SANCTIONED SERIAL KILLERS
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
Capital punishment has been used in almost every part of the world, but in the last few decades many countries have abolished it. Of the 195 independent states that are UN members or have a UN observer status: 40 maintain, 48 permit, 7 retain and 100 have abolished the death penalty.
20% maintain Maintain the death penalty in both law and practice
51% abolished
Have abolished it completely
25% permit
4% retain
Retain it for exceptional circumstances
Permit use, but havent used it for at least 10 years or it is under moratorium.
Representing each country’s stance on capital punishment
Maintain Permit Retain Abolished
AFRICA Of the 54 independent states in Africa that are UN members: 11 maintain, 25 permit and 18 have abolished the death penalty.
20% maintain 33% abolished
Maintain the death penalty in both law and practice
Have abolished it completely
46% permit
Permit use, but havent used it for at least 10 years or it is under moratorium.
THE AMERICAS Of the 35 independent states in the Americas that are UN members: 2 maintain, 12 permit, 4 retain and 15 have abolished the death penalty.
6% maintain
Maintain the death penalty in both law and practice
43% abolished
34% retain Retain it for exceptional circumstances
Have abolished it completely
11% permit
Permit use, but havent used it for at least 10 years or it is under moratorium.
ASIA-PACIFIC Of the 57 independent countries in the Asia-Pacific region that are UN members or observer states: 24 maintain, 11 permit, 3 retains and 19 have abolished the death penalty.
34% maintain
Maintain the death penalty in both law and practice
42% abolished
Have abolished it completely
11% permit
Permit use, but havent used it for at least 10 years or it is under moratorium.
19% retain
Retain it for exceptional circumstances
EUROPE Of the 49 independent states in Europe that are UN members or have a UN Observer status: 1 maintain and 48 have abolished the death penalty.
2% maintain
Maintain the death penalty in both law and practice
98% abolished
Have abolished it completely
In 2014 th penalty is
he death s still alive
Data for executions imposed in 2012
Executed 1,000+ Executed 100 - 999 Executed 10 - 99 Executed 1 - 9 No executions, sentences currently imposed No executions or sentences imposed No death penalty Undisclosed data for this year
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PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
Capital punishment has widespread support in China, especially for violent crimes, and no group in government or civil society vocally advocates for its abolition. There are only two methods of execution used: Lethal Injection was legalized in 1996 and has been used since the late 1990’s, and is carried out in prisons or in mobile “death vans”. The use of these vans has been decreasing since the late 2000’s due to the expense of maintaining the vans. Shooting executions were to be discontinued in 2010 per the People’s Supreme Court ruling in February 2009, holding that lethal injection is a more humane form of execution.
There are over 50 criminal offences that are eligible for the death penalty. Many of these offences are non-violent and economic criminal offences. Crimes against National Security Treason, separatism, armed rebellion, rioting, collaborating with the enemy, spying or espionage, selling state secrets. Crimes against Public Security Arson, flooding, bombing, spreading hazardous substances, sabotage, hijacking aircraft, illegal possession, robbery, smuggling, selling or the trafficking of dangerous materials.
Economic crimes Production or sale of hazardous products, producing counterfeit money, fraud. Crimes against the person Intentional homicide, intentional assault, rape, kidnapping, human trafficking. Crimes against public order Escaping from prison, jailbreaking, raiding a prison, smuggling, dealing, transporting or manufacturing drugs, organized prostitution.
IRAN Death sentences in Iran are, in theory, legal for eight different crimes: Armed robbery, treason, murder, drug trafficking, rape, paedophilia, sodomy, kidnapping, and terrorism. There are four classes of crimes in Iranian law: Qesas crimes In Sharia law, a qesas crime is a class of crime that can be punished by retribution. The Sharia crime of intentional murder (ghatl-e-amnd) is one crime punished by qesas, which in this case is a life for a life. Hadd crimes Hadd crimes are a class of crime laid down in the Koran and considered to be comparable to felonies. It includes adultery, rape, sodomy and other zina crimes. In the majority of cases, people who commit a Hadd offensive would be given Tazir punishments such as imprisonment or fines, but in some serious cases the Hadd punishment could be given in addition to it. Tazir crimes In the Islamic criminal justice system, a tazir crime can be punished according to a judge’s discretion. A “deterrent crime” is a crime with a fixed sentence. Tazir punishments should generally be lesser than Hadd punishments. There are no strict proof requirements as there are for Hadd. Tazir and deterrent crimes are often comparable to a misdemeanor. The only three methods of execution used are: Firing squad Hanging Stoning
IRAQ
Capital punishment in Iraq was commonly used by the government of Saddam Hussein; and has been despite his removal from office. There is an automatic right to appeal on all sentences. Iraqi Law requires execution within 30 days of all legal avenues being exhausted. The last legal step, before the execution proceeds, is for the condemned to be handed a red card. This is completed by an official of the court with details of the judgment and a notice that execution is imminent. In September 2005, three murderers were the first people to be executed since the restoration in 2004. Then on March 9th 2006, an official of Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council confirmed that Iraqi authorities had executed the first insurgents by hanging.
