Click the above video to see the latest developments in the death penalty.
LATEST NEWS (May 22): Colorado's governor indefinitely stayed the execution of Nathan Dunlap. In ordering the stay, Gov. Hickenlooper said, "It is a legitimate question whether we as a state should be taking lives," and referred to the death penalty as an "inequitable system." (Denver Post).
(May 14). A bill to repeal Nebraska's death penalty was not able to overcome a filibuster vote and will not be voted on this year. The vote to end the filibuster was 28-21, but 33 votes were needed. This was the first time since 1979 that a majority of senators sided with those seeking to end the death penalty. (Journal Star).
A new section of DPIC's website demonstrates that capital punishment is actually carried out in only a small percentage of U.S. jurisdictions. For example, one map shows that less than 1% of counties in death penalty states accounted for 30% of the executions in the U.S. since 1976. Similarly, less than 1% of the counties were responsible for 27% of current death row inmates and 35% of recent death sentences.
Click maps to enlarge
NEWS: (May 7). Mississippi Supreme Court granted a stay of execution for Willie Manning just hours before he was to receive a lethal injection. (Jackson Free Press). (May 6) The U.S. Department of Justice notified Mississippi authorities that FBI testimony submitted inManning's case was in error: "We have determined that the microscopic hair comparison analysis testimony or laboratory report presented in this case included additional statements that exceeded the limits of science and was, therefore, invalid." The FBI has offered to perform DNA testing on evidence from the crime before Manning is executed. (See A. Cohen, The Atlantic, May 6, 2013).
(May 2). Gov. Martin O'Malley of Maryland signed the bill repealing the death penalty for future offenses. The death penalty had been part of Maryland's law for over 300 years. Read DPIC's Press Release on MARYLAND's DEATH PENALTY REPEAL