News and Developments 2005: Arbitrariness

Missed Court Deadline Could Cost Mentally Retarded Man His Life

Posted: December 19, 2005
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Though the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit assumes that Texas death row inmate Marvin Lee Wilson is mentally retarded, it ruled that he cannot raise the issue in federal court because his defense attorney missed a filing deadline. The U.S. Supreme Court has banned the execution of those with mental retardation, but the Fifth Circuit stated that "however harsh the result may be" their hands are tied by deadlines established in the 1996 Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act.

Birmingham News Reverses Its Position on the Death Penalty

Posted: December 08, 2005
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Editorial series calls for end to capital punishment

The Birmingham News, a consistent supporter of capital punishment in the past, is now advocating that the state abandon the use of the death penalty. In an editorial series that was published November 6 - 11, 2005, the paper stated that there are serious flaws in the application of the death penalty in Alabama. It also said that the death penalty is inconsistent with the paper’s commitment to a culture of life.

Birmingham News Criticizes Costly, Arbitrary Death Penalty

Posted: December 08, 2005
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A recent editorial in The Birmingham News criticized the costly and unfair nature of Alabama's capital punishment system. It also called on state legislators to, at a minimum, take steps that would limit the number of crimes eligible for the death penalty. The newspaper, which recently wrote a series of editorials changing its long-standing support for capital punishment and calling on the state to abandon the use of the death penalty, noted:

North Carolina Law Results in Sharp Drop in Death Sentences

Posted: November 09, 2005
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According to the North Carolina News & Record, death sentences in the state have significantly declined since the 2001 enactment of legislation that allows defendants to plead guilty to first-degree murder and receive a sentence of life without parole rather than go to trial and risk the death penalty. Juries are also returning fewer death sentences. The paper argues that the emergence of the life-without-parole alternative should result in a reconsideration of the sentences of those already on death row:

Georgia Supreme Court Denounces Official Misconduct, Orders New Trial

Posted: November 08, 2005
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In a ruling that criticized the state for concealing a $500 payoff to a key state witness in a 1997 death penalty case, the Georgia Supreme Court unanimously upheld a lower court decision ordering a new trial for Willie Palmer.

ACLU Report Finds Flaws in Alabama's Death Penalty

Posted: October 21, 2005
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According to a new report released by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), structural and procedural flaws in Alabama’s criminal justice system stack the deck against fair trials and appropriate sentencing for those facing the death penalty. The report, Broken Justice: The Death Penalty in Alabama, details unfair and discriminatory practices in the state’s administration of the death penalty.