27 people, including a woman, were executed by the Iraqi government on September 6th 2006, for high crimes against civilians.
On January 19th 2012, 34 people were executed in a single day.
Early in October 2013, 42 people convicted of In in 2006, over 65 people were executed, terrorism charges were hung over the course of followed by at least 199 people being sentenced two days. By that date a total of 132 people had to death and 33 executed in 2007 . At least 285 been executed in 2013. people were sentenced to death in 2008; at least 34 were executed. There were at least 120 executions in 2009, overwhelmingly for alleged terrorist offences. More than 900 people, including 17 women, were thought to be at risk of imminent execution in Iraq at the end of 2009 - they had reportedly exhausted all forms of appeal and their death sentences were said to have been ratified by the Presidential Council.
SAUDI ARABIA Saudi Arabia has a criminal justice system based on a hardline and literal form of Sharia law reflecting a particular state sanctioned interpretation of Islam. In 2003, Muhammad Saad al-Beshi, whom the BBC described as “Saudi Arabia’s leading executioner” described his first execution in 1998: “The criminal was tied and blindfolded. With one stroke of the sword I severed his head. It rolled metres away... People are amazed how fast [the sword] can separate the head from the body.” He also said that before an execution he visits the victim’s family to seek forgiveness for the criminal, which can lead to the criminal’s life being spared. Once an execution goes ahead, his only conversation with the prisoner is to tell him or her to recite the Muslim declaration of belief, the Shahada. “When they get to the execution square, their strength drains away. Then I read the execution order, and at a signal I cut the prisoner’s head off,” he said. The 345 reported executions between 2007 and 2010 were all carried out by public beheading. Crucifixion of the beheaded body is sometimes ordered. Saudi law allows the death penalty for many crimes, for example: Adultery, apostasy, armed robbery, blasphemy, burglary, carjacking, aircraft hijacking, drug smuggling, fornication, home invasion, sodomy, homosexuality, or lesbianism,idolatry, murder, rape, sedition, sexual misconduct, sorcery, terrorism, theft, treason, waging war on God and witchcraft.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Capital punishment in the United States is limited under the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and, in practice, is used almost exclusively for aggravated murders committed by mentally competent adults. It is currently a legal sentence in 32 states, as well as the federal civilian and military legal systems. The State of Texas has performed the most executions by far, but Oklahoma has had (through mid-2011) the highest per capita execution rate. In 2013, 39 inmates were executed in the United States and 3,108 were on death row – an execution rate of less than 2%. The methods of execution and the crimes subject to the death penalty vary by state and have changed over time. The most common
method since 1976 has been lethal injection. The last executions by other methods are as follows: Method Date Electrocution 2013 Firing squad 2010 Lethal gas 1999 Hanging 1996
Convict Robert Gleason Ronnie Gardner Walter LaGrand William Bailey
The legal administration of the death penalty in the United States is complex. It involves four critical steps: (1) sentencing, (2) direct review, (3) state collateral review, and (4) federal habeas corpus.
3,108 In the United States approximately
inmates are awaiting their execution.
A condemned prisoner’s last meal is a customary part of his or her last day before execution. This meal is supposed to symbolise the condemned making peace with those responsible for their death. In many countries, the prisoner may, within reason, select what the last meal will be and the authorities do their best to satisfy the request. The state of Texas has now reversed the tradition of allowing death row inmates their final meal choice.
Angel Nieves Diaz, 55, Florida, Lethal injection. Declined last meal and regular prison meal.
Victor Feguer, 28, Iowa, Lethal injection. Single olive with the pit in it.
