladeck Program Assistant Supreme Court Fellow Sarah McLean Brian Yourish Communications Coordinator Office Manager I. Scott Messinger Chief Operating Officer The Constitution Project promotes constitutional rights and values by forging a non-ideological consensus aimed at sound legal interpretations and policy solutions. The Constitution Project | iii Irreversible Error iv | The Constitution Project TABLE OF CONTENTS The Death Penalty Committee .......................................................................... vii Acknowledgements .............................................................................................. xi Preface ................................................................................................................. xiii Snapshot of Legal and Policy Landscape ........................................................... xvii Advocacy Efforts of The Constitution Project in Furtherance of the Death Penalty Committee’s Recommendations ........................................................... xxv Black Letter Recommendations .......................................................................... xxxv Chapter 1: Safeguarding Innocence and Preventing Wrongful Execution ....... 1 Chapter 2: Forensic Evidence and Labs ............................................................. 11 Chapter 3: Access to Justice ................................................................................ 23 Chapter 4: Custodial Interrogations ................................................................... 35 Chapter 5: Ensuring Reliable Eyewitness Testimony ........................................ 51 Chapter 6: Reserving Capital Punishment for the Most Heinous Offenses and Most Culpable Offenders .......................................................................... 71 Chapter 7: Ensuring Effective Counsel .............................................................. 85 Chapter 8: Duty of Judge and Jury .................................................................... 97 Chapter 9: Role of Prosecutors .......................................................................... 113 Chapter 10: Safeguarding Racial Fairness and Proportionality ........................ 125 Chapter 11: Executive Clemency ....................................................................... 131 Chapter 12: Execution Procedures ..................................................................... 137 Appendix I: State-by-State Execution Procedures ............................................. 145 Appendix II: Death Penalty Statistics ................................................................ 157 The Constitution Project | v Irreversible Error vi | The Constitution Project THE CONSTITUTION PROJECT’S DEATH PENALTY COMMITTEE Co-Chairs Gerald Kogan Chief Justice, Florida Supreme Court, 1987-1998; Chief Prosecutor, Homicide and Capital Crimes Division, Dade County, Florida, 1960-1967 Mark White Governor, Texas, 1983-1987; Attorney General, Texas, 1979-1983; Secretary of State, Texas, 1973-1977; Assistant Attorney General, Texas, 1965-1969 Beth A. Wilkinson Special Attorney to the U.S. Attorney General, Oklahoma City bombing case, 1995-2001; Assistant U.S. Attorney, Eastern District of New York, 1991-1995 Members David I. Bruck Clinical Professor of Law and Director, Virginia Capital Case Clearinghouse, Washington and Lee University School of Law; Federal Death Penalty Resource Counsel William G. Broaddus Attorney General, Virginia, 1985-1986 W.J. Michael Cody Attorney General, Tennessee, 1998-2001 Mark Earley, Jr. Attorney General, Virginia, 1998-2001; Senator, Virginia State Senate 1988-1998 O.H. Eaton, Jr. Judge, Florida 18th Judicial Circuit, 1986-2010 John J. Gibbons Director and Founder, John J. Gibbons Fellowship in Public Interest and Constitutional Law; Chief Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit, 1987-1990 Charles A. Gruber Chief of Police, South Barrington Police Department, 1999-2008; President, International Association of Chiefs of Police, 1990; President, Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, 1982 The Constitution Project | vii Irreversible Error Dr. David P. Gushee Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics and Director, Center for Theology and Public Life, Mercer University Sam D. Millsap, Jr. District Attorney, Bexar County, Texas, 1983-1987 Sheila M. Murphy President, Board of Directors, Illinois Death Penalty Education Project; Presiding Judge, Il- linois Sixth District, 1992-1999 Chase Riveland Secretary, Department of Corrections, Washington, 1986-1997; Executive Director, Colorado Department of Corrections, 1983-1986; Deputy Director, Wisconsin Division of