Home : Death Penalty

ACLU of Eastern Missouri Asks Court to Make Public State's Death Penalty Protocol (11/22/2002)
ST. LOUIS -- The American Civil Liberties of Eastern Missouri today asked a district court judge to order the state's Department of Corrections to make public the procedures used for executing individuals sentenced to the death penalty.

Another Troubling Texas Execution (08/28/2002)

Another Troubling Texas Execution: Statement by Diann Rust-Tierney, Director, ACLU Capital Punishment Project (08/27/2002)
WASHINGTON-Today's scheduled execution of juvenile offender, Toronto Patterson in Texas epitomizes that state's determination to proceed with an execution despite mounting concerns.

ACLU Challenges Arizona Law That Censors Anti-Death Penalty Web Sites (07/18/2002)
PHOENIX-Acting on behalf of anti-death penalty and other advocacy groups, the American Civil Liberties Union today filed a lawsuit in Arizona federal district court seeking to invalidate a state law that bans all information about Arizona prisoners from the global Internet. 

NYCLU Hails State Court's Rejection of Death Penalty For First Person Sentenced Under New Law (07/09/2002)
NEW YORK--The New York Civil Liberties Union today hailed a decision by the New York Court of Appeals vacating the death sentence imposed on Darrel Harris, who was the first person to be sentenced to death under the death penalty statute enacted in New York in 1995.

Citing "Undue Risk" of Executing Innocents, Court Declares Federal Death Penalty Unconstitutional (07/01/2002)
NEW YORK-The American Civil Liberties Union today applauds U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff for declaring that the federal death penalty is unconstitutional because it creates ""an undue risk of executing innocent people.""

High Court Rules That Executing the Mentally Retarded Is "Cruel and Unusual" Punishment (06/20/2002)
WASHINGTON-In a landmark victory for death penalty opponents, the Supreme Court today ruled that executing people with mental retardation violates the Constitution's ban on "cruel and unusual" punishment. 

ACLU Urges Legislation to Prevent Wrongful Conviction of Innocents (06/18/2002)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today urged committees in both the House and Senate to support and quickly pass legislation designed to reduce the risk of innocent persons being wrongfully convicted or sentenced to death in America.

Innocents Saved from Death Row Join Lawmakers to Promote Study into Reducing the Risk of Death Penalty Mistakes (06/12/2002)
WASHINGTON - Three innocent men, recently exonerated and released from death row, today joined with lawmakers here to promote an independent federal study into potentially widespread incidences of innocent men and women being put to death by a faulty capital punishment system in America.

ACLU Praises Supreme Court Refusal of 'Sleeping Lawyer' Case As 'Acknowledgment and Reminder' of Death Penalty Problems (06/03/2002)
NEW YORK - This morning the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from Texas authorities who claimed that a man received adequate representation from a lawyer who slept through portions of his trial, which was tainted with anti-gay bias.

ACLU Calls For Pennsylvania to Become Third State To Enact Death Penalty Moratorium (05/16/2002)
PHILADELPHIA-- The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania is once again calling on Pennsylvania to enact a death penalty moratorium. We urge our elected officials to demonstrate the kind of compassion and courage displayed by the Governors of Maryland and Illinois and make Pennsylvania the third state in the country to suspend its use of the death penalty.