INDEX
Document(s)
The lethal injection quandary: how medicine has dismantled the death penalty
By Deborah W. Denno, on 1 January 2007
2007
Article
United States
More details See the document
On February 20, 2006, Michael Morales was hours away from execution in California when two anesthesiologists declined to participate in his lethal injection procedure, thereby halting all state executions. The events brought to the surface the long-running schism between law and medicine, raising the question of whether any beneficial connection between the professions ever existed in the execution context. History shows it seldom did. Decades of botched executions prove it. This Article examines how states ended up with such constitutionally vulnerable lethal injection procedures, suggesting that physician participation in executions, though looked upon with disdain, is more prevalent— and perhaps more necessary —than many would like to believe. The Article also reports the results of this author’s unique nationwide study of lethal injection protocols and medical participation. The study demonstrates that states have continued to produce grossly inadequate protocols that severely restrict sufficient understanding of how executions are performed and heighten the likelihood of unconstitutionality. The analysis emphasizes in particular the utter lack of medical or scientific testing of lethal injection despite the early and continuous involvement of doctors but ongoing detachment of medical societies. Lastly, the Article discusses the legal developments that led up to the current rush of lethal injection lawsuits as well as the strong and rapid reverberations that followed, particularly with respect to medical involvement. This Article concludes with two recommendations. First, much like what occurred in this country when the first state switched to electrocution, there should be a nationwide study of proper lethal injection protocols. An independent commission consisting of a diverse group of qualified individuals, including medical personnel, should conduct a thorough assessment of lethal injection, especially the extent of physician participation. Second, this Article recommends that states take their execution procedures out of hiding. Such visibility would increase public scrutiny, thereby enhancing the likelihood of constitutional executions. By clarifying the standards used for determining what is constitutional in Baze v. Rees, the U.S. Supreme Court can then provide the kind of Eighth Amendment guidance states need to conduct humane lethal injections.
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Methods of Execution, Lethal Injection,
Document(s)
Crime and Justice. Abolishing the Death Penalty
By IPS, on 1 January 2007
Book
More details See the document
The IPS ‘Death Penalty Abolition Project’, supported bythe European Union, has recorded the voices of many of those who have played a key role in the recently fast-moving journey towards a death-penalty-free world. In doing so, IPS has been guided by the purposes and principles contained in the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, theInternational Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.Collected here are some 100 reports from dozens ofcountries and every continent. The voices of those who have spoken out here – many hundreds in number – include activists,academics, lawyers and, of course, those waiting for that dreaded last knock on their cell door.
- Document type Book
- Themes list Moratorium , Trend Towards Abolition, Death Penalty,
Document(s)
How the European Union Works: Your guide to the EU institutions
By European Union, on 1 January 2007
Working with...
fresMore details See the document
The European Union (EU) is a family of democratic European countries working together to improve life for their citizens and to build a better world. The following chapters describe the Treaties, the EU institutions and the other bodies and agencies, explaining what each entity does and how they interact.
- Document type Working with...
- Themes list Networks,
- Available languages Comment fonctionne l'Union européenneEl Funcionamiento de la Unión Europea: Guía del Ciudadano sobre las Instituciones de la UE
Document(s)
Digital Security and Privacy for Human Rights Defenders
By Frontline, on 1 January 2007
Working with...
enesMore details See the document
What do we do when things go wrong? When our computers break down and annihilate years of hard work? When our emails do not reach the addressees or when we cannot access a website? How do we react to a news story of a virus damaging computers around the world, or to an email purportedly from a friend, asking to open the attached file? Uninformed decisions lead to bad choices, and blind reliance on technology often results in costly mistakes. This book is not aimed at a computer wizard. Its purposes are educating ordinary computer users and providing them with solutions to problems of privacy and security in a modern digital environment.
- Document type Working with...
- Themes list Networks,
- Available languages Viêt Namese : Những biến chuyển về mặt Pháp Lý về sự riêng tư trên Internet và quyền tự do ngôn luận ảnh hưởng đến công việc và sự an toàn của những nhà Đấu Tranh Nhân Quyền toàn cầu.Seguridad y Provicidad Digital para los Defendores de los Derechos Humanos
Document(s)
Write a Letter to the Editor
By National Coalition Against the Death Penalty / Wisconsin Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 1 January 2007
Working with...
More details See the document
Writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper, or submitting a story to a local blog, is a great way to fight the continued use of the death penalty. This site gives helpful tips on how to write such a letter.
- Document type Working with...
- Themes list Networks,
Document(s)
Leaflet
By California Crime Victims for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, on 1 January 2007
Working with...
More details See the document
California Crime Victims for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (CCV) is made up of families, friends, and loved ones of murder victims who support alternatives to the death penalty.
- Document type Working with...
- Themes list Networks,
Document(s)
A Guide to Sentencing in Capital Cases
By The Death Penalty Project, on 1 January 2007
Working with...
More details See the document
Recent years have seen a number of ground-breaking judicial decisions on the mandatory death penalty in various Caribbean and African jurisdictions. In analysing these developments, this manual addresses the key issues that arise in the sentencing and resentencing of offenders following the abolition of the mandatory death penalty for particular crimes. It deals with the general test to be applied when deciding whether an offender should be sentenced to a discretionary death penalty. It also addresses the aggravating and, in particular, mitigating considerations relevant to the sentencing exercise and procedural issues that arise as a result of the discretion now vested in the courts to impose an appropriate sentence in each case.
- Document type Working with...
- Themes list Networks,
Document(s)
Executing the Insane: The Story of Scott Panetti
By The Texas Defender Service / Google videos, on 1 January 2007
Legal Representation
More details See the document
Scott Panetti was accused of killing his parents in law and convicted. Scott suffered from severe mental illness for many years, Schizophrenia. He dismissed his legal counsel and represented himself at trial wearing a cow boy suit and asking irrelavent questions. This video tells the story of Scott Panetti’s case and questions whether he was mentally stable to attend trial and represent himself.
- Document type Legal Representation
- Themes list Networks,
Document(s)
World Day Against the Death Penalty Report 2007
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 1 January 2007
Campaigning
frMore details Download [ pdf - 2594 Ko ]
World Coalition Report: No to the Death Penalty! The World decides 10 October 2007 World Day against the Death Penalty. The actions of the world coaltion and their iniatives during the World Day 2007 campaign can be found in this report.
- Document type Campaigning
- Themes list Networks,
- Available languages Rapport de la Journée Mondiale Contre la Peine de Mort 2007
Document(s)
Step by Step : Journey of Hope
By Journey of Hope / YouTube, on 1 January 2007
Arguments against the death penalty
More details See the document
This is a video following the Journey of Hope in Texas, a group lobbying for abolition in Texas.They tour Texas giving talks on the death penalty and they promote a message of love and not retribution. This video includes testimonies from murder victim families and exonerees.
- Document type Arguments against the death penalty
- Themes list Networks,