Stephen Anderson, 49, California, Lethal injection. 2 grilled cheese sandwiches, pint of cottage cheese, hominy/corn mixture, peach pie, chocolate chip ice-cream and radishes
Ricky Ray Rector, 42, Arkansas, Lethal injection. Steak, fried chicken, cherry kool-aid, pecan pie (left the pecan pie, telling the guard he was “saving it for later”
Ronnie Lee Gardner, 49, Utah, Firing squad. Lobster tail, steak, apple pie, vanilla ice-cream (eat whilst watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Allen Lee ‘tiny’ Davis, 54, Florida, Electric chair. Lobster tail, fried potatoes, 1/2 lb fried shrimp, 6oz fried clams, 1/2 loaf of garlic bread and 32oz A&W root beer.
Timothy McVeigh, 33, Indiana, Lethal injection. 2 pints of mint and chocolate chip ice-cream.
Ferdinando Nicola Sacco, 36, Electric chair. Soup, meat, toast and tea.
Teresa Lewis, 41, Virginia, Lethal injection. Fried chicken, peas with butter, apple pie, Dr pepper.
Ronnie Threadgill, 40, Texas, Lethal injection. Baked chicken, mashed potatoes with country gravy, vegetables, sweet peas, bread, tea, water, punch.
Ted Bundy, 43, Florida, Electric chair. Steak, eggs, hash browns, toast with butter and jelly, milk and juice (Declined ‘special’ meal, so was given traditional last meal)
John Wayne Gacy, 52, Illinois, Lethal injection. 12 fried shrimp, bucket of original recipe KFC, french fries, 1 lb of streawberries.
Methods of execution across the United States
Lethal injection Electrocution Lethal injection / Electrocution Lethal injection / Lethal gas Lethal injection / Hanging Lethal injection / Firing Squad Lethal injection / Electrocution / Firing squad No death penatly
“An execution is not simply death. It ad premeditation known to the future vic itself a source of moral sufferings more punishment is the most premeditated deed, however calculated can be comp the death penalty would have to punis victim of the date at which he would in who, from that moment onward, had c Such a monster is not encountered in p Albert Camus - ”Reflections on the Guillotine, Resistance, Rebellion & Death” 1956
dds to death a rule, a public ctim, an organization which is e terrible than death. Capital d of murders, to which no criminal’s pared. For there to be an equivalency, sh a criminal who had warned his nflict a horrible death on him and confined him at his mercy for months. private life.�
PREVIOUS METHODS OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
Method Description Animals Devouring by animals lions, alligators, sharks, crocodiles, piranhas. Stings from scorpions bites by snakes and spiders. Tearing apart or trampled by horses or elephants Back-breaking A Mongolian method that avoided the spilling of blood Blowing from a gun Tied to the mouth of a cannon, which is then fired. Boiling to death This penalty was carried out using a large cauldron filled with water, oil, tar, even molten lead Brazen Bull The condemned were locked in a metal bull, a fire set under it, roasting the person inside to death Breaking wheel Lashed to the wheel and beaten with clubs Buried alive Traditional for Vestal virgins who had broken their vows Burning Most infamous as a method of execution for heretics and witches
Crucifixion Nailing to a wooden cross and allowing the convicted to perish
Crushing By a weight, abruptly Immurement The confinement of or as a slow ordeal a person by walling off any exits Decapitation One of the most famous execution Impalement The penetration by an methods is object such as a stake, execution by pole, spear or hook, by guillotine complete (or partial) perforation Disembowelment Often employed as a preliminary stage Keelhauling Tied to a rope and to the actual execution thrown overboard to be dragged under the Drawn and quartered Drawn to the ships keel execution site by a horse, then hung, Poisoning Lethal injection emasculated, disembowelled, Pendulum A type of machine beheaded and cut up with an axe head into quarters for a weight that slices closer to Dismemberment Being drawn and the victim’s torso quartered sometimes over time resulted in dismemberment Shooting Cannon, firing squad, single shot Electrocution The electric chair Starvation Prolonged starvation Falling The victim is thrown can cause permanent fromt a height organ damage and eventually, death Flaying The skin is removed from the body Stoning The condemned is pummeled by Garrote Used to strangle stones with the totality of the Gas Death by asphyxiation injuries suffered or poison gas in a leading to death sealed chamber Gibbeting The victim was usually placed and left to die Hanging One of the most common methods of execution
CURRENT METHODS OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
Trends in most of the world have long been to move to less painful, or more humane, executions. The following methods of execution are currently permitted for use and are classfied as: Decapitation Saudi Arabia, Qatar Electric chair as an option in Alabama, Tennessee, Virginia, South Carolina, Florida, Oklahoma and Kentucky in the USA Firing Squad The People’s Republic of China, Republic of China, Vietnam, Belarus, Lebanon, Cuba, Grenada, North Korea, Indonesia, Yemen and Oklahoma in the USA Gas chamber California, Missouri and Arizona Hanging Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Mongolia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Palestinian National Authority leadership, Lebanon, Yemen, Egypt, India, Myanmar, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Syria, Zimbabwe, South Korea, Malawi, Liberia, Chad, Washington in the USA Lethal injection Guatemala, Thailand, the People’s Republic of China, Vietnam, all states in the USA that are using capital punishment
“humane”