Corrections, 1980-1982; Superintendent, Portage Correctional Institution, Wisconsin, 1980-1982 David A. Schwartz President & CEO, DS Baseball LLC William S. Sessions Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1987-1993; Judge, United States District Court, Western District of Texas, 1974-1987; Chief Judge, 1980-1987; United States Attorney, West- ern District of Texas, 1971-1974 B. Frank Stokes, Jr. Private Investigator; Special Agent, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1971-2001 Jennifer Thompson-Cannino Author, activist; Member, North Carolina Innocence Commission; Member, Advisory Com- mittee for Active Voices Scott Turow Author; Member, Illinois’ Executive Ethics Commission; Assistant U.S. Attorney, Northern District of Illinois, 1979-1986; Chair, Illinois State Appellate Defender’s Commission, 2002- 2004 John W. Whitehead President, The Rutherford Institute Dr. Reginald Wilkinson Director, Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DRC), 1991-2006; DRC em- ployee, 1973; President, American Correctional Association; Vice Chair for North America, International Corrections and Prison Association; President, Ohio Correctional and Court Services Association; Founder, Ohio chapter, National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice viii | The Constitution Project Death Penalty Committee Rev. Dr. Aidsand F. Wright-Riggins III Executive Director, American Baptist Home Mission Societies, American Baptist Churches, USA Past Members Many distinguished individuals who have participated in The Constitution Project’s Death Penalty Committee over the years have resigned from the Committee for a variety of reasons, including running for elective office, retirement, and other obligations. They have helped shape this and past reports and we are grateful for their contributions. Rev. James E. Andrews* Stated Clerk, General Assembly, Presbyterian Church (USA), 1973-1996 Charles F. Baird Judge, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, 1991-1999; Judge, Criminal District Court, Travis County, Texas, 2007-2011 Harry Barnes, Jr.* United States Ambassador, Romania, 1974-1977; India, 1981-1985; and Chile, 1985-1988 Bob Barr Member, United States House of Representatives (R-GA), 1995-2003 Charles B. Blackmar* Chief Justice, Missouri Supreme Court, 1989-1991 Robert J. Burns Judge, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, 1979-1997 Rosalynn Carter Vice Chair, The Carter Center; First Lady of the United States, 1977-1981 Mario M. Cuomo Governor, New York, 1983-1994 James A. Fry Assistant District Attorney, Dallas County, Texas, 1980-1982; Chairman, Texas State Bar Grievance Committee Thomas A. Gottschalk Executive Vice President and General Counsel, General Motors Corporation, 1994-2006 The Constitution Project | ix Irreversible Error Asa Hutchinson Undersecretary, Department of Homeland Security, 2003-2005; Administrator, Drug En- forcement Administration, 2001-2003; Member, United States House of Representatives (R- AR), 1997-2001; United States Attorney, Western District of Arkansas, 1982-1985 Peter D. Keisler Acting Attorney General, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division, 2003-2007; Prin- cipal Deputy Associate Attorney General, 2002-2003; Acting Associate Attorney General of the United States Department of Justice, 2007 Cardinal William H. Keeler Archbishop of Baltimore, 1989-2007 Paula M. Kurland Victim Advocate; founding Member, Bridges to Life (a victim-offender program in Texas) Ann Landers* Syndicated Columnist, 1955-2002 David Lawrence, Jr. Executive Editor, Detroit Free Press, 1978-1989; Publisher, Miami Herald, 1989-1999 Timothy Lynch Director, Project on Criminal Justice, Cato Institute Abner J. Mikva Schwartz Lecturer and Senior Director, Mandel Legal Aid Clinic, University of Chicago Law School; Member, United States House of Representatives (D-IL), 1969-1973 and 1975-1979; White House Counsel, 1994-1995; Judge, D.C. Circuit United States Court of Appeals, 1979-1994; Chief Judge,
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Necessary Implications of Skinner V. Switzer
