The law doesn’t read “guilty until proven innocent.” And yet, since 1973, the United States has released 143 people from death row after they proved their innocence. It’s a totally backwards approach, and sometimes, we don’t get to them fast enough. Troy Davis, Carlos de Luna, Cameron Todd Willingham, and Gary Graham are among those who are widely believed to have been wrongly executed. In all likelihood there are others. Read More
A bill to abolish Colorado’s death penalty failed during this past Legislative session, but Coloradans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (CADP) has come back strong, teaming up with a diverse and powerful group of community partners. Together they will engage Coloradans throughout the state in dialogue about why abolishing the death penalty will make Colorado a stronger, safer, and more just place to live. Read More
In 2013, the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty and our many allies and supporters in the death penalty abolition movement celebrated triumphs and learned from our setbacks. This list of important stories from 2013 emphasizes the successes but provides critical reminders of the challenges we still need to overcome. Read More
Delbert Tibbs was sentenced to death in Florida for the murder of Terry Milroy and the rape of his companion, Cynthia Nadeau. He was innocent. Delbert Tibbs was once quoted as saying “God sent me to death row so I could be a witness.” Delbert Tibbs died on November 23, 2013. He was 74. Read More
Alabama is one of three states (Delaware and Florida are the others) that allow judges to override a jury’s sentencing decision in capital cases and issue a death sentence despite the jury’s recommendation to the contrary. On November 18, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case of Mario Woodward who was sentenced by an Alabama judge to death despite an 8-4 jury vote at trial against it. According to news accounts, the jury’s decision was influenced by multiple mitigating factors, including the importance of Woodward’s relationship with his children. Read More
For decades most death penalty states used a three-drug lethal injection protocol until the U.S. manufacturer of sodium thiopental stopped supplying it. The other producers of the drug were all in Europe where capital punishment is illegal. Under pressure from its own citizens, these companies have worked to keep their products from being used in U.S. executions. As a result, state administrators of capital punishment have gotten increasingly frustrated and desperate in their actions to gain access to drugs for executions. Read More
Our mother, Daisy, was a death penalty abolitionist since she was a child. She could not explain why she had acquired this particular passion at so early an age. She had no personal connection with anyone who had been affected by capital punishment, either victim or defendant. Our father, Alfred, had a theory that perhaps in a previous life, Daisy had had a son or daughter who was executed. But however it began, Daisy, with the help of Alfred and us kids, worked tirelessly for the cause. Read More
