Fiscally Responsible Criminal Justice

NY Times:

Efforts to repeal the death penalty are part of a broader trend in which states are trying to cut the costs of being tough on crime. Virginia and at least four other states, for example, are considering releasing nonviolent offenders early to reduce costs...

Opponents of repealing capital punishment say such measures are short-sighted and will result in more crime and greater costs to states down the road. At a time when police departments are being scaled down to save money, the role of the death penalty in deterring certain crimes is more important than ever, they say.

All other arguments aside, from a public policy standpoint, the death penalty hasn't been proven to accomplish anything for the money spent on it. That's just as true in Indiana as it is elsewhere in the country. It's time to ask what capital punishment has accomplished that life without parole cannot accomplish for less money.

Texas Judge in Trouble for Shutting Doors on Execution Appeal

NY Times:

The Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct took the highly unusual step Thursday of starting proceedings against the presiding judge of the state’s highest criminal court because, two years ago, she closed her office promptly at 5 p.m. when she knew a death row inmate was about to file an appeal.

ACSBlog adds this useful info:

Just hours after Keller had the courthouse closed at its usual time, Richards was executed. Two days later, the U.S. Supreme Court stayed the execution of a Texas convict for exactly those reasons underpinning Richards’s appeal.

To have a matter of life or death hang in the balance of computer glitches and draconian demands on punctuality is not the mark of a system of justice that anyone should be comfortable with in America. Sadly, in this case, that is exactly what we got.

Sister Helen Prejean of Dead Man Walking to Speak in Indianapolis May 7

On Thursday, May 7, at 12:15 p.m. at the Adams Mark Hotel (2544 Executive Drive) near the Indianapolis Airport the Associated Church Press will host a luncheon and keynote address by noted anti-death-penalty activist:

Sister Helen Prejean, C.S.J.

The author of Dead Man Walking and The Death of Innocents will address “What’s next for the faith-based anti-death-penalty movement? Opportunities and challenges with the new Obama administration.”

The luncheon, which is a part of the annual convention of the Associated Church Press, is open to the public.

Tickets are $30 and can be obtained from the Associated Church Press by e-mailing contactacp@aol.com or calling 407-341-6615.

Look for more information as the event approaches.

National Academy of Sciences: Fix Forensics

NY Times:

The report by the National Academy of Sciences is to be released this month. People who have seen it say it is a sweeping critique of many forensic methods that the police and prosecutors rely on, including fingerprinting, firearms identification and analysis of bite marks, blood spatter, hair and handwriting.

The report says such analyses are often handled by poorly trained technicians who then exaggerate the accuracy of their methods in court. It concludes that Congress should create a federal agency to guarantee the independence of the field, which has been dominated by law enforcement agencies, say forensic professionals, scholars and scientists who have seen review copies of the study.

It's time to get as serious about protecting the innocent as we are about punishing the guilty.

Marion County Could Face Three Capital Cases in '09

From the Indy Star:

A delay Thursday in the Hamilton Avenue slayings case could set the stage for three Marion County capital trials within four months later this year.

The surge would follow seven years without a death-penalty trial in Indiana's largest county, creating a schedule from October to January 2010 so packed that it could strain the Marion Superior Court budget.

Such high-profile cases typically last several weeks and require extra security, staff overtime and hotel rooms for sequestered jurors.

"The Tide Shifts Against the Death Penalty"

Time has this great piece on the continued movement of states and individuals against the use of the death penalty. Indiana fits this trend as well, with executions and capital prosecutions on a continued decline for roughly the past decade.

Even more significantly, where states once hurried to adopt death penalty laws, the pendulum now appears to be swinging in the other direction. In 2007 New Jersey became the first state in 40 years to abolish its death penalty. In that same year repeal bills were narrowly defeated in Montana, Nebraska and New Mexico, all of which are revisiting the issue this year.

HB 1421 - Death penalty moratorium and fair sentecing study

On January 13, Rep. Vernon Smith introduced House Bill 1421 which would establish a commission to examine the death penalty and institute a moratorium on executions during the time of the commission's work.

The bill's progress can be tracked here and the language of the bill can be read here.