Home : Death Penalty

ACLU Calls Upon Congress to Enact a Federal Moratorium on Executions (06/19/2001)
WASHINGTON -- In the aftermath of the second federal execution in as many weeks, the American Civil Liberties Union today urged Congress to immediately pass a moratorium on further federal executions. 

ACLU Finds Serious Flaws in Ashcroft Death Penalty Bias Report, Calls for Independent Review of Federal System (06/14/2001)
WASHINGTON -- The American Civil Liberties Union said today that it has found serious substantive flaws in last week's controversial report from Attorney General John Ashcroft about racial and geographic bias in the federal death penalty system.

Citing Race and Regional Bias, Latino Leaders Join Call for Halt to Federal Executions (06/13/2001)
NEW YORK--Latino leaders are among a diverse group of prominent citizens, religious leaders and civil rights groups calling upon President Bush to halt the June 19 execution of Juan Raul Garza and declare a moratorium on all federal executions. 

ACLU Responds to the Execution of Timothy McVeigh (06/11/2001)
WASHINGTON--The execution of Timothy McVeigh today only strengthens our resolve in calling for a moratorium on federal executions in the United States. 

ACLU Finds Ashcroft Death Penalty Position Switch Remarkable and Unbelievable (06/06/2001)
WASHINGTON - In a remarkable -- and frankly unbelievable -- switch of positions, the Justice Department today said that there was no significant racial and geographic disparity in the imposition of the death penalty by the federal government. 

ACLU Welcomes Supreme Court Reversal of Death Sentence for Man with Mental Retardation (06/04/2001)
WASHINGTON--The American Civil Liberties Union welcomes the Supreme Court's decision today to reverse the death sentence of Johnny Paul Penry, a mentally retarded inmate. 

ACLU Says McVeigh Error Highlights Larger Problems; Says Errors Widespread in Capital Punishment Trials (05/11/2001)
WASHINGTON -- The American Civil Liberties Union today said that the FBI's failure to turn over thousands of potentially crucial documents to defense attorneys for Timothy McVeigh highlights systemic problems with the administration of the death penalty in the United States. 

ACLU Statement on the Execution of Timothy McVeigh (04/16/2001)
WASHINGTON--The impending execution of Timothy McVeigh should not and will not derail the growing call for a moratorium on federal executions. 

ACLU of Arkansas Applauds Ban On Execution of Minors; Pro-Death Penalty Governor Supports Bill (03/27/2001)
LITTLE ROCK--The ACLU of Arkansas today commended a House Judiciary Committee vote to pass bipartisan legislation that prohibits the execution of any person who was under 17 years of age at the time he or she committed a capital crime. 

ACLU Urges PA Lawmakers to Pass Legislation to Aid Wrongfully Convicted (03/26/2001)
PHILADELPHIA--The American Civil Liberties Union today urged the Pennsylvania General Assembly to enact legislation that would make it easier for wrongfully convicted individuals to prove their innocence. The ACLU of Pennsylvania called on lawmakers to pass Senate Bill 589, legislation that provides for post-conviction DNA testing. 

Mentally Retarded Missouri Man Granted Stay of Execution; ACLU Renews Call for Clemency (03/07/2001)
ST. LOUIS, MO--The American Civil Liberties Union today renewed its call for clemency in the case of a mentally retarded man here whose death sentence was put on hold by the United States Supreme Court last night just hours before he was scheduled to be executed.