Years ago, if someone confessed to a crime, the belief was that the police needed nothing else. After all, who would ever confess to a murder they didn’t commit right? Yet repeatedly DNA evidence is proving that young men in particular falsely confess to crimes for a number of reasons. Pressure from the police and […]
Tag: Death penalty ALI capital punishment
No one in their right mind can actually blame Dr. William Petit for wanting blood. In 2007, his wife and two daughters were viciously slain during a home invasion robbery. Since then he has become a famous advocate for the death penalty and has gained national recognition for his testimony before legislative bodies in favor […]
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The Most Dangerous Lawyer in Texas
Monday, Adam Liptak, the NY Times’ legal reporter, published an article about Jerry Guerinot, a Texas lawyer who holds the distinction of having represented the most people sentenced to death - 20. That’s more people than most states that have the death penalty have on Death Row. He has not won one capital case. Liptak, […]
In a 6-3 decision today, the United States Supreme Court struck down laws in 37 states, including Florida and California, that allow a juvenile to be sentenced to life with no chance for parole for a crime that does not involve murder. The case of Graham v. Florida involved a 16 year old sentenced to […]
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The Death of the Death Penalty?
Fifty years ago or so, the American Law Institute (ALI) was given the profound task of devising a method of making the death penalty constitutional in a country where the Eighth Amendment of its constitution prohibits “Cruel and Unusual Punishment.” The ALI (made up of about 4,000 judges lawyers and law professors) has now announced […]