New Jersey Joins New Mexico in Reconsidering Death Penalty

Repeal Sponsor Said He Would Support Reinstating Death Penalty

In December 2007, the New Jersey Legislature and former Governor Jon Corzine abolished the death penalty. A state panel concluded that executing prisoners was expensive, served no penological purpose and was out of step with "evolving standards of decency," reported The Record.

Now state Senators Robert Singer and Anthony Bucco, both Republicans, are sponsoring a senate bill which would reinstate executions for those who murder a child, kill a police officer in the line of duty or commit a deadly terrorist attack. "Sometimes it is the only way to achieve justice for the victims and families affected by horrible crimes," Singer told The Record.

New Jersey's last execution was in 1963. In 1972 the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the death penalty Furman v. Georgia 408 U.S. 238(1972). Four years later, after a number of state revamped their death penalty statutes and the Supreme Court attached its imprimatur in Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153 (1976).

The death penalty was back but not always carried out. Though it was reinstated in New Jersey in 1982, and 60 convicted criminals were sentenced to death, no one ever executed.

Assemblyman Reed Gusciora, a Democrat, sponsored the bill that abolished New Jersey’s death penalty in 2007. He has reconsidered his position on the death penalty in light of the recent Arizona shootings and murder of a New Jersey police officer. Gusciora told The Trentonian,“I would vote on a bill today that would impose the death penalty . . .”

He added that there must be “beyond, beyond reasonable doubt (of the killer’s guilt). … And it would be for extreme circumstances where the person showed absolutely no remorse for the victim and did it in a cruel manner.”

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has indicated he would sign legislation reinstating the death penalty.

New Jersey now joins New Mexico as the second state that has recently abolished the death penalty and is now considering legislation to reinstate capital punishment. I recently wrote about New Mexico, http://mattmangino.blogspot.com/2011/01/new-mexico-reconsiders-death-penalty.html.

To read more: http://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/114916879_Wrong_penalty.html

http://trentonian.com/articles/2011/01/26/news/doc4d409e5dac6a3476054605.txt

Ohio Justice Paul E. Pfeifer, Calls for End of Death Penalty

Justice Paul E. Pfeifer, a Senior Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court wrote the following guest column for the Cleveland Plain-Dealer on January 26, 2011 calling for Governor John Kasich and the Ohio legislature to abolish the death penalty. He has also called on the governor to commute all current death penalties to life in prison without parole.

Are we, the people of Ohio, well served by our continuing use of the death penalty?

Before we try to answer that, let's take a quick look back at capital punishment in Ohio. In 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court declared Ohio's death penalty statute unconstitutional. In 1974, our state legislature revised Ohio's death penalty law, but the Supreme Court rejected that one as well. Then, in 1981, a new death penalty statute was enacted, and this one passed constitutional review. We didn't resume executions in Ohio until 1999. Since then, 41 condemned murderers have been put to death; there are 157 more awaiting execution on death row.

There are very few people in this state more closely associated with the death penalty than am I. As a state senator in 1981, I helped draft our current law. Now, for the past 18 years, I have served as a justice on the Ohio Supreme Court, where we render the final judgment on death penalty appeals.

I helped craft the law, and I have helped enforce it. From my rather unique perspective, I have come to the conclusion that we are not well served by our ongoing attachment to capital punishment.

Why the change? In short, because the death penalty law is not being applied as we originally intended.

The statute that we wrote in 1981 was designed to pass constitutional review by the U.S. Supreme Court. That meant that it had to provide safeguards and extensive due process for accused murderers. We set out to enact a law that would give prosecutors the capability to seek capital punishment for the absolute worst offenders.

Murder is a vile crime. But not all murders are the same, and we did not mean for all -- or even most -- murderers to be eligible for the death penalty. The law was meant to be employed only when a certain set of aggravating circumstances warranted execution. But over the years, the death penalty has come to be applied more pervasively than we ever intended.

We also wanted a review process implemented in which the Ohio Supreme Court, in addition to considering death penalty appeals, would monitor death sentences across the state to verify that they were being evenly and fairly applied. Simply put, that hasn't happened.

