Home : Death Penalty

ACLU Calls for Moratorium After Gruesome Electric Chair Execution (07/08/1999)
MIAMI -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida today called on Gov. Jeb Bush to halt all executions until officials can ensure that they can be conducted humanely and until greater fairness and due process in the imposition of death sentences can be assured.

ACLU of Ohio Sues to Prevent State From Censoring Last Words of Death Row Prisoners (07/06/1999)
COLUMBUS -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio filed suit today in federal court, seeking to overturn a corrections department regulation that would effectively silence condemned inmates during their final moments.

ACLU of Nebraska Says Study Still Needed Despite Governor's Veto of Death Penalty Moratorium (05/26/1999)
LINCOLN, NE--Nebraska lawmakers' first step toward making sure capital sentences in the state are handled in a fair manner was halted after Governor Mike Johanns today vetoed a bill calling for a study of the issue and moratorium on executions.

Michigan House Nixes Death Penalty Bill (04/22/1999)
With a two-thirds majority vote needed to advance the bill to put capital punishment on the 2000 ballot, the House did not come close to the number of votes needed as House Joint Resolution H was sent back to committee where it is not expected to surface again during this legislative session. 

ACLU Opposes Death Sentence for Mentally Ill Inmate, First Ohio Execution in 35 Years (02/11/1999)
CLEVELAND--The American Civil Liberties Union today strongly urged Ohio's governor to commute the death sentence of Wilford Berry to a sentence of life imprisonment.

ACLU Opposes Death Penalty for Anti-Gay Attackers in Matthew Shepard Case (01/21/1999)
NEW YORK -- The American Civil Liberties Union opposes the death penalty for those who murdered Matthew Shepard just as we oppose the death penalty for all people -- because our system of justice is incapable of imposing it equally, because our system makes mistakes and always will, and because the ACLU believes the state simply should not have the power to take away human life.