Home : Death Penalty : Legislative Developments

The death penalty in the United States is primarily governed by state law, not federal law. Although there is a federal death penalty, more than 98 percent of the men and women on death rows across the United States are incarcerated as a result of state laws. Therefore, the legislation that most directly affects who is sentenced to death in the United States, what appellate processes they have, and how and when they are executed, is legislation at the state level. This page monitors favorable and unfavorable legislative activity in the various states and at the federal level regarding the application of the death penalty and the processes that affect execution of death sentences.

Criticism of "Fast-Tracking" Death Sentences
On August 24, 2007, the CPP submitted comments to the Department of Justice heavily criticizing the DOJ's proposed new rules regarding the "fast-tracking" of death sentences. The proposals are aimed at radically limiting the ability of federal courts to review the constitutionality of death sentences imposed in state courts. In response, the states are supposed to provide competent counsel in state post-conviction proceedings. However, among other failings, the DOJ’s proposed rules do nothing to ensure that state post-conviction counsel will be competent. Learn more >>
> CPP Director John Holdridge blogs about the DOJ's proposed new rules
> Read Senators Leahy, Kennedy and Feingold's letter to the Department of Justice commenting on the new rules

Texas Victim Rights’ Groups, Prosecutors, Oppose Death for Repeat Child Molesters
Victim rights’ groups and prosecutors in Texas have come out against a bill currently pending in the state’s legislature that would authorize the death penalty for repeat child molesters, according to a story in the Dallas Morning News.   A spokesperson for the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault told the newspaper that ninety percent of child-sex victims know their offenders, and added: “Imagine the pressure the family would experience if grandpa could be given the death penalty.”  She also stated that, if the penalty was the same regardless of whether the victim is killed, an offender would have greater incentive to kill the victim to prevent the victim from testifying.  Read the story >> (Off-site Link)

Florida to Explore Modifications to Lethal Injection
Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida has established a commission to explore modifications to Florida's lethal injection protocols following the botched execution of Angel Diaz on December 13, 2006. The governor's order imposes a moratorium on all new death penalty warrants until after the commission's final recommendations have been submitted and revisions to the Department of Corrections protocols have been revised.
Read Gov. Bush's executive order >> (Off-site Link)

NJ Commission Calls for Repeal of Death Penalty
On January 2, 2007, the New Jersey Death Penalty Study Commission, created by the New Jersey legislature after imposing a moratorium on executions a year ago, issued its final report, and called on the Governor and the New Jersey Legislature to repeal the death penalty in New Jersey and replace it with life in prison without the possibility of parole. Among the Commission’s findings are that the death penalty serves no legitimate penological interest, is inconsistent with evolving standards of decency, that life in prison without the possibility of parole would sufficiently ensure public safety and address other legitimate social and penological interests, including the interests of families of murder victims. Read the report >> (Off-site Link)

ACLU Comments on Proposed Certification Process for State Capital Counsel Systems (08/24/2007)
The comments criticize the Justice Department's proposed new rules regarding the "fast-tracking" of death sentences.

Governor Vetoes Bills That Would Have Expanded the Death Penalty (03/26/2007)
RICHMOND, VA - Governor Tim Kaine today vetoed all five recently passed bills that would have expanded the death penalty in Virginia. Cumulatively, the five bills would have allowed capital murder charges to be brought against individuals who killed a judge, a jury member or a witness. The laws also eliminated the “triggerman rule,” which restricts the death penalty to those directly involved in a murder.

Senate Judiciary Committee Letter to Department of Justice Regarding Patriot Reauthorization (09/24/2007)
Comments in response to the proposed regulations to implement the Patriot Act Reauthorization of 2005, which recommends changes to the special expedited habeas corpus procedures in state death penalty cases.

Off-Site Resources for News and Information on Capital Punishment (01/25/2007)