Death Penalty

Gov. John Kitzhaber stops executions in Oregon, calls system 'compromised and inequitable'

November 22, 2011
Gov. John Kitzhaber announced today (November 22, 2011) he will not allow the execution of Gary Haugen -- or any death row inmate -- to take place while he is in office. The death penalty is morally wrong and unjustly administered, Kitzhaber said.

Is The Death Penalty Dying?

April 15, 2011
The arguments for and against capital punishment have raged for decades. But in the past few years, the tide in favor of abolishing the death penalty seems to be turning. Does this nationwide change of momentum mean the death penalty is dying?

by Denise Welch

2011 Mid-Legislative Session (JM-Spring 2011)

April 14, 2011
In this issue of Justice Matters, we cover why justice reinvestment makes sense to crime survivors, the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission's report on Measure 11, the conservative movement toward criminal justice reform, what's up with earned time, and the growing calls for ending the death penalty.

In this issue:

Illinois poised to abolish death penalty

January 8, 2011
The Illinois legislature has voted to abolish the death penalty; the bill has been sent to the governor for signature. Illinois has had a moratorium on the death penalty since Jan. 2000 following revelations that more than a dozen people sent to Death Row were later found to be innocent. (Reuters)

Measuring Death Row: The Cost of Killing and the Devaluation of Life

October 29, 2009
Of all the adjectives opponents use to describe the death penalty—cruel, oppressive, racist—the word “wasteful” probably doesn’t leap to mind. But if you can’t appeal to people’s consciences, you might as well try to get them through their pocketbook. (Colorlines)

Measuring Death Row: The Cost of Killing and the Devaluation of Life

NATL: Attorney General Wants More Power over the Death Penalty

August 22, 2007
At a time when people have been found innocent and freed from death row, when evidence is surfacing that innocent people have been executed, the U.S. Attorney General is drafting rules that would lead to faster executions.

The rules would give Attorney General Alberto Gonzales the power to decide if a person on death row had adequate counsel.

OR: Death Penalty Case Filed in Federal Court

November 15, 2005
The habeas corpus petition of Clinton Wendell Cunningham was filed in Portland at the US District Courthouse in October.

The habeas corpus petition of Clinton Wendell Cunningham was filed in Portland at the US District Courthouse in October.

Supreme Court Will Hear Death Penalty Case

December 30, 2003

As of early December, the Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether its abolition of the Death Penalty in trials without juries will apply retroactively. The June 2002 ruling stated

Region: 9th Circuit Throws Out Death Penalty Convictions

September 1, 2003

In early September, a federal appeals court threw out hundreds of death sentences in the 9th Circuit because the prisoners were sent to death row by judges instead of juries.

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