FEATURED POST

Unveiling Singapore’s Death Penalty Discourse: A Critical Analysis of Public Opinion and Deterrent Claims

Image
While Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) maintains a firm stance on the effectiveness of the death penalty in managing drug trafficking in Singapore, the article presents evidence suggesting that the methodologies and interpretations of these studies might not be as substantial as portrayed.

2019 Sees Decline in Texas Executions

Still, concerns of the fairness and accuracy of the state’s death penalty system remain

Even in Texas – the execution capital of the country – the death penalty's popularity continued to decline in 2019, according to a new report from the Austin-based Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. 

Released Tuesday, TCADP's year-end report shows a decline in both the number of people sentenced to death in the past 12 months, and the number of executions carried out this year (nine) in comparison to last year (13). 

Though the Texas Depart­ment of Criminal Jus­tice's original execution schedule for 2019 was shockingly long, with a total of 18 men set to die at the hands of the state, nine of those received stays from either state or federal courts. (Three, the report notes, received multiple reprieves: Dexter John­son, Ruben Gutierrez, and Patrick Murphy.)

The report notes, however, that despite its declining use, the cases scheduled for execution this year "underscored persistent concerns about the fairness and accuracy of Texas's death penalty system." It even quotes former Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Elsa Alcala, saying, "The fact that some death penalty cases were stayed and others proceeded to execution despite similar errors and concerns demonstrates an uneven and arbitrary application of justice." 

Specifically, TCADP's report compares Rodney Reed, whose execution was stayed by the CCA to review his innocence claims, to Larry Swearingen, who was executed in Aug­ust "despite a compelling innocence claim and substantial doubts about the circumstantial and faulty scientific evidence used to convict him." 

It also discusses Billie Wayne Coble, Robert Sparks, and Travis Runnels, all of whom were put to death despite the fact that A.P. Merillat, a recurrent state witness, provided false testimony in all three cases. Though Merillat testified in at least 18 death penalty trials, only two were granted new punishment hearings by the CCA; both of those individuals were removed from death row.

As for new death sentences, this year Texas juries rejected the death penalty in 50% of the cases presented to them, which TCADP Executive Director Kristin Houlé said "raises serious questions about the cost and efficacy of pursuing capital punishment when an alternative exists."

✔ A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for almost 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

Source: austinchronicle.com, Sarah Marloff, December 20, 2019


⚑ | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com.


Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE!



"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde

Most Viewed (Last 7 Days)

California | San Quentin begins prison reform - but not for those on death row

Oklahoma | Death row inmate Michael DeWayne Smith denied stay of execution

Indonesia | Bali Prosecutors Seeking Death on Appeal

Iran | Couple hanged in the Central Prison of Tabriz

Ohio dad could still face death penalty in massacre of 3 sons after judge tosses confession

Singapore | Court of Appeal rejects 36 death row inmates’ PACC Act constitutional challenge

Tennessee | Nashville DA asks judge to vacate baby murder conviction following new medical evidence