NCADP state affiliate, Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, launched an ongoing vigil today in front of the Oklahoma pharmacy which allegedly is supplying lethal injection drugs to Missouri officials. Read More
On Sunday, January 26, NCADP hosted the 90 Million Strong Campaign kickoff party at the home of Rev. Barry and Joanne Lynn where we honored Governor Martin O’Malley, Senator Jamie Raskin, Senator Lisa Gladden, Delegate Sandy Rosenberg, and Delegate Salima Marriott for their leadership in the fight to repeal the death penalty in Maryland. Read More
Respect for the rule of law is one of the many casualties of capital punishment. Public officials who cling to this practice most vociferously are often among the worst offenders. Texas is a case in point. The execution of Edgar Tamayo Arias has drawn national and international attention. It highlights an aspect of Texas pride that can be endearing but sometimes raises troubling concerns. Read More
In the 2013 legislative session, the legislature passed a bill repealing the 2009 Racial Justice Act, which Gov. McCrory subsequently signed into law. The Racial Justice Act permitted inmates to challenge sentences on the basis of race. Despite the repeal of the Racial Justice Act in 2013, several factors suggest that North Carolinians are moving away from the death penalty. Read More
Despite the continued national trend away from the death penalty, we are off to a blustery start to the year when it comes to executions. Seven states had collectively scheduled 11 executions for this month alone. That’s shocking given that only nine states carried out executions in all of 2013. Read More
The holiday marking the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. coincides with the beginning of legislative sessions in state capitals across the country. In a number of state capitals policymakers will consider whether the death penalty should continue as a feature of their justice systems. Support for capital punishment continues to decline as a recent report by the Death Penalty Information Center indicates. The more people learn about the death penalty in action, the less they like it. Read More
In Gary Strauss's USA Today article on the execution of Dennis McGuire, Diann Rust-Tierney states, "What's happening is shocking. We're seeing the underside of the death penalty: irresponsible behavior by states and the realization that there's not a good way to kill people.This case and others are going to increase and galvanize those who oppose capital punishment and cause the public and policymakers to say. 'What are we doing?'" Read More
On January 16th, two states, Kansas and New Hampshire, held hearings in their capitals to consider legislation to repeal the death penalty. Both bills have bipartisan support from lawmakers and are being considered after extensive advocacy from abolition supporters. Read More
Ohio made history today by becoming the first state to use the two-drug combination of midazolam and hydromorphone in the execution of Dennis McGuire. State officials decided to use this experimental combination of powerful sedatives and painkillers after supplies of approved execution drugs ran dry. These shortages have caused other states to begin using experimental and downright dangerous methods to carry out executions. Read More
Best known for sandy beaches, palmettos and warm weather, Florida has a darker side not familiar to those paying homage to Mickey Mouse and the Magic Kingdom. Florida leads the nation in the number of exonerations of death row prisoners due to evidence of wrongful conviction. Read More
I spent the last days of 2013 reflecting on the principles of Kwanzaa. My celebration of Kwanzaa has changed over the years as our family has changed and grown. Read More
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
I learned of Nelson Mandela's passing, Tata, or father, as he is called in South Africa, from an emergency text on my phone: "Use caution when driving near the South African Embassy -- there will be mourners gathering in the area." 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
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
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
We mourn the passing of Delbert Tibbs, a death penalty abolition activist deeply committed to peace and racial justice. He died on Saturday, November 23, 2013. Read More
It should have been a simple fix. Instead, Texas has chosen to embrace a death sentence that’s the clear product of racial discrimination. 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
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