Death Penalty News

Seventy years ago, on June 19, 1953, our parents, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, were executed after being convicted of federal charges of conspiracy to commit espionage. They were in their 30’s, and we were 10 (Michael) and 6 (Robert) when we last visited them at Sing Sing, the prison north of New York City where they were electrocuted. Today, compelling doubts about our mother’s guilt persist, and we call on the U.S. government to immediately release all documents related to her prosecution and execution, so that we and all Americans can finally know the truth about her case.

Once complete, researchers will be able to log in and search thousands of executions by name, state, method and much more. (TNS) -- During his life, M. Watt Espy searched libraries and courthouses across the country gradually building what is widely considered the most comprehensive record of executions in the country. For decades the archive sat in stacks of boxes in his Alabama home. Next year the archive, which is now housed on the far shelves of the special collections library at the University at Albany, will be available digitally to researchers across the world. The collection includes over 28,000 handwritten index cards describing individual executions as well as supporting documents from news sources, courthouses, local histories and countless sources. “Watt devoted his life to this hobby – let me call it – he went from courthouse to courthouse, library to library, town to town,” said Jim Acker, a distinguished professor at UAlbany School of Criminal Justice...