DECAPITATION Decapitation has been used as a form of capital punishment for millennia. The terms “capital offence”, “capital crime”, “capital punishment,” derive from the Latin caput, “head”, referring to the punishment for serious offences involving the forfeiture of the head; i.e. death by beheading. Decapitation by sword or another military weapon was sometimes considered the honourable way to die for an aristocrat. This would symbolise their class as a military caste, thus dying by an instrument of war, while the commoners would be beheaded with an axe. However, in some countries decapitation is considered as a less honourable capital punishment. For example, Chinese believe that to separate any part of the body from oneself intentionally is disrespectful to his or her ancestors. It is also seen as a painless death, for if the headsman’s axe or sword was sharp and his aim was precise, decapitation was a relatively quick form of death. Decapitation by guillotine was a common mechanically assisted form of execution. The aim was to carry out an execution without any great skill needed. In the days before photography, it was sometimes important to maintain some visual evidence for identification of executed criminals. A public display of the severed head of a well known person could serve this purpose and also act as a form of political propoganda, intimidation or deterant.
ELECTRIC CHAIR
Execution by electrocution, usually performed using an electric chair, is a method originating in the United States in which the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes placed on the body. Historically, once the condemned person was attached to the chair, various cycles (differing in voltage and duration) of alternating current would be passed through the individual’s body, in order to cause fatal damage to the internal organs (including the brain). The first jolt of electric current was designed to cause immediate unconsciousness and brain stem death; the second one was designed to cause fatal damage to the vital organs. Death was frequently caused by electrical overstimulation of the heart. The electric chair has been criticized because of several instances in which the subjects were killed only after being subjected to multiple electric shocks. This led to a call for ending of the practice because many see it as cruel and unusual punishment. The use of the electric chair has declined as legislators sought what they believed to be more humane methods of execution. Lethal injection became the most popular method, aided by media reports of botched electrocutions in the early 1980s. The last person to be executed via the electric chair without the choice of an alternative method was Lynda Lyon Block on May 10, 2002 in Alabama.
FIRING SQUAD Execution by firing squad, sometimes called fusillading (from the French fusil, rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Execution by shooting is a fairly old practice. The main reason for its use is that firearms are usually readily available and a gunshot to a vital organ usually kills the subject relatively quickly. Before the introduction of firearms, bows or crossbows were often used. A firing squad is normally composed of several soldiers or law enforcement officers. Usually, all members of the group are instructed to fire simultaneously, thus preventing both disruption of the process by a single member and identification of the member who fired the lethal shot. The prisoner is typically blindfolded or hooded, as well as restrained, although in some cases prisoners have asked to be allowed to face the firing squad without their eyes covered. Executions can be carried out with the condemned either standing or sitting. In some cases one or more members of the firing squad may be issued a weapon containing a blank cartridge instead of one housing a live round. No member of the firing squad is told beforehand if he is using live ammunition. This is believed to reinforce the sense of diffusion of responsibility among the firing squad members, making the execution process more reliable. It also allows each member of the firing squad to believe afterward that he did not personally fire a fatal shot. For this reason, it is sometimes referred to as the “conscience round�.
GAS CHAMBER A gas chamber is an apparatus for execution with gas, consisting of a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiant gas is introduced. The most commonly used poisonous agent is hydrogen cyanide, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide have also been used. The first person to be executed in the United States by lethal gas was Gee Jon, on February 8, 1924. An unsuccessful attempt to pump poison gas directly into his cell at Nevada State Prison led to the development of the first makeshift gas chamber to carry out Gee’s death sentence. As of 2010, the last person to be executed in the gas chamber was German national Walter LaGrand, sentenced to death before 1992, who was executed in Arizona on March 3, 1999. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled that he could not be executed by gas chamber, but the decision was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. The gas is visible to the condemned, and he/she is advised to take several deep breaths to speed unconsciousness in order to prevent unnecessary suffering. Accordingly, execution by gas chamber is especially unpleasant for the witnesses to the execution due to the physical responses exhibited by the condemned during the process of dying. These responses can be violent, and can include convulsions and excessive drooling. In October 2010, New York Governor David Paterson signed a bill rendering gas chambers illegal for use by humane societies.
