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News and Developments 2008: Life Without Parole

Oklahoma Governor Commutes Death Sentence at Juror's and Parole Board's Request

Posted: July 28, 2008
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Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry commuted the death sentence of Kevin Young to life in prison without parole on July 24. Henry stated, "This was a very difficult decision and one that I did not take lightly." He explained that, "after reviewing all of the evidence and hearing from both prosecutors and defense attorneys, I decided the Pardon and Parole Board made a proper recommendation to provide clemency and commute the death sentence." This is only the second time the Governor has granted clemency since taking office.

Execution Stayed Because Jurors May Have Been Misinformed about Life Sentence

Posted: July 17, 2008
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Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry granted a 30-day stay of execution for Kevin Young who was scheduled to die on July 22. The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board recommended clemency for Young a week earlier after hearing tape recorded statements from jurors stating that they hadn’t wanted to give Young the death sentence but didn’t receive clarification when they asked whether he would be eligible for parole if he was sentenced to life without parole. One juror explained, “We felt that the crime did not warrant the death penalty.

STUDIES: Ohio Prosecutors Increasingly Seeking Life Without Parole Instead of Death Penalty

Posted: June 26, 2008
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According to a new study by the Associated Press, there has been a sharp drop in the use of the death penalty in Ohio as prosecutors are taking advantage of a new law allowing them to seek a sentence of life without parole without first pursuing the death penalty. The sentence of life without parole used to be only an option for jurors weighing an alternative to a death sentence.

STUDIES: Ohio Prosecutors Increasingly Seeking Life Without Parole Instead of Death Penalty

Posted: June 26, 2008
in

According to a new study by the Associated Press, there has been a sharp drop in the use of the death penalty in Ohio as prosecutors are taking advantage of a new law allowing them to seek a sentence of life without parole without first pursuing the death penalty. The sentence of life without parole used to be only an option for jurors weighing an alternative to a death sentence.

Ohio Prosecutors Seeking Life Without Parole Instead of Death Penalty

Posted: June 26, 2008
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Ohio prosecutors are taking advantage  of their new option of life without parole, seeking it much more often than the death penalty.  The life sentence without the possibility of parole used to only be an option for jurors weighing an alternative to a death sentence.  “Prosecutors around Ohio, citing the ability to pursue harsh punishment without going through the complication and expense of a death penalty case are starting to take advantage of the 2005 law,” and the “number of death penalty indictments sought statewide dropped 32 percent from 2004 to 2007.”  Clermont County Prosecutor Don W

Police Chief Given Life after Victim's Family Speaks Against Death Sentence

Posted: June 23, 2008
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A former Pennsylvania police chief was sentenced to life without parole on June 20, 2008, for the murder of his 31-year old ex-wife after the victim's family spoke against a death sentence at the penalty hearing. The district attorney had planned to seek the death penalty against Richard Curran, just as he had for every murder case in the last 13 years. However, Bonnie Smith, the victim’s mother, testified at the penalty phase that her family wanted him to be given life in prison.

NEW VOICES: Another Texas Death Penalty Official Has Second Thoughts

Posted: June 16, 2008
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Larry Fitzgerald served as the official spokesman for Texas executions for eight years. He represented the state through 219 lethal injections. Retired in August 2003, Fitzgerald left with what he refers to as a, “PhD in prison life.” Due to his expertise with the Texas prison system, defense attorneys have been utilizing his testimony in death penalty cases to describe to the jury why the prison system offers a suitable alternative to a death sentence.

ARTICLES:The Story of a Death Row Inmate Who Wanted to Die

Posted: June 10, 2008
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In 1996, Illinois Governor Jim Edgar commuted the death sentence of Guin Garcia to life without parole, even though Garcia herself had stopped fighting for her life. Garcia would have been the first woman executed in the U.S. in twelve years. She had been convicted of killing the man who had physically abused her, but she had dropped her appeals because she said she was done “begging for her life.” Chicago Sun-Times reporter Carol Marin followed Garcia's case after the commutation and recently wrote about the changes in Garcia's life.

Texas Jury Chooses Life Sentence In High Profile Case

Posted: May 21, 2008
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In a potential death penalty case in Houston, Texas, a jury sentenced Juan Quintero to life without parole on May 20 for the murder of a police officer. One juror, Tiffany Moore, described her experience as very emotional, “I was torn up. I was crying. . . .I still feel we came to the right decision,” she said. “We could never bring Rodney back.

NEW VOICES: Author of Arizona's Death Penalty Law Says Time is Ripe for a Re-Examination

Posted: April 25, 2008
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Rudolph J. Gerber served as a prosecutor and as a judge on Arizona's Court of Appeals for 13 years.  Earlier in his career, then-state senator Sandra Day O'Connor asked Mr. Gerber to draft the statute that eventually became Arizona's death penalty law.  In a recent op-ed in the Sacramento Bee, he expressed his concerns about the practice of capital punishment and said that states should use the present period in which no executions are occurring as an opportunity to re-examine their commitment to the death penalty.  Excerpts from his article follow: