FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
CONTACT:
Brenda Bowser Soder
(202) 289-2275, cell (301)
906-4460
bbsoder@deathpenaltyinfo.org
2005 Marks Extraordinary Year of Death Penalty Change
DPIC’s
Year End Report Reveals Record Low Death Sentences,
Legislative
Action, and Supreme Court Restrictions
WASHINGTON, DC – As the U.S.’s use of the death
penalty continues to decline and support for the alternative sentence
of life without parole increases, the Death Penalty Information
Center’s (DPIC) 2005 Year End Report projects that fewer
than 100 death sentences will be handed down in the United States
during 2005. Based on data from three-quarters of the year,
DPIC projects that 96 people will be sentenced to death this year,
down over 60% since the late 1990s and the fewest number of death
sentences in one year since capital punishment was reinstated in
1976.
“The year 2005 may be
remembered as the year that life without parole became an acceptable
alternative to the death penalty in the U.S.,” said Richard
Dieter, DPIC Executive Director. “Death sentences are down
dramatically while the use of life without parole has increased. More
states are adopting this alternative as death penalty problems
persist.”
Among the most significant
developments of 2005, New York’s legislature refused to
reinstate the death penalty after the state’s highest court
struck it down, leaving life without parole as the punishment for
capital murder. Texas became the 37th out of 38 death penalty states
to adopt the sentencing option of life without parole for jurors, and
the Supreme Court banned the death penalty for juveniles, thereby
reducing the death sentences for 71 offenders to life. The Court also
rebuffed lower courts for allowing racial bias in jury selection and
ineffective assistance of counsel.
The
public’s shift away from the death penalty was also evident in
public opinion polls. An October 2005 Gallup Poll found 64% in
support of the death penalty, the lowest level in 27 years. A 2005
CBS News Poll found that when respondents were given the sentencing
options of the death penalty, life without parole, or a long prison
sentence with a chance of parole for persons convicted of murder,
only 39% chose the death penalty, 39% chose life with no parole, and
6% said a long sentence.
Executions rose
slightly in 2005 (up from 59 to 60), but are still down 39% compared
to their peak in 1999. Despite the nation carrying out its 1000th
execution since capital punishment was reinstated, the majority of
states with the death penalty did not carry out any executions in
2005. The size of death row declined to 3,383 people, down about 7%
since 2001.
In the states, Illinois
continued its moratorium on executions for a sixth year, and New
Jersey’s ban on executions continued as the state reviews its
method of execution. Also in New Jersey, the Senate overwhelmingly
passed a bill that would establish a moratorium on executions and
implement a study of capital punishment. Kansas’ death penalty
remained in limbo as the Supreme Court weighed its constitutionality.
The New Mexico House of Representatives passed a bill to abolish the
death penalty, and in Massachusetts, legislators resoundingly
defeated the governor’s proposal for a “foolproof”
death penalty. California and North Carolina both approved
legislative commissions to study their respective death penalty
systems.
As the number of people freed
from death row increased to 122 and investigators uncovered a series
of cases in which an innocent person was likely executed,
conservative political leaders, judges, religious leaders, and
victims’ family members joined a growing number of prominent
voices criticizing the death penalty in 2005. In addition, new
editorial writers spoke out against the death penalty. The
Birmingham News announced that “after decades of supporting
the death penalty, the editorial board no longer can do so”
based on practical and ethical reasons.
The
2005 Year End Report is the 11th of its kind published by
DPIC, a non-profit organization serving the media and the public with
analysis and information on capital punishment. A PDF file of this
year’s report is attached for your review.
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