Success Stories!

Two Reprieves in Ohio!

On Monday, October 5, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland granted temporary reprieves to Lawrence Reynolds and Darryl Durr. These reprieves came after the 6th Circuit US Court of Appeals stayed the Reynolds execution pending a November 30 hearing on the botched lethal injection of Romell Broom, whom the state of Ohio tried but failed to execute on September 15. While Amnesty called on Governor Strickland to establish a moratorium on all executions in his state, these reprieves are an acknowledgement that Ohio has serious problems with its death penalty. Thanks to all who took action!
2009-10-06

Stay of Execution for Kenneth Mosley

Late on September 23, the U.S. Supreme Court stayed the execution of Kenneth Mosley - a death row prisoner from Texas. The Court decision came one day before Mosley's scheduled execution. During Mr. Mosley's trial, his lawyers failed to provide the jury with evidence on his abusive upbringing, on his exposure to toxic pesticides as a child, his possible brain damage, his depression and his use of cocaine to self-medicate. A similar Alabama case (Wood v. Allen) will be heard at the U.S. Supreme Court this November, on the question of inadequate legal assistance during the sentencing phase of a death penalty trial. The high Court's decision in that case will determine the next step in Mr. Mosley's case. We want to thank all of our activists who worked hard to make Mr. Mosley's story heard!
2009-09-24

North Carolina Racial Justice Act Becomes Law!

On August 11, North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue signed the Racial Justice Act into law, making North Carolina only the second state in the country to allow death row prisoners to meaningfully challenge their death sentences if racial bias is evident. Historically, race (particularly race of the victim) has been a major factor in who does and does not get death sentences in North Carolina, and 35 inmates on North Carolina’s death row were put there by all-white juries. Congratulations to the North Carolina Coalition for a Moratorium and all others whose hard work has made the passage of this law a reality!
2009-08-11

Brett Hartmann Receives Stay of Execution in Ohio (UA 76/09)

Brett Hartmann received a stay of execution from the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on 31 March. He was due to be executed in Ohio on 7 April for the murder of Winda Snipes in 1997. Brett Hartmann's lawyers had appealed to the Sixth Circuit to stay the execution and allow them to file a new habeas corpus petition on the grounds that there was new evidence supporting Brett Hartmann's claim of innocence, including their claim that one of the state's key witnesses may have committed perjury when he testified at the trial. The court has stayed the execution at this time, but has not allowed the petition to go ahead under the stringent rules that apply in US federal law to filing successive habeas corpus petitions. The Ohio Parole Board had recommended that Governor Ted Strickland not intervene to stop the execution. The governor, who is not bound by this recommendation, had not made a decision on the case by the time the judicial stay was handed down.
2009-04-15

Death Penalty Abolished in New Mexico!

On Wednesday, March 18, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson signed into law a bill to abolish the death penalty! New Mexico now becomes the 15th state to outlaw capital punishment, and the 2nd in only two years. Congratulations to the New Mexico Coalition to Repeal the Death Penalty, and to all who have been working so hard there!
2009-04-01

Stay of Execution Granted for Brett Hartmann in Ohio

On March 31, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit granted a stay of execution for Brett Hartmann, who was scheduled to be put to death by the state of Ohio on April 7. Mr. Hartmann is seeking access to evidence for DNA testing he argues could prove his innocence, and the stay was granted to allow the US Supreme Court to issue a ruling on another case which could determine what kind of rights he has to access such evidence.
2009-04-01

Larry Swearingen Granted a Stay of Execution (UA 17/09)

On January 26, Larry Swearingen was granted a stay of execution by a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the federal court one level below the US Supreme Court with jurisdiction over Texas cases. He was scheduled to be put to death in Texas on the evening of January 27. Swearingen was sentenced to death in 2000 for the murder of Melissa Trotter in 1998. He maintains his innocence of the murder and several forensic experts have provided statements and testimonies that support his claim.
2009-01-28

