Home : Death Penalty

ACLU Says California's Use of Paralytic Drug During Executions is Unconstitutional (01/13/2005)
SAN FRANCISCO - The public and the media have the First Amendment right to meaningfully witness and gather accurate information about California's execution procedure, said the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California and Death Penalty Focus in a court brief filed today in the civil case challenging the state's method of lethal injection.

Kansas Supreme Court Strikes Down Death Penalty Law (12/21/2004)
WASHINGTON--The American Civil Liberties Union applauded a decision made today by the Kansas Supreme Court to strike down the state's death penalty law, making it the 14th state to ban capital punishment.

New ACLU Report Documents Harsh Conditions Faced by Women Living on Death Row (11/29/2004)
WASHINGTON - A new report released today by the American Civil Liberties Union -- the first-ever national survey of women currently on Death Row -- found that women who have been sentenced to death are often subjected to harsh living conditions, including being forced to live in virtual isolation, and many are sentenced for crimes that don't result in a death sentence for men.

ACLU Joins Nobel Laureates, U.S. Diplomats and World Leaders in Asking High Court to End the Execution of Minors (07/19/2004)
NEW YORK -- The American Civil Liberties Union, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. and others today joined 17 Nobel Peace Prize Laureates and nine former U.S. diplomats as well as medical and religious leaders in calling on the Supreme Court to end the juvenile death penalty.

NYCLU Hails New York Appeals Decision Invalidating State Death Penalty (06/24/2004)
NEW YORK -- The New York Civil Liberties Union today hailed a New York Court of Appeals decision that effectively invalidates the state's death penalty. In a 4-3 decision, the court ruled that the "deadlock" instruction given to juries improperly coerces them to vote for the death penalty.

ACLU of Oklahoma Calls on Governor to Follow Parole Board's Recommendation and Spare Life of Mexican National (05/12/2004)
OKLAHOMA CITY-The American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma was joined by a coalition of civil rights groups today in calling upon Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry to spare the life of Osvaldo Torres, a Mexican National scheduled to be executed on May 18. The groups held a rally on the steps of the state capitol in an effort to convince the governor to commute Torres' sentence to life imprisonment, following a recent recommendation for clemency from the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board.

ACLU Applauds Governors of South Dakota and Wyoming For Signing Bans on the Death Penalty for Juveniles (03/03/2004)
WASHINGTON -- The American Civil Liberties Union today applauded the governors of South Dakota and Wyoming, who both signed bills that ban the juvenile death penalty in their states. By doing so, their states became the 17th and 18th to ban the practice directly.

High Court Halts Execution of Texas Death Row Prisoner, Saying Prosecutors Violated Ethical Duties (02/24/2004)
WASHINGTON - The United States Supreme Court today halted the scheduled execution of death row prisoner Delma Banks, Jr., saying that Banks was denied a fair trial 20 years ago when prosecutors withheld crucial exculpatory evidence from the defense.

Following Acquittal of 113th Death Row Inmate, ACLU Calls for Moratorium on Executions in North Carolina (02/18/2004)
WASHINGTON - The acquittal of Alan Gell -- the nation's 113th exonerated death row inmate -- is the latest powerful evidence that North Carolina needs a moratorium on executions, the American Civil Liberties Union said today.