Recently in Death Penalty Category

It's the first state in the U.S. to do so. "I have been moved by the passionate views on both sides of this issue, and I firmly believe that replacing the death penalty with life in prison without parole best captures our state's highest values and reflects our best efforts to search for true justice," Gov. Jon Corzine said in a statement. The New York Times has more details.

They're again calling on Gov. Bob Riley to allow testing of evidence in the case of Thomas Arthur. The state had planned to put Arthur to death on Dec. 6, but the Supreme Court halted the execution around 5 p.m. the day before. Testing the evidence could put the issue of Arthur's guilt or innocence to rest once and for all. "Riley is called on to make many difficult decisions as governor. But this isn't a difficult one. Riley should order DNA testing for any Death Row inmate who disputes his guilt and whose case involved evidence that could be screened," says the Birmingham News.

Arthur was set to die by lethal injection, today (Dec. 6) after being in prison 20 years for a murder he says he didn't commit. Some evidence in the case has not been tested for DNA, despite a likelihood that it will point questions about his guilt (or innocence) to rest. Gov. Bob Riley's office has not responded to the Innocence Project's requests for testing, and has refused to hold off on the execution until testing could be complete (it would take just a few weeks).

The Supreme Court stopped the execution (pdf) while they decide if they will hear Arthur's appeal. Previously, they denied his motion for DNA testing based on his failure to meet legal time lines for appeals.

Arthur's daughter, his attorneys, the Innocence Project and Amnesty International have all requested a meeting with the Governor to discuss the case, but he's not agreed to meet with any of them.

Called one of the organization's "core human rights tools," urgent action alerts are designed to mobilize tens of thousands of people to send appeals on behalf of those in danger of what the Amnesty International sees as human rights violations. The organization issued an updated alert (pdf) for Thomas Arthur, scheduled to be executed this week (Dec. 6) in Alabama, on Thursday.

Arthur maintains his innocence and has requested DNA testing of evidence that has never been examined before. Alabama has vigorously opposed Arthur's requests.

"(W)hat does it hurt to do the testing before carrying out Arthur's execution? Even the victim's family has supported Arthur's efforts to get the evidence tested, expressing uncertainty about the truth in the case," the Birmingham news wrote in an editorial yesterday. Arthur has always proclaimed his innocence and there is still much doubt in the case, as the News points out. What everyone is trying to understand, however, is why Alabama is opposing testing evidence that has never been tested before Arthur's execution on Dec. 6. Either way, it could help to put the case to rest.

The Supreme Court effectively ended Arthur's legal battle to halt the execution, having decided not to hear his appeal yesterday. There is some evidence in Arthur's case that has yet to be tested, bot Gov. Bob Riley in Alabama has refused to stay the execution and the state has vigorously opposed allowing the evidence to be tested. The execution is set for Thursday, Dec. 6.

Alabama will execute Thomas Arthur on December 6, 2007. His daughter says in an email this is "(i)n spite of all the other states holding off on executions until the U.S. supreme court Rules, In spite of the American Bar Association calling for a nation wide freeze using Alabama as one of the states studied.  The governor will not stay this...." His execution was stayed for 45 days in September while the state pondered questions about its lethal injection procedures. Questions still swirl around evidence in Arthur's case which has never been tested for DNA. Alabama has vigorously opposed allowing the evidence to be tested.

State death penalty systems are seriously flawed, says the AP, citing a report by the American Bar Association.

Problems cited in a report released Sunday by the lawyers' organization include:

• Spotty collection and preservation of DNA evidence, which has been used to exonerate more than 200 inmates;
• Misidentification by eyewitnesses;
• False confessions from defendants; and
• Persistent racial disparities that make death sentences more likely when victims are white.

So much so, that the American Bar Association fears that it could result in putting wrongfully convicted persons to death. They say the system isn't fair and doesn't have any meaningful post-conviction appeals process.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reviews death penalty cases in Georgia and find that courts still dole out death sentences with little, if any consistency. It was Georgia's death penalty practices that once persuaded the Supreme Court to declare putting offenders to death unconstitutional, and it was the reforms they supposedly adopted that convinced the court to reinstate it.