Commission Recommends Repeal in Maryland

On November 12, the Maryland Commission on Capital Punishment voted to recommend repealing the death penalty in Maryland. On December 12, the Commission issued that recommendation in their Final Report. The Commission was created by the Maryland General Assembly to conduct a thorough study of capital punishment in that state. After five public hearings and hours of testimony from both experts and the general public, the Commission determined that Maryland's death penalty is racially and geographically biased, more expensive, harmful to victims' families, and not a deterrent. The Commission also concluded that there is a "real possibility" of executing an innocent person in Maryland. The solution to these fundamental flaws, the Commission found, is to repeal the death penalty.
2008-11-13

Charles Dean Hood's execution stayed

The execution of Charles Dean Hood, scheduled for September 10, has been stayed by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. The stay was not based on the highly publicized allegations that Hood's trial judge and prosecutor were involved romantically during the time of his trial, but was in response to a challenge that his jury was given flawed instructions. News accounts have also reported that, in their reprieve request to Texas Governor Rick Perry, Hood's attorneys stated that the former judge and prosecutor in question admitted to the affair under oath earlier this week in a separate civil proceeding. Thanks to all who took action on his behalf!
2008-09-10

Thomas Arthur's execution stayed

On July 31, the Alabama Supreme Court voted 5-4 to indefinitely delay the execution of Thomas Arthur, who is seeking a DNA test he claims could prove his innocence. Another man has confessed to the crime and the state of Alabama has admitted that it has lost the rape kit containing the DNA evidence in question. Thanks to all who took action on his behalf!
2008-07-31

Kevin Young's death sentence commuted

Good News! The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board recommended clemency for Kevin Young and on Thursday, July 24th, Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry approved their recommendation and commuted Young's sentence. Young was sentenced to death in 1996 after exchanging gunfire and killing a man during a botched robbery attempt. Young and another man went to the steakhouse with the intention of robbing the restaurant, yet the shooting was not premeditated and did not merit a capital sentence. The Pardon and Parole Board has recommended clemency four times in the past five years, yet Henry has granted only one clemency request during that time. Thanks to all who took action on his behalf!
2008-07-24

Percy Walton's Sentence Commuted

Good News! Just one day before he was scheduled to become the 100th execution in Virginia, Governor Timothy M. Kaine commuted the sentence of Percy Walton, a man with a history of serious mental illness, to life in prison. Thank you to all who took action on his behalf.
2008-06-09

New Jersey Ends the Death Penalty!

On Human Rights Day – Monday, December 10th – the New Jersey Senate passed a bill to abolish the death penalty. The New Jersey Assembly passed it on December 13th, and Governor Jon Corzine signed it on Monday, December 17th, 2007 making New Jersey the first state in over 40 years to legislatively abolish the death penalty!
» Read the press release
2007-12-17

Worldwide Moratorium on Executions Endorsed at United Nations

On November 15, 2007, the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly voted to endorse a resolution calling for a moratorium on executions worldwide. Ninety-nine countries voted in favor, with 52 voting against (including the U.S.), and 33 abstaining. Amnesty International sections and activists throughout the world contributed to this effort by lobbying their governments to support or sponsor the resolution. » Read Amnesty's Press Release
2007-11-15

Clemency granted for Kenneth Foster

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles voted 6-1 to recommend clemency for Kenneth Foster, and Texas Governor Rick Perry complied, commuting Foster's death sentence to life. Gov. Perry went even further, calling for changes in Texas death penalty law. Kenneth Foster was sentenced to death in Texas under the controversial "Law of Parties" which allows an accomplice who does not kill anyone to be held as responsible for murder as the actual killer. He was scheduled to be executed for the murder of Michael LaHood. The murder was committed by Mauriceo Brown, who was executed in 2006. Thank you to all who sent appeals and took action on behalf of Kenneth Foster. You have helped save a life!
2007-08-30

Stay of execution granted!

