News

2018 Marked the Fourth Consecutive Year with Fewer than 30 Executions and Less than 50 Death Sentences

Submitted by OADPEditor on Tue, 12/25/2018 - 5:37am
(Washington, D.C.) With 25 executions and 42 death sentences expected this year, the use of the death penalty remained near historic lows in 2018, according to a report released today by the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC). 2018 marked the fourth consecutive year with fewer than 30 executions and 50 death sentences, reflecting a long-term decline of capital punishment across the United States.

Catechism revision adds impetus in death penalty abolition fight

Submitted by OADPEditor on Tue, 12/25/2018 - 5:19am

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Changes in law and public opinion have had their role to play in the quest to end capital punishment in the United States, but Catholic teaching also has played a part, according to Robert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center.

Washington ruling on the death penalty energizes Oregon movement

Submitted by OADPEditor on Mon, 11/12/2018 - 3:08am

Tuesday, November 6, 2018 Oregon’s back and forth

Capital punishment is now legal in Oregon. It has come and gone.

The first execution under the territorial government was in 1851. Capital punishment was made explicitly legal by statute in 1864, and executions have been carried out exclusively at the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem since 1904.

Oregonian: In the crosshairs of conscience: John Kitzhaber's death penalty reckoning

Submitted by OADPEditor on Tue, 05/08/2018 - 5:42am
To cope with his dread, John Kitzhaber opened his leather-bound journal and began to write. It was a little past 9 on the morning of Nov. 22, 2011. Gary Haugen had dropped his appeals. A Marion County judge had signed the murderer's death warrant, leaving Kitzhaber, a former emergency room doctor, to decide Haugen's fate. The 49-year-old would soon die by lethal injection if the governor didn't intervene.  Read More  

DPIC Year End Report: U.S. Sees Second Fewest Death Sentences and Executions in 25 Years

Submitted by OADPEditor on Thu, 12/21/2017 - 6:17pm
Death Penalty Information Center Logo

Public Support for Death Penalty Drops to 45-Year Low as Four More Death-Row Prisoners Exonerated in 2017   

Famous American Lawyer Portrayal Coming to Salem

Submitted by OADPEditor on Wed, 10/11/2017 - 5:01am
Gary Anderson

Clarence Darrow, famous American lawyer, known for his eloquence in defending unpopular clients and in securing reprieves for those condemned to death, will be portraited by renowned actor Gary Anderson, on November 15th at the Salem Library.

Portland Tribune: Kitzhaber: Repeal of death penalty is only one step

Submitted by OADPEditor on Thu, 08/31/2017 - 3:17pm

Monday, August 28, 2017 Former governor urges greater spending on alternatives to alleviate poverty and prevent crime; group launches 'million conversations'
Former Gov. John Kitzhaber is the most prominent voice against Oregon's death penalty, but he says repeal is a step toward a greater goal.

The Conversation

Submitted by OADP on Sat, 04/15/2017 - 11:42am

Three former Oregon State officials discuss their roles in the execution of two inmates, and share their feelings about the execution process and the use of the death penalty.

The Conversation from Now Video on Vimeo.

Stop 8 executions in 10 Days

Submitted by OADPEditor on Mon, 04/10/2017 - 5:25am

Arkansas has scheduled 8 executions to take place in 10 days beginning April 17th. Arkansas hasn't had an execution in 12 years, so why the sudden rush? Simple: their lethal injection drugs are about to expire.

Arkansas has exactly eight doses left of a crucial drug used to perform lethal injections that expire at the end of April. So the governor scheduled eight executions packed into a ten day period — with two executions per day — as if the justice system was a conveyor belt.

Arkansas prepares to execute 8 men in 11 days: Justice, or an ‘assembly line of death’?

Submitted by OADPEditor on Thu, 04/06/2017 - 7:22am
April 3, 2017 Patricia Washington sees a simple calculus: If you take someone’s life, you better be prepared to lose your own. The death penalty is just, she believes — an unsurprising view in this rural town a short drive from the state prison that houses death row. Executions have come up a lot lately in conversations at Washington’s work, a tiny eatery tucked into an Exxon service station off Highway 65.  Learn More

Pages

 

Like Us on Facebook

 

Follow Us on Twitter

 

Follow Us on Google+

 

Watch OADP's Videos

Vimeo