Thirty years ago, the public's support for the death penalty stemmed largely from decades of sentences that seemed too lenient for murderers. The fact that a convicted killer could be eligible for parole after serving only a fraction of his life sentence did not sit well, and rightly so.

But in 2005, the Ohio legislature corrected that by passing a law that allowed prosecutors to seek a penalty of life without the possibility of parole rather than a death sentence. Since that law passed, we have seen the number of death sentences drop precipitously. Prosecutors and jurors have told us -- by their actions -- that life without the possibility of parole is a more desirable outcome to a murder trial than a death sentence.

Part of the reason for that, I believe, is that even supporters of capital punishment feel uneasy about sitting on a jury that votes to take a human life. As George Orwell once said, "Most people approve of capital punishment, but most people wouldn't do the hangman's job."

Make no mistake -- I am not arguing for leniency or sympathy. There are no good citizens on death row. These are people who have committed heinous crimes. When a villain murders, he not only ends one life, he irrevocably damages dozens of others. Murder has a ripple effect that consumes all those who loved the victim.

But life without parole now offers us a viable alternative to the death penalty, and it's an option that can satisfy our desire to punish killers for their crimes. There are, however, dozens of inmates on death row who were convicted before that option was available. How many of them would have been sentenced to death if the life-without-parole option had been available at the time? No one knows. All we know is that there are many people who will be put to death because they were convicted at the wrong time.

So, I ask: Do we want our state government -- and thus, by extension, all of us -- to be in the business of taking lives in what amounts to a death lottery? I can't imagine that's something about which most of us feel comfortable. And, thus, I believe the time has come to abolish the death penalty in Ohio.

http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2011/01/retire_ohios_death_penalty_pau.html

PA Auditor General Calls for Sentencing Reform

Pennsylvania Auditor General Jack Wagner issued a special report outlining the 500 percent growth in Pennsylvania's prison population from 8,243 in 1980 to 51,487 in 2010. According to a 2009 Pew Center for the States report,Pennsylvania had the highest number of new inmates -- 2,122 -- of any state in the nation.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported, the cost per inmate nearly tripled from $11,477 in 1980 to $32,059 in 2009. The overall cost to taxpayers increased during the past 10 years from $1.17 billion to $1.6 billion, a 37 percent increase, Wagner said.

As the state faces a $4 billion to $5 billion budget deficit, it's imperative that lawmakers consider reductions in Department of Corrections spending, which historically has been sacrosanct, Wagner said.

Wagner, a Democratic, is endorsing criminal justice reform legislation proposed by Senator Stewart Greenleaf, a Republican. "The bill, Senate Bill 100, goes to the heart of the problem," Wagner told the Tribune-Review. The bill that would make it easier to send non-violent offenders to alternative-sentencing programs.

Last fall, Governor Edward G. Rendell signed into law a prison reform bill. In part, Act 95of 2010, formerly known as Senate Bill 1161, directs the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing to develop a risk assessment instrument for use by judges in sentencing criminal offenders. The law was sponsored by state Senator Stewart J. Greenleaf, and was recently touted by the GOP House Caucus as being able to identify criminals who are "at a lower risk to reoffend and who may be recommended for alternative sentencing programs instead of additional prison time, such as county and state intermediate punishment programs."

Last November, I wrote about the reform package for the Pennsylvania Law Weekly. The column can be found at, http://mattmangino.blogspot.com/2010/11/rendell-signs-prison-reform-package.html.

To read more: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/breaking/s_720118.html#ixzz1CQxy9aRH

Drug Manufacturer Objects to Drug's Use in Executions

Ohio Points Out Manufacturer's Drugs Used in Over 500 Assisted Suicides

Lundbeck, Inc. is objecting to Ohio's plan to use the drug pentobarbital for executions. Lundbeck manufactures the drug in the U.S.

"Lundbeck is dedicated to saving people's lives," a spokesperson told the Columbus Dispatch. "Use of our products to end lives contradicts everything we're in business to do."

A Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokesperson said the state will not heed the company's warning and will use the new drug as planned.

The department pointed out that a federal appeals court affirmed Oklahoma's use of pentobarbital in its execution protocol in combination with two other drugs, last December. Ohio uses a single drug protocol-only a lethal dose of pentobarbital will be used for executions beginning in April.