HANGING Hanging has been a common method of capital punishment since medieval times, and is the official execution method in many countries and regions. There are four ways of performing a judicial hanging: Suspension Causes death by using the weight of the body to tighten the trachea with the noose. Prisoners are often reported to have little or no struggle before they go limp, because their jugular vein and carotid arteries are blocked and blood flow to the brain is reduced. The person slowly dies of strangulation, which typically takes between ten and twenty minutes, resulting in a considerably more grisly and painful death. Short drop The short drop is performed by placing the condemned prisoner on the back of a cart, horse, or other vehicle, with the noose around the neck. The object is then moved away, leaving the person dangling from the rope. Standard drop It involves a drop of between 4 and 6 feet (1.2 and 1.8 m). It was considered a humane improvement on the short drop because it was intended to be enough to break the person’s neck, causing immediate paralysis and immobilization. Long drop Instead of everyone falling the same standard distance, the person’s height and weight were used to determine how much slack would be provided in the rope so that the distance dropped would be enough to ensure that the neck was broken, but not so much that the person was decapitated. The careful placement of the eye or knot of the noose (so that the head was jerked back as the rope tightened) contributed to breaking the neck.
LETHAL INJECTION
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting a person with a fatal dose of drugs (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium solution) for the express purpose of causing immediate death. It kills the person by first putting the person to sleep, and then stopping the breathing and heart, in that order. Typically, three drugs are used in lethal injection. Sodium thiopental is used to induce unconsciousness, pancuronium bromide (Pavulon) to cause muscle paralysis and respiratory arrest, and potassium chloride to stop the heart. Sodium thiopental Lethal injection dosage: 2–5 grams. Sodium thiopental is an ultra-short acting barbiturate, often used for anesthesia induction and for medically induced coma. Loss of consciousness is induced within 30 - 45 seconds at the typical dose. Pancuronium bromid Lethal injection dosage: 100 milligrams. Pancuronium bromide is a non-depolarizing paralytic agent that blocks the action of acetylcholine at the motor end-plate of the neuromuscular junction. Potassium chloride Lethal injection dosage: 100 mEq (milliequivalents) Potassium is an electrolyte, 98% of which is intracellular. The 2% remaining outside the cell has great implications for cells that generate action potentials. Lethal injection gained popularity in the late twentieth century as a form of execution intended to supplant other methods that were considered to be more painful. It is now the most common form of execution in the United States of America.
There is no co between the d and decreasin Shakib Qortbawi, former Minister of Justice of Lebanon, 11 October 2013
orrelation death penalty ng crime rate.
EXECUTION: A PUBLIC SPECTACLE Executions in the United States were once a public spectacle. Today, executions are carried out behind prison walls with only a set group of witnesses in attendance. Relatives of the victim(s) Relatives of the prisoner Prison warden
Prison guards Medical personnel Spiritual advisor(s)
Official group of “reputable citizens� Official group of state-selected witnesses Media representatives
“Our lives ha John Thompson, exonerated after 14 years on death row
ave no value.�
SOCIETIES FASCINATION WITH CAPITAL PUNISHMENT Best Supporting Actor Black Reel Awards Favourite Actor Blockbuster Entertainment Awards Best Action / Adventure / Thriller Film, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress Academy of Science Finction, Fantasy and Horror Films, USA Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Role First Americas in the Arts Award Best Foreign Language Film Mainichi Film Concours Favourite (Dramatic) Motion Picture Best Supporting Actor Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards Human Rights Political Film Society People’s Choice Awards
Total grossings;
$290,701,374
Best Performance by a Leading Role and Best Motion Picture Academy Awards
Best Documentary Boston Society of Films Critics Awards
Best Performance in a Motion Picture Golden Globes
Best Motion Picture Edgar Allan Poe Awards
Best Performance by a Leading Role and Best Film BAFTA Awards Movie of the Year AFI Awards Outstanding Actor ALMA Awards Best Actor Austin Film Critics Association Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Screenplay Boston Society of Film Critics Award Best Actor and Best Picture Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards
Best Documentary Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards Best Documentary National Board of Review International Documentary Association National Film Preservation Award, USA Best Documentary National Society of Film Critics Awards Best Documentary New York Film Critics Circle Awards
Best Actor and Most Promising Film Maker Chicago Film Critics Association Awards Best Actor, Best Movie, Best Supporting Actress Chlotrudis Awards Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress Dallas Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards
$49,233,161 $1,209,846
Andy Warhol Electric Chair 1964
That’s one person released for every ten that have been executed. In every other part of our lives, a failure rate this high would be worrying.
