Commission, which evaluated the administration of the death penalty in Arizona in cases from 1976—2000.  I expect the ABA study to build upon the work of the Capital Case Commission.  Lessons from that Commission, coupled with the expected release of the ABA report, will provide us with an opportunity to further air the deficiencies in our system of judicially sanctioned killing.  For example, seven persons have been released from Arizona’s death row based on innocence claims.  One, Ray Krone, is the 100th exoneree in the United States.  Additionally, it was learned that the race of the victim is a crucial factor in determining who is executed and who is not.

   A little education goes a long way.  Most people have just a superficial understanding of the death penalty believing it is truly reserved for the worst of the worst.  Once engaged, however, in a serious dialog, many recognize that the death sentence cannot be justified.

                 We have joined with Equal Justice USA, the Death Penalty Information Center, and the Coalition of Arizonans Against the Death Penalty to promote the study results which are expected this fall.  I hope you will join with us in working to publicize the expected results of the ABA study.  If you are interested, please contact me at  marty @ azdeathpenalty.orgmarty@azdeathpenatly.org so we can work together to change the public’s opinion about the death penalty.

   We have seen, over the past few months, a number of significant advances towards the abolition (or at least the limitation) of the death penalty.  For example, the juvenile death penalty has been eliminated, legislators in North Carolina and California are debating a moratorium and the New York Assembly decided not to fix their unconstitutional death penalty statue leaving New York without a death penalty.  Additionally, the Supreme Court has cracked down on prosecutors’ attempt to cleanse capital juries of persons of color while demanding rigorous investigations by defense counsel before someone can be sentenced to death, and dare I say, Texas has enacted life without parole.  Of course, this is not enough.  And we can talk about the morality of life without parole.  We are, however, seeing a trend, even from a  conservative Supreme Court, that our system of judicially sanctioned killing is fraught with problems.  What will it take to convince our friends, family, neighbors, and associates that it is a system that can never work?

   One effort to study various aspects of the death penalty is currently underway.  The American Bar Association, which has called for a moratorium but has not advocated for abolition, is currently studying the death  penalty in sixteen states.  Arizona

is part of the first set of studies.

   The assessment will be conducted by a team, which will be comprised of and/or have access to a law school professor, a current or former defense attorney, a current or former prosecutor, a state bar representative, a current or former judge, a state legislator, and others.  Arizona’s assessment team is in place; more information about the team can be found at http://www.abanet.org/moratorium/assessmentproject/arizona.html.

   The team will collect and analyze laws, rules, procedures, standards, and guidelines relating to the administration of the death penalty.  They will evaluate and consider death row demographics, DNA testing, the evolution of the death penalty statute, law enforcement tools and techniques, crime laboratories and medical examiners, prosecutors, defense services during trial, appeal, and state post-conviction proceedings, the appeal process, state post-conviction relief proceedings and federal habeas corpus, clemency, jury instructions, judicial independence, racial and ethnic minorities, and mentally ill offenders.

   The groundwork for much of this work in Arizona has been laid by then Attorney General Janet Napolitano’s Capital Case

A Message from our President Marty Lieberman

Board of Directors

Summer 2005

Volume 4  issue 2

 

 

 

Marty Lieberman

 

Rich Robertson 

 

Joseph Gutierrez  

 

Elizabeth McCleary-Kiffe

 

Paula Harms

 

Seth Apfel

 

Eleanor Eisenberg

 

 

 

 

Advisory Board

 

Rudy Gerber

 

Dale Baich

 

Kyrsten Sinema

 

Kevin Spidel

 

Alfredo Gutierrez