    Washington University Journal of Law & Policy Volume 38 Acceess to Justice: Evolving Standards in Juvenile Justice: From Gault to Graham and Beyond January 2012 Ghosts of Innocent Men: Necessary Implications of Skinner v. Switzer Kathryn A. Harrington Washington University School of Law Follow this and additional works at: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_journal_law_policy Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Kathryn A. Harrington, Ghosts of Innocent Men: Necessary Implications of Skinner v. Switzer, 38 WASH. U. J. L. & POL’Y 325 (2012), https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_journal_law_policy/vol38/iss1/10 This Note is brought to you for free and open access by the Law School at Washington University Open Scholarship. It has been accepted for inclusion in Washington University Journal of Law & Policy by an authorized administrator of Washington University Open Scholarship. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Ghosts of Innocent Men: Necessary Implications of Skinner v. Switzer Kathryn A. Harrington INTRODUCTION Two chicken thighs, a double bacon cheeseburger, fried catfish, onion rings, French fries, a salad with ranch dressing, and a milkshake.1 Forty-seven minutes were left when Hank Skinner‘s last meal was interrupted in dramatic fashion.2 The Supreme Court had issued a stay of execution pending resolution of his petition for certiorari.3 Untested DNA evidence exists, and questions about Skinner‘s guilt in a 1993 New Year‘s Eve triple murder remain.4 In J.D. Candidate (2012), Washington University Law School; B.A., Psychology (2006), Duke University. Special thanks to Lindsay Herf, Attorney/DNA Case Manager at the Arizona Justice Project, to Journal members Matthew Schoonover and Laura Vaughn for their fantastic edits and encouragement, and to Joanne, Neil, Joe, Maggie, and Harry Harrington.
    [Show full text]
  • Irreversible Error
    Copyright © 2014 by The Constitution Project. All rights reserved. No part may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of The Constitution Project. For other information about this report, or any other work of The Constitution Project, please visit our website at www.constitutionproject.org or email us at [email protected]. Cover art designed by Elias Moose THE CONSTITUTION PROJECT STAFF Larry Akey Scott Roehm Director of Communications Senior Counsel, Rule of Law Program Maria Cortina Hispanic Outreach Fellow Virginia E. Sloan President Jennifer Donley Development Coordinator Katherine Stern Senior Counsel, Christopher Durocher Rule of Law Program Government Affairs Counsel Sarah E. Turberville Louis Fisher Senior Counsel, Scholar in Residence Criminal Justice Program Kayla Haran Stephen I. Vladeck Program Assistant Supreme Court Fellow Sarah McLean Brian Yourish Communications Coordinator Office Manager I. Scott Messinger Chief Operating Officer The Constitution Project promotes constitutional rights and values by forging a non-ideological consensus aimed at sound legal interpretations and policy solutions. The Constitution Project | iii Irreversible Error iv | The Constitution Project TABLE OF CONTENTS The Death Penalty Committee .......................................................................... vii Acknowledgements .............................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • The Death Penalty in the United States, a Polymorphous Torture
    999 THE DEATH PENALTY IN THE UNITED STATES, A POLYMORPHOus TORTURE Ensemble contre 999 la peine de mort THE DEATH PENALTY IN THE UNITED STATES, ECPM 3, rue Paul Vaillant Couturier A POLYMORPHOUS TORTURE 92320 Chatillon - France ARNAUD GAILLARD Tel.: +33 (0)1 57 63 03 57 Fax: +33 (0)1 57 63 89 25 www.abolition.fr This mission report was elaborated with the financial assistance of the European Union. The contents are the sole responsibility of the author and cannot in any case be con- sidered to reflect the position of the European Union. Analysis & Redaction: Arnaud Gaillard, sociologist specialized in criminal justice issues. Translation: Sandrine Ageorges-Skinner Ensemble Photography: © Arnaud Gaillard contre la peine © ECPM, 2011 de mort ISBN : 978-2-9525533-5-1 Acknowledgements This study was conducted with the assistance of Florent Vassault and Emile Carreau, whom I wish to thank warm-heartedly. They were daily collaborators to complete this fact-finding mission, sharing the many issues that did not fail to arouse during the encounter, sometimes aggressive and violent, with the reality of the death penalty in the United-States. Prior to this mission and throughout the data analysis and drafting, I would like to thank Sandrine Ageorges-Skinner, tireless activist and wife of Hank Skinner sentenced to death, whose insight steadily enriched this analysis. Thank you to Claude Guillaumaud-Pujol, activist, researcher and author specialized in American civilization. Beyond their skills as translators, they accompanied and guided my questions about the death penalty in the United States. Finally thank you to the association Together against the Death Penalty (ECPM) and its team, employees and volunteers, for trusting me and especially for the power of their faith in a universal abolition to come, which must now be achieved.