Good News! The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has issued a stay of execution for Cathy Henderson who had been scheduled to be executed June 13 in Texas for the 1994 murder of a three-and-a-half-month-old baby, Brandon Baugh. Serious doubt has been raised about the prosecutions claim that Brandon's death was not the result of an accidental fall.
» Read Amnesty's press release
2007-06-12

New Mexico House Passes Abolition Bill

On Monday, February 12, 2007, the New Mexico House of Representative passed a death penalty abolition bill by a 41-28 vote. House Bill 190, which now heads for the New Mexico Senate, would abolish the death penalty in New Mexico and replace it with life in prison without parole. The 41-28 margin by which the bill passed represents progress from the 38-31 vote a similar bill received in the New Mexico House in 2005. The New Mexico Legislature's current session ends on March 17, 2007. If House Bill 190 passed both houses of the New Mexico Legislature and is signed into law, if would take effect on July 1, 2007. Many thanks to all of our New Mexico allies who have been working so hard to make abolition a legislative reality!
2007-01-12

Update on New Jersey Death Penalty Moratorium/Study Bill

The New Jersey Death Penalty Study Commission – set up by the state legislature in 2006 to study all aspects of capital punishment in New Jersey – released its final report. Its report recommends abolition of the death penalty and its replacement with life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. It further recommends that any cost savings resulting from abolition be used to assist the families of murder victims. Many thanks to the AIUSA activists in New Jersey for encouraging their representatives to pass this important legislation.
Read the statement by AIUSA Executive Director Larry Cox »
2007-01-02

Robin Lovitt's death sentence commuted in Virginia

Gov. Mark R. Warner commuted the death sentence of Robin Lovitt to life in prison. Mr. Lovitt was scheduled to be executed in Virginia on November 30, 2005. "I believe clemency should only be exercised in the most extraordinary circumstances," Mr. Warner said. "Among these are circumstances in which the normal and honored processes of our judicial system do not provide adequate relief - circumstances that, in fact, require executive intervention to reaffirm public confidence in our justice system." AIUSA would like to thank the thousands of people in the U.S. and worldwide that wrote appeals on Mr. Lovitt's behalf.
2006-01-12

Death Penalty Moratorium/Study Bill Passes in New Jersey

On January 9, 2006, the New Jersey Assembly passed S-709, a bill that would establish a moratorium on executions while a legislative commission conducts an in-depth study of the death penalty. New Jersey becomes the first state to legislatively mandate a moratorium on executions.
2006-01-09

19 Year Old Yuldash Kasymov's Death Sentence Commuted

Uzbekistan's Supreme Court commuted 19-year old Yuldash Kasymov's death sentence to 20 years in prison in November 2005. Shortly after the Supreme Court's decision, guards led Yuldash Kasymov out of his death row cell in Tashkent prison. "They read out the Court's ruling to him. Yuldash Kasymov was in a state of shock; he could not believe what they were telling him. He thought they were joking and he was about to be executed," said Tamara Chikunova, director of the human rights group Mothers against the Death Penalty and Torture. Yuldash Kasymov was moved to the prison in Andizhan.
2005-12-12

Arthur Baird's death sentence has been commuted

Arthur P. Baird described by various courts and mental health professionals as "insane at the time of the murders," "legally insane," and as suffering from a "delusional disorder" was scheduled to be executed on August 31. On Monday afternoon, August 29, Governor Mitch Daniels commuted Mr. Baird's death sentence. Thanks to everyone who took action on his behalf!
2005-08-29

New York State legislative committee defeats death penalty

AIUSA was among the activist groups working to prevent Governor Pataki and the State Senate from "fixing" a fundamentally and constitutionally flawed statute. With the vote in the Assembly Codes Committee, the death penalty has, at least for now, been eliminated in New York State. Read the statement by William F. Schulz, Executive Director of AIUSA.
2005-04-12

Supreme Court Outlaws Juvenile Executions

With its March 1st decision in Roper v. Simmons, the U.S. Supreme Court removed the U.S. from the list of nations that execute juvenile offenders and ensured that evolving standards of decency are recognized, allowing the United States to join the rest of the international community.
2005-03-01