Corrections personnel also noted that the drug was used in 200 legal, assisted suicides in Oregon from 1999 to 2010. Another drug, secobarbital, was used in the other 321 assisted deaths, according to the Dispatch. This point seems to contradict Lundbeck's assertion that their drug is dedicated to saving lives.

According to the Dispatch, there are two men scheduled for execution, one in February and one in March. There are 13 other capital murder cases across the state in which prisoners have exhausted their legal appeals and county prosecutors have asked the Ohio Supreme Court to set execution dates. Collectively, the 15 men awaiting execution were responsible for 25 murders. Their victims ranged in age from 3 to 80.

To read more: http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2011/01/28/copy/drugmaker-objects-to-new-execution-plan.html?adsec=politics&sid=101

New Mexico Reconsiders Death Penalty, Abolished in 2009

In 2009, New Mexico repealed the death penalty, but newly elected Republican Governor Susana Martinez said she wants lawmakers to reverse that decision so that juries have the option of choosing capital punishment for the worst criminals.

State Representative Dennis Kintigh, a retired FBI agent, shares Martinez's opinion that the death penalty should be on the books. He has a difference of opinion on how to go about it.

Kintigh, a Republican, introduced a bill Monday that calls on legislators to let the public decide the issue by referendum. His proposal, House Joint Resolution 6, would require a two-thirds vote from the House and the Senate to be placed on the 2012 general election ballot, according to the Farmington Daily News.

Governor Martinez, a career prosecutor before becoming governor, does not favor a referendum. Although, she never sought the death penalty as a prosecutor she wants to bring the death penalty back by statute.

A referendum would be an interesting approach to considering the death penalty. There are public opinion polls that indicate that as much as 64 percent of Americans support the death penalty. Those number come into question when respondents are given an alternative of live in prison without the possibility of parole. A referendum would put those questions to rest. The voters would decide.

To read more: http://www.daily-times.com/farmington-news/ci_17188712

Ohio Switches Execution Drug

Ohio is switching its lethal injection protocol to a single powerful dose of pentobarbital an anesthetic commonly used to put pets to sleep, reported the Associated Press.

The Department of Rehabilitation and Correction says the state will use pentobarbital as a shortage of sodium thiopental, the drug normally used for executions, has worsened. The only U.S. manufacturer of sodium thiopental announced last week it would no longer produce the drug.

Back in November I predicted that Ohio would be the first state to seek sodium thiopental from an international source or use an alternative drug, http://mattmangino.blogspot.com/2010/11/scotus-opens-door-to-substitute.html. I was wrong on both counts-but close. It appears that Ohio will be the second state to use an alternative drug, pentobarbital. However, Ohio will be the first state to use pentobarbital as part of a single drug protocol.

In 2009, Ohio became the first state to use a single drug protocol for purposes of lethal injection. Washington has followed suit. However, the other 33 states with the death penalty still use a three drug protocol. Only Oklahoma has switched to pentobarbital as part of their three drug protocol.

Ohio will use its remaining supply of sodium thiopental for the scheduled execution February 17 of Frank Spisak, who killed three people at Cleveland State University in 1982.

The first use of pentobarbital is planned for March's scheduled execution of Johnnie Baston of Lucas County.

Georgia Executes Man for 1988 Murder

The 4th Execution of 2011

The Associated Press is reporting that a Georgia man, Emmanuel Hammond, convicted of killing an Atlanta preschool teacher more than two decades ago has been executed.

Emmanuel Hammond was put to death by injection Tuesday at the state prison in Jackson after state and federal courts turned down his appeals. The 45-year-old was pronounced dead at 11:39 p.m.

The U.S. Supreme Court temporarily halted the execution and then as a body decided not to hear Hammond's 11th hour appeal.

Hammond was convicted of the 1988 murder of 27-year-old Julie Love, who was abducted in north Atlanta after her car ran out of gas.

Prosecutors say Love was beaten and raped before Hammond took her into the woods, shot her to death and dumped her body into a trash pile.

Investigators didn't find her body until August 1989, when Hammond's girlfriend told police he was responsible for her disappearance, reported the Associated Press.