    [Show full text]
  • 1978, When He Was 27, Manuel Valle Killed a Police Officer in Coral Gables, Flori­ Da
    CJ CJ ....::t • ....::t 0 N r:: U November 2 r,. 20 ( I Issue [0 1978, when he was 27, Manuel Valle killed a police officer in Coral Gables, Flori­ da. In September, when he was 61, Mr. Valle was put to death for his crimes. Shortly before his execution, the Supreme Court refused to stay his execution - with one dissent. Justice Stephen Breyer wrote that the 33 years Mr. Valle spent on death row amounted to cruel and unusual punishment. "I have little doubt about the cruelty of so long a period of incarceration under sentence of death," Breyer wrote. "The commonly accepted justifications for the death penalty are close to nonexistent in a case such as this one. It is difficult to imagine how an execution following such a long period of incarceration could add significantly to that punishment's deterrent value." His dissent then addressed the variety of reasons for Valle's unusual delay, raising questions about current legal procedures 'and the death penalty. "It might be ar­ gued that Valle, not the State, is responsible for the delays. But Valle replies that more than two decades of delay reflect the State's failure to provide the kind of trial and penalty procedures that the law requires .... It might also be argued that it is not so much the State as it is the numerous procedures that the law demands. But this kind of argument does not automatically justify execution in this case. Ra­ ther the argument may point to a more basic difficulty, namely the difficulty of rec­ onciling the imposition of the death penalty as is currently administered with pro- cedures necessary to assure that the wrong person is not executed." Justice Breyer's dissent reflects valid concerns that the current procedures re­ quired in death penalty cases need reform.
    [Show full text]
  • The Controversy of Clemency and Innocence in America
    California Western Law Review Volume 51 Number 1 Article 5 10-1-2014 The Controversy of Clemency and Innocence in America Sarah Cooper Daniel Gough Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarlycommons.law.cwsl.edu/cwlr Recommended Citation Cooper, Sarah and Gough, Daniel (2014) "The Controversy of Clemency and Innocence in America," California Western Law Review: Vol. 51 : No. 1 , Article 5. Available at: https://scholarlycommons.law.cwsl.edu/cwlr/vol51/iss1/5 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by CWSL Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in California Western Law Review by an authorized editor of CWSL Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Cooper and Gough: The Controversy of Clemency and Innocence in America +(,1 2 1/,1( Citation: 51 Cal. W. L. Rev. 55 2014 Content downloaded/printed from HeinOnline (http://heinonline.org) Thu Apr 9 14:03:15 2015 -- Your use of this HeinOnline PDF indicates your acceptance of HeinOnline's Terms and Conditions of the license agreement available at http://heinonline.org/HOL/License -- The search text of this PDF is generated from uncorrected OCR text. -- To obtain permission to use this article beyond the scope of your HeinOnline license, please use: https://www.copyright.com/ccc/basicSearch.do? &operation=go&searchType=0 &lastSearch=simple&all=on&titleOrStdNo=0008-1639 Published by CWSL Scholarly Commons, 2014 1 California Western Law Review, Vol. 51 [2014], No. 1, Art. 5 THE CONTROVERSY OF CLEMENCY AND INNOCENCE IN AMERICA SARAH LUCY COOPER* DANIEL GOUGH** INTRODUCTION Clemency has been embedded in the American criminal justice system since America was founded.' Justified under a mixture of retributive, redemptive, and utilitarian principles, 2 "clemency" covers "a variety of mechanisms an executive can use to remit the consequences of a crime," 3 including pardons, commutations of * (Barrister), Senior Lecturer in Law, Centre for American Legal Studies, Birmingham City University.
