Home : Death Penalty

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.

ACLU Urges Tennessee Appeals Court to Reverse Death Sentence of Mentally Ill Man (07/17/2007)
NASHVILLE - The American Civil Liberties Union and the Office of the Tennessee Post-Conviction Defender today urged the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals to reverse the conviction and death sentence of Richard Taylor, who is severely mentally ill.

Montana Death Penalty Informational Website Launched (06/29/2007)
HELENA, MT - On the 35th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision, Furman v. Georgia, which declared the death penalty unconstitutional, the Montana Abolition Coalition is proud to announce the official launch of its website at http://www.mtabolitionco.org

ACLU of Ohio Calls for Immediate Halt to Executions (05/24/2007)
LUCASVILLE, OH - The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio today called for an immediate halt to all executions in light of Ohio's second botched execution in two years.

ACLU Urges Supreme Court to Uphold Fairness in Juror Selection for Death Penalty Cases (04/17/2007)
NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union today urged the United States Supreme Court to uphold established constitutional and legal procedures that help to ensure fair jury selection in death penalty cases.

Virginia Senate Upholds Governor Kaine's Veto of Bills That Would Have Eliminated the "Triggerman" Rule (04/04/2007)
RICHMOND, VA - The Virginia Senate today upheld Governor Tim Kaine's veto of two bills that could have dramatically increased the number of executions in Virginia by allowing capital charges to be brought against accomplices and others only indirectly involved in first degree murders.

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.

ACLU Applauds Maryland Governor for Testifying in Support of Repealing the State’s Death Penalty (02/21/2007)
BALTIMORE, MD - The American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland today hailed the remarkable appearance of Governor Martin O’Malley, who personally testified in support of repealing the state’s death penalty. The ACLU of Maryland is seconding the call for capital punishment to finally be abandoned as a fundamentally flawed and failed policy.

NYCLU Expresses Shock and Sadness at Death Penalty Sentence, Pledges Support for Appeal (01/30/2007)
NEW YORK - The New York Civil Liberties Union today expressed shock and sadness at a federal jury's decision to impose a death sentence in New York.

ACLU of Virginia Asks Governor to Stop Execution of Mentally Ill Death Row Inmate (12/04/2006)
RICHMOND, VA - The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia today asked Governor Tim Kaine to lift the death sentence for Percy Walton, a severely mentally ill man scheduled for lethal injection on December 8. Walton was originally sscheduled to be executed on June 8, but Governor Kaine delayed the execution for six months in order to conduct his own evaluation of Walton's mental condition.

Evolving Standards, Evolving Justice: Death Penalty Issues in the Roberts Court (09/20/2006)
WASHINGTON -- The United States Supreme Court's decisions in its two death-penalty cases this term -- Lawrence v. Florida and Ayers v. Belmontes – will begin to reveal how concerned the Roberts Court is about the reliability, consistency and fairness of the country's capital punishment process.

Civil Rights and Church Groups Ask Montana Supreme Court for Right to Challenge Lethal Injections (08/10/2006)
HELENA, MT - The American Civil Liberties Union of Montana, Montana Association of Churches, Montana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Montana Catholic Conference, Murder Victims’ Families for Reconciliation, 11 legislators and two former justices today petitioned the state Supreme Court to allow them to challenge the pending execution of death row inmate David Dawson.