one fo
or ten
DATE EXONERATED
YEARS WRONGLY IMPRISONED
DATE CONVICTED
PRISONER
David Keaton 1971 Samuel A. Poole 1973 Wilbert Lee 1963 Freddie Pitts 1963 James Creamer 1973 Christopher Spicer 1973 Thomas Gladish 1974 Richard Greer 1974 Ronald Keine 1974 Clarence Smith 1974 Delbert Tibbs 1974 Earl Charles 1975 Jonathan Treadway1975 Gary Beeman 1976 Jerry Banks 1975 Larry Hicks 1978 Charles Giddens 1978 Michael Linder 1979 Johnny Ross 1975 Ernest Graham 1976 Annibal Jaramillo 1981 Lawyer Johnson 1971 Larry Fisher 1984 Anthony Brown 1983 Neil Ferber 1982 Clifford Bowen 1981 Joseph Brown 1974 Perry Cobb 1979 Darby (Jesse) Tillis 1979 Vernon McManus 1977 Anthony Ray Peek 1978 Juan Ramos 1983 Robert Wallace 1980 Richard Neal Jones 1983 Willie Brown 1983 Larry Troy 1983
1973 1974 1975 1975 1975 1975 1976 1976 1976 1976 1977 1978 1978 1979 1980 1980 1981 1981 1981 1981 1982 1982 1985 1986 1986 1986 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 1988 1988
2 1 12 12 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 5 2 3 2 6 5 1 11 1 3 4 5 13 8 8 10 9 4 7 4 5 5
Randall Adams 1977 1989 Robert Cox 1988 1989 James Richardson 1968 1989 Clarence Brandley 1981 1990 John C. Skelton 1983 1990 Dale Johnston 1984 1990 Jimmy Lee Mathers 1987 1990 Gary Nelson 1980 1991 Bradley P. Scott 1988 1991 Charles Smith 1983 1991 Jay C. Smith 1986 1992 Kirk Bloodsworth 1984 1993 Federico M. Macias 1984 1993 Walter McMillian 1988 1993 Gregory R. Wilhoit 1987 1993 James Robison 1977 1993 Muneer Deeb 1985 1993 Andrew Golden 1991 1994 Adolph Munson 1985 1995 Robert Charles Cruz 1981 1995 Rolando Cruz 1985 1995 Alejandro Hernandez 1985 1995 Sabrina Butler 1990 1995 Joseph Burrows 1989 1996 Verneal Jimerson 1985 1996 Dennis Williams 1979 1996 Roberto Miranda 1982 1996 Gary Gauger 1993 1996 Troy Lee Jones 1982 1996 Carl Lawson 1990 1996 David Wayne Grannis 1991 1996 Ricardo Guerra 1982 1997 Benjamin Harris 1985 1997 Robert Ha 1991 1997 Chris McCrimmon 1993 1997 Randal Padgett 1992 1997
12 1 21 9 7 6 3 11 3 8 6 9 9 5 6 16 8 3 10 14 10 10 5 7 11 17 14 3 14 6 5 15 12 6 4 5
* - died prior to exoneration
Robert Lee Miller, Jr. 1988 Curtis Kyles 1984 Shareef Cousin 1996 Anthony Porter 1983 Steven Smith 1985 Ronald Williamson 1988 Ronald Jones 1989 Clarence Dexter, Jr. 1991 Warren Manning 1989 Alfred Rivera 1997 Steve Manning 1993 Eric Clemmons 1987 Joseph Nahume Green 1993 Earl Washington 1984 William Nieves 1994 Frank Lee Smith* 1986 Michael Graham 1987 Albert Burrell 1987 Oscar Lee Morris 1983 Peter Limone 1968 Gary Drinkard 1995 Joaquin Jose Martinez 1997 Jeremy Sheets 1997 Charles Fain 1983 Juan Roberto Melendez 1984 Ray Krone 1992 Thomas Kimbell, Jr. 1998 Larry Osborne 1999 Aaron Patterson 1986 Madison Hobley 1987 Leroy Orange 1984 Stanley Howard 1987 Rudolph Holton 1986 Lemuel Prion 1999 Wesley Quick 1997 John Thompson 1985
1998 10 1998 14 1999 3 1999 16 1999 14 1999 11 1999 10 1999 8 1999 10 1999 2 2000 7 2000 13 2000 7 2000 16 2000 6 2000 14 2000 13 2000 13 2000 17 2001 33 2001 6 2001 4 2001 4 2001 18 2002 18 2002 10 2002 4 2002 3 2003 17 2003 16 2003 19 2003 16 2003 16 2003 4 2003 6 2003 18