    [Show full text]
  • CHAPTER 2 Forensic Evidence and Labs
    CHAPTER 2 Forensic Evidence and Labs Hank Skinner was convicted in 1995 of murdering his longtime girlfriend, Twila Busby, and her two grown sons on New Year’s Eve in 1993. Skinner has maintained his innocence, saying that he was passed out on alcohol and drugs that night and awoke to find the family, who lived with him, murdered. DNA testing in November 2012 identified his DNA profile in blood found in multiple places in the house. The testing also found the DNA profile of an unknown male on a knife believed to be used in the crime and on the carpet in the bedroom that the sons shared. A new round of testing conducted in 2013 on a series of hairs, found clutched in Busby’s hand, revealed that one hair belongs to Skinner and that at least two hairs belong to someone related to Busby, but not her or her sons. That evidence is consistent with the defense’s theory that Busby’s uncle may have committed the crime. A key piece of evidence in the crime, a windbreaker stained with blood that was found at the crime scene, was connected to the uncle, who was known to be violent and had previously assaulted Busby. Following a 2012 order by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals requiring testing of remaining evidence, it came to light that the windbreaker had been lost by law enforcement – the windbreaker has never been tested. The Constitution Project | 11 Irreversible Error Recommendation 5. The government should preserve all evidence for at least 60 days after an execution.
    [Show full text]
  • Texas Death Penalty Developments in 2010: the Year in Review
    Texas Death Penalty Developments in 2010 The Year in Review Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty December 2010 Texas Death Penalty Developments in 2010: The Year in Review The Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (TCADP) publishes this annual report to inform citizens and elected officials about issues associated with the death penalty in Texas during the past year. It presents information on new death sentences, executions, and stays; exonerations; legislative developments; and other issues affecting the criminal justice system in the nation’s most active death penalty state. The report is available online at www.tcadp.org/TexasDeathPenaltyDevelopments2010.pdf. Death Sentences Death sentences in Texas have dropped more than 70% since 2003, reaching a historic low in 2010. According to data compiled from news sources and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, juries condemned eight new individuals to death in Texas in 2010.1 This is the lowest number of new death sentences since the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Texas’ revised death penalty statute in 1976. Six counties accounted for the new death row inmates: Brazos; Dallas; New death sentences Harris; Nueces; Rusk2; and Travis. 30 This represents 2% of all Texas counties. While Harris County did 28 20 24 not condemn any new defendants to death in 2008 or 2009, it imposed two 10 14 14 new sentences in 2010. Still, this is a 11 12 9 8 steep departure from the 1990s, 0 when Harris County sent as many as 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 15 people to death row in a year.
    [Show full text]
  • TCADP Annual Award Winners Announced Impending Executions
    2009 U.S. Executions Texas 24 Alabama 6 Ohio 5 Georgia 3 Oklahoma 3 Virginia 3 Florida 2 South Carolina 2 Tennessee 2 Montana 1 TEXASCOALITIONTOA BOLISHTHEDEATHPENALTY Indiana 1 WORKINGTHROUGHEDUC ATIONANDACTION W I N T E R 2 0 1 0 Total 52 Inside This Issue: TCADP Annual Award Winners Announced From the 2 We are delighted to announce the recipients of TCADP's Annual Awards. The Executive Director awards will be presented during the 2010 TCADP Annual Conference: "Seizing the Momentum: Building Capacity, Community, and Coalition" to be held at Highland Park Annual Report 3 United Methodist Church, Saturday, February 20, 2010, in Dallas, TX. Speaker’s Tour 4 Look for more information about the conference on the color insert in this newsletter and Annual Conference insert on the TCADP website (www.tcadp.org) and join us in celebrating this year's winners: Chapter News/ 5-6 Courage Award - Judge Charlie Baird Calendar Judge Charlie Baird has demonstrated a constant and courageous opposition to the death penalty; he consistently worked for justice while serving on the Texas Court of Thank You! 7 Criminal Appeals (1990-1998). Registration Form 8 Courage Award - Father Mark Miller and the TCADP Odessa Chapter Father Mark Miller, Rev. Gene Collins, Rev. David Mossbarger, and Rev. Roy Gentry have demonstrated great courage in establishing a new TCADP chapter in Odessa. Impending Media Award - David Grann, Staff Writer, The New Yorker David Grann's in-depth investigation of the Cameron Todd Willingham case and subse- Executions quent article - "Trial by Fire: Did Texas Execute an Innocent Man?" explored the case in Impending Executions its entirety and debunked all of the evidence used to convict/sentence Willingham to Please note that dates are tentative.
