On August 6, Virginia Governor Tim Kaine held a press conference announcing conditional pardons to three of the four sailors known as the Norfolk Four. Danial Williams, Joseph Dick, Eric Williams and Derek Tic were were convicted of the 1997 rape and murder of Michelle Moore-Bosko. The pardoned defendants, Danial Williams, Dick and Tic were originally given life sentences, while Eric Williams was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison and had been released earlier. The governor reduced the sentences of the three imprisoned men to time served, and they will be released soon.
This case has drawn widespread attention because of the lack of physical evidence linking the four to the crime, evidence of coerced confessions, and a letter from Omar Ballard, an acquaintance of Moore-Bosko, who confessed to the crime. Ballard's DNA was found at the scene of the crime, and in his confession, he said he acted alone. For more information, read: Men Threatened With the Death Penalty May Have Confessed to a Crime They Didn't Commit.
The President of Kenya, Mwai Kibaki, announced on August 3 that he is commuting the death sentences of everyone on the country's death row to life imprisonment. The President cited the wait to face execution of the more than 4,000 death row inmates as "undue mental anguish and suffering." No one has been executed in Kenya for 22 years. The President said he was following the advice of a constitutional committee. Mr. Kibaki has directed government officials to study whether the death penalty has any impact on fighting crime and he appealed to Kenyans to engage in a national debate on the issue, suggesting the government may be preparing the ground for a repeal of the death penalty.
If you would like to listen to a brief but informative discussion of key death penalty issues, try DPIC’s newest resource--Podcasts. The most recent episode of this educational series explores the issue of the 
On May 20, twenty-seven former judges and prosecutors from across the political spectrum filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of Georgia death row inmate Troy Davis. Signers of the amicus brief include Larry Thompson (Deputy Attorney General of the United States, 2001-2003), former Congressman Bob Barr (R-GA; U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, 1986-1990); William S. Sessions (Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1987-1993), and John Gibbons (former Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit). Their brief urges the Court to order an evidentiary hearing in District Court, arguing that “Mr. Davis’ petition for an original writ meets this Court’s exceptional circumstances test because Mr. Davis can make an extraordinary showing through new, never reviewed evidence that strongly points to his innocence, and thus his execution would violate the Constitution.” Davis’ attorneys filed a writ of habeas corpus with the Court, pursuant to its original jurisdiction, asking for the same hearing. Davis has a significant amount of new evidence pointing to his innocence that has never been fully reviewed in court. He was sentenced to death primarily on eyewitness testimony, but 7 of the 9 eyewitnesses have recanted their testimony and some evidence points to one of the two remaining witnesses as the person who committed the murder. The amicus brief may be read 
Missouri’s Republican House Majority Leader Steven Tilley says Governor Jay Nixon should commute the death sentence of Dennis Skillicorn, who is scheduled to be executed on May 21. Citing revelations that another suspect committed the murder while Skillicorn was unaware of the murder plan, Tilley said, "Certainly, that would be enough reasonable doubt for me that I would be very concerned if this state executed that individual.” Tilley’s suggestion to the Governor was made during Missouri’s legislative debate over a proposed two-year moratorium on the death penalty. Republican Rep. Bill Deeken had proposed a two-year moratorium on the death penalty. "I think it is wise for officials to conduct a study to see how many people have been wrongly convicted in Missouri and to help rebuild confidence in the accuracy of our system," said Deeken. Tilley expressed support for a study, saying, "I support the commission doin' the study to prove that the death penalty is taken care of properly in the state of Missouri.”