On December 20, the Bureau of Justice Statistics released its annual set of statistical tables on the death penalty in the United States, covering information for 2010. Hightlights from the report include: -The average time spent on death row for those executed in 2010 was longer than for any previous year since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. The average time between sentencing and execution for those executed in 2010 was 14.8 years.
-During 2010, 119 inmates were removed from death row: 53 had their sentences or convictions overturned or were granted commutations; 20 died by means other than execution; and 46 (38%) were executed.
-At the close of 2010, there were 388 Hispanics on death row, accounting for 12% of the nation's death row population. -Four states (California, Florida, Texas and Pennsylvania) accounted for more than 50% of all inmates on death row.
-Of the 7,879 inmates sentenced to death between 1977 and 2010, 16% have been executed. Six percent (6%) died by causes other than execution, and 39% eventually received other dispositions.
On February 21 the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a U.S. Court of Appeals decision granting a retrial to James Lambert, who had been convicted and sentenced to death in 1984 in Pennsylvania. Lambert appealed his conviction, claiming that prosecutors never disclosed evidence identifying an additional co-defendant, in violation of Brady v. Maryland. Lambert claimed this new evidence would have impeached the testimony that led to his conviction. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled in favor of Lambert, ordering him to be released or retried in four months. The Supreme Court held that “the various notations and statements which [Lambert] claims the commonwealth should have disclosed are entirely ambiguous.” The Court also noted, “Any retrial here would take place three decades after the crime, posing the most daunting difficulties for the prosecution.... That burden should not be imposed unless each ground supporting the state court's decision had been examined and found to be unreasonable under AEDPA [the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act].” The dissent, written by Justice Stephen Breyer and joined by Justices Ginsburg and Kagan, said the notation about the co-defendant was not ambiguous, and noted, “if the Commonwealth was wrong, an innocent man has spent almost 30 years in prison under sentence of death for a crime he did not commit." 
A study ordered by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has found pay for court-appointed defense lawyers in death penalty cases in Philadelphia to be "grossly inadequate." The study, which was authored by Common Pleas Court Judge Benjamin Lerner, was initiated after defense lawyers petitioned the Court to increase the fees or halt death-penalty cases. The study noted there are fewer than 30 lawyers in Philadelphia willing to take capital-case appointments for indigent clients who meet the state qualifications. Philadelphia pays defense lawyers less than any other county in the state, giving lead counsel a flat fee of $2,000 to prepare a capital case, including the first half-day of trial. For the rest of a trial, a lawyer gets $200 for half days and $400 for full days. Judge Lerner said "The existing compensation system unacceptably increases the risk of ineffective assistance of counsel in individual cases and is primarily responsible for the First Judicial District's growing inability to attract a sufficient number of qualified attorneys willing to accept court appointments in capital cases." The study also noted that the lack of willing, qualified attorneys led to waits "that in too many cases, [have] delayed justice to the threshold of denial." The report recommended that Philadelphia spend an additional $340,000 on capital-case attorneys, on top of the $200,000 spent in 2010. 
The latest edition of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund's 
DPIC is collecting information on pending legislation related to the death penalty. For example, at least nine states will consider bills to repeal the death penalty in 2012. In California, a coalition called Taxpayers for Justice has been collecting signatures to place a death penalty repeal initiative on the ballot in November. On January 25, the Washington Senate Judiciary Committee held a public hearing on a bill to repeal the death penalty. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Debbie Regala, cited high costs as a reason for the bill: “We can keep the public safe with putting people in prison for the rest of their life, as opposed to the costly expense of executing them… It's always important and valuable for us to look at public policy and see if it's actually getting us the results that we want. When you're facing an economic crisis, you add an extra lens." Other states considering repeal bills are Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania. A few states, such as New Hampshire, have blls to expand the death penalty.
The Pennsylvania Senate recently passed a resolution that will result in a study of the state’s death penalty and look at issues of fairness, equality and costs of a punishment that is rarely carried out in the state. The resolution was sponsored by Sen. Stewart Greenleaf, a Republican, who said, “Questions are frequently raised regarding the costs, deterrent effect and appropriateness of capital punishment. I believe that we need to answer these questions." Since Pennsylvania reinstated the death penalty in 1978, only three people have been executed, all of whom waived their rights to appeal their sentences. The last execution in the state was held 13 years ago. Over 200 remain on death row. David Rose, a retired corrections officer, said he has observed inequalities within the system that prevent defendants from receiving fair trials. Rose said, "When you work in corrections, you realize the guiltiest people aren't the ones on death row.” The study committee, which will be composed of four senators and a team of advisers, has not been formed yet. It can take two years to complete its work.
DPIC is pleased to announce the completion of our 