    [Show full text]
  • The Innocence Project in Print Benjamin N
    James Lee Woodard 9/30/09 Jerry Lee Evans 10/21/09 Michael Marshall 12/14/09 James Bain 12/17/09 Donald Eugene Gates 12/18/09 Freddie Peacock 2/04/10 Ted Bradford 2/11/10 Curtis Jasper Moore 3/24/10 Anthony Caravella 3/25/10 Frank Sterling 4/28/10 Raymond Towler 5/05/10 Patrick Brown 6/17/10 Douglas Pacyon 6/21/10 Larry Davis 7/14/10 Alan Northrop 7/14/10 Anthony Johnson 9/15/10 William Avery 9/21/10 Maurice Patterson 10/8/10 Michael Anthony Green 10/20/10 John Watkins 12/13/10 Phillip Bivens 12/14/10 Bobby Ray Dixon 12/14/10 Larry Ruffin 12/14/10 Cornelius Dupree 3/03/11 Derrick Williams 4/04/11 Calvin Wayne Cunningham 4/12/11 THE INNOCENCE PROJECT IN PRINT BENJAMIN N. CARDOZO SCHOOL OF LAW, YESHIVA UNIVERSITY VOLUME 7 ISSUE 1 SUMMER 2011 IN THIS ISSUE FEATURES BOARD OF DIRECTORS A CASE OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY..............................................................4 Michelle Adams WHO WILL PROSECUTE THE PROSECUTORS?.......................................9 Laura Arnold STRENGTH IN NUMBERS........................................................................12 Gordon DuGan IN THEIR OWN WORDS: Senator Rodney Ellis Q & A WITH FALSE CONFESSION EXPERT Board Chair RICHARD LEO .................................................................................16 Jason Flom 9 John Grisham Calvin C. Johnson, Jr. DEPARTMENTS Dr. Eric S. Lander LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR..............................................3 Hon. Janet Reno EXONERATION NATION ..........................................................................18 Director Emeritus INNOCENCE PROJECT NEWS..................................................................20 Rossana Rosado Matthew Rothman INNOCENCE BY THE NUMBERS: INEFFECTIVE DEFENSE....................................................................22 Stephen Schulte Board Vice Chair Bonnie Steingart 16 Chief Darrel Stephens Andrew H. Tananbaum, Esq.
    [Show full text]
  • Advocacy Efforts of the Constitution Project in Furtherance of the Committee’S Recommendations
    ADVOCACY EFFORTS OF THE CONSTITUTION PROJECT IN FURTHERANCE OF THE COMMITTEE’S RECOMMENDATIONS For almost 15 years, The Constitution Project (“TCP”) has tirelessly promoted pragmatic, bipartisan policies before the courts, policymakers, the media and the public. Through our Death Penalty Committee, and through our Clearinghouse on Unlikely Allies for Criminal Justice Reforms (the “Clearinghouse”), we have reached audiences far beyond the “usual suspects” with effective advocacy and education. The Clearinghouse is comprised of Death Penalty Committee members in addition to hundreds of former prosecutors, law enforcement, corrections officials, judges and others whose voices carry particular weight in the debate over reforms to the death penalty, as well as other criminal justice issues. TCP drafts and organizes letters, amicus briefs, advocacy statements and the like for Committee and Clearinghouse members who help us to promote these reforms. What follows are just some examples of this work over that period of time.9 Safeguarding Innocence and Preventing Wrongful Executions The Death Penalty Committee – in this report and in prior reports – has issued a number of recommendations that seek to minimize the risk of wrongful conviction and execution. TCP’s work in this area has sought to prevent the serious miscarriages of justice that could be avoided through adherence to the Committee’s recommendations. Members of the Death Penalty Committee advocated for the reconsideration of Troy Anthony Davis’ conviction and death sentence. In 2009, Committee and Clearinghouse members comprised the 27 former prosecutors and judges who served as amici in a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court successfully urging the Court to order an evidentiary hearing to consider new evidence that raised serious doubts as to Davis’ guilt.