Timothy Howard 1976 Gary Lamar James 1976 Joseph Amrine 1986 Nicholas Yarris 1982 Alan Gell 1998 Gordon Steidl 1987 Laurence Adams 1974 Dan L. Bright 1996 Ryan Matthews 1999 Ernest Ray Willis 1987 Derrick Jamison 1985 Harold Wilson 1989 John Ballard 2003 Curtis McCarty 1986 Michael McCormick 1987 Jonathon Hoffman 1995 Kennedy Brewer 1995 Glen Chapman 1994 Levon Jones 1993 Michael Blair 1994 Nathson Fields 1986 Paul House 1986 Daniel Wade Moore 2002 Ronald Kitchen 1988 Herman Lindsey 2006 Michael Toney 1999 Yancy Douglas 1995 Paris Powell 1997 Robert Springsteen 2001 Anthony Graves 1994 Gussie Vann 1994 Joe D’Ambrosio 1989 Damon Thibodeaux 1997 Seth Penalver 1999 Reginald Griffin 1983 Glenn Ford 1984
2003 26 2003 26 2003 17 2003 21 2004 6 2004 17 2004 30 2004 8 2004 5 2004 17 2005 20 2005 16 2006 3 2007 21 2007 20 2007 12 2008 13 2008 14 2008 15 2008 14 2009 23 2009 23 2009 7 2009 21 2009 3 2009 10 2009 14 2009 12 2009 8 2010 16 2011 17 2012 23 2012 15 2012 13 2013 30 2014 30
“ They’re Russian with our John Thompson, exonerated after 14 years on death row
playing Roulette r lives�
False convictions occur for a number of reasons:
Victims identify the wrong person as the culprit Prosecutors withhold exculpatory evidence from the accused
False or misleading forensic evidence points to the wrong person
Witnesses perjure themselves
Defendants receive inadequate legal representation
External influences
The total years 873 innocent people spent in prison for crimes they did not commit.
10,0
000
COMPENSATION FOR WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS
Timothy Cole was convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison, where he died in 1999 unaware that another man had confessed to the rape he was convicted of and that his confessions had been ignored. Posthumous DNA testing by the Innocence project cleared Cole, and he was granted a full pardon on March 1, 2010. Cole’s case prompted the state to enact legislation in his name to increase the wrongful imprisonment compensation to $80,000 for each year of confinement. It was a big step; Texas is one of only 27 states that has such a law. To date, Texas has paid 87 exonerees a total of more than $58 million.
James Curtis Giles was sentenced to 30 years for the gang rape of a pregnant 18-year-old woman in Dallas in 1983. He was paroled 10 years later and placed on probation for 20 years, during which he had to register as a sex offender. In 2007, post-conviction DNA testing cleared him. Giles received nearly $1.2 million in compensation from the state, but “A billion dollars can’t bring those 120 months back that I’ve been in prison,” said Giles after his exoneration. “Every day I got up knowing I had to register as a sex offender once a year, knowing that a sex offender was the scum of the earth. They watch you, look at you, even if you didn’t do it.”
Others, like Joyce Ann Brown of Dallas, haven’t received a dime. Brown, wrongfully convicted of the robbery and murder of a fur store owner, served nine years of a life sentence before being freed.
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception, regardless of the nature or circumstances of the crime; guilt, innocence or other characteristics of the individual; or the method used by the state to carry out the execution.
"The right to life precedes everything. The primary aspect of human rights is the right to life." Shakib Qortbawi, former Minister of Justice of Lebanon, 11 October 2013