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Showing 1 - 15 of 144 results

    • News Release

    News Release ~ 05/24/2016

    Nation's Criminal Defense Bar: The Continuing Collapse of the Case for Capital Punishment -- Washington, DC (May 24, 2016) – Yesterday, in its 7 to 1 judgment in Foster v. Chatman (14-8349), the U.S. Supreme Court found that prosecutors violated the Constitution in the 1987 capital case against Timothy T. Foster, an African-American man accused of killing a white woman, when they struck every prospective black juror from the pool.

    • Content Page

    Race and the Death Penalty

    “Even under the most sophisticated death penalty statutes, race continues to play a major role in determining who shall live and who shall die. Perhaps it should not be surprising that the biases and prejudices that infect society generally would influence the determination of who is sentenced to death.” – Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun (1994)

    • Champion Article

    From the President: The Death Penalty: Who Lives, Who Dies?

    The imposition of the death penalty is on the decline. However, 40 execution dates have been scheduled by seven states and the federal government for 2020.
    • Content Page

    Death Penalty Resources

    Reports and other resources related to the death penalty.
    • Landing Page

    Death Penalty

    Does the death penalty serve as a deterrent for crime? The research says no. Leading criminologists overwhelmingly agree that there is no evidence capital punishment deters violent crimes. Not only is the death penalty unjust and inconsistent with the fallibility of our justice system, but application of the death penalty is racially biased.
    • News Release

    News Release ~ 03/23/2020

    Nation’s Criminal Defense Bar Applauds Repeal of the Death Penalty in Colorado -- Washington, DC (March 23, 2020) – This afternoon, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed into law a bill repealing the death penalty in Colorado, making Colorado the 22nd state in the United States, in addition to the District of Columbia, to abolish or overturn the death penalty.
    • Champion Article

    Inside NACDL: Mercy on Death Row

    Mercy does not surface often on death row. That is what makes the story of Jason McGehee so remarkable.
    • Champion Article

    Capital Cases

    Willie Herring’s case cried out for mitigation. The cry went unanswered. The 5-4 decision from the Ohio Supreme Court in Herring’s case does not break new ground. It does, however, provide important reminders about the duty of capital defense attorneys to ensure that a comprehensive mitigation investigation is conducted in every case.
    • Document

    Comments to DOJ on Federal Review of State Capital Post-Conviction Cases (March 2012)

    NACDL President Lisa Wayne's comments to the Department of Justice Office of Legal Policy regarding a proposed rule that would allow states to limit federal review of capital post-conviction cases.
    • Document

    Comments to DOJ on Proposed Regulations in Capital Cases (September 2007)

    Comments to the Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs regarding proposed regulations in capital cases to address competent and well-funded counsel, post-conviction review, wrongful conviction, and racial disparity issues.
    • Document

    Comments to DOJ on Federal Review of State Capital Post-Conviction Cases (June 2011)

    NACDL President Jim Lavine's comments to the Department of Justice Office of Legal Policy regarding a proposed rule that would allow states to limit federal review of capital post-conviction cases.
    • Content Page

    Death Penalty Letters & Testimony

    NACDL's letters and testimony submitted in support of death penalty repeal efforts and in opposition to efforts to expand the death penalty. 
    • Champion Article

    Book Review: Capital Defense by Jon Gould and Maya Pagni Barak

    This month Robert Sanger reviews Capital Defense: Inside the Lives of America’s Death Penalty Lawyers by Jon B. Gould and Maya Pagni Barak.
    • Champion Article

    From the President: The Consistently Inconsistent U.S. Supreme Court in Matters of Life or Death

    Recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions illustrate how the continued use of the death penalty will inevitably invite arbitrary results and fails to serve any legitimate sentencing purpose.
    • Champion Article

    Capital Cases: Does Reliability Still Matter in Death Penalty Cases?

    The Supreme Court decided Gregg more than 40 years ago, and the promise of a reliable death penalty has still not been met.