    [Show full text]
  • Women in Crime Ink: Guest Michael Streed Talks About Sketchcop
    11/26/2016 Women in Crime Ink: Guest Michael Streed talks about SketchCop 0 More Next Blog» Create Blog Sign In ABOUT WCI | FACEBOOK | KINDLE | WIKIPEDIA A B O U T U S T U E S D A Y , O C T O B E R 5 , 2 0 1 0 Guest Michael Streed talks about SketchCop "A blog worth reading" The Wall Street Journal by Andrea Campbell There is so much involved WRITING TODAY with being a forensic artist and it is a small community. Today we have an interview G U E S T C O N T R I B U T O R O R D E R B O O K S B Y W C I with Michael Streed, artist C O N T R I B U T O R S extraordinaire. Q.: Michael, thank you for being my interview guest. Can you tell WCI readers something about your background? Adobe Flash M.: I began my career as a Player is out of ‘street cop’ and retired 31 date. years later as “The SketchCop.” During that time, I worked several investigative assignments that helped me learn a lot about eyewitnesses. It also helped hone my interviewing skills. Shortly after becoming a police officer, I trained as a police composite artist with the WOMEN IN CRIME INK Los Angeles Police Department. My career as a forensic artist CONTRIBUTORS paralleled my work as a police officer and took me throughout the Search country to train with the best forensic artists of that era. I blended my forensic art training with college courses in life drawing and was H O L L Y H U G H E S Custom Search privileged to become trusted to work on some of the country’s worst cases including the torture murder of a DEA agent in Mexico, The C O D E A M B E R A L E R T Baton Rouge Serial Killer, The Samantha Runnion Abduction/Murder and the Anthony Martinez Abduction/Murder.
    [Show full text]
  • No. 76,675 in the COURT of CRIMINAL APPEALS of TEXAS AT
    No. 76,675 IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN HENRY W. SKINNER, ) Appellant ) ) v. ) ) ) THE STATE OF TEXAS, ) Appellee ) MOTION FOR STAY OF EXECUTION TO ALLOW MEANINGFUL CONSIDERATION OF APPEAL OF TRIAL COURT’S DENIAL OF MOTION FOR DNA TESTING AND OBJECTION TO TRIAL COURT’S ORDER AS INADEQUATE TO PERMIT A MEANINGFUL APPEAL TO THE HONORABLE JUDGES OF THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS: Appellant HENRY W. SKINNER respectfully moves this Court to stay his execution, set for Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011, at 6:00 p.m., in order to preserve its jurisdiction over his appeal of the trial court’s order denying his Third Motion for DNA Testing, entered on November 2, 2011. See Ex parte Lockhart, 868 S.W.2d 346, 347 (Tex. Crim. App. 1993) (citing Tex. Const., art. V, § 5) (this Court has the power to stay a condemned prisoner’s execution where doing so would “tend to protect this Court’s jurisdiction or enforce a judgment of this Court"); Tex. Code Skinner v. State, No.76,675 Motion for Stay of Execution – Page 1 Crim. Proc. Ann. art 64.05 (Vernon 2006 & Supp. 2011) (giving this Court jurisdiction to review a lower court's denial of a request for post-conviction DNA testing). A stay of execution is necessary, as set forth below, because the parties cannot meaningfully brief—and this Court cannot fully, fairly, and reliably adjudicate—the important issues presented by this appeal in the very short time that remains before the State intends to put Mr. Skinner to death.
    [Show full text]