News

Appeals court rejects DOJ request to resume executions

Submitted by OADPEditor on Tue, 12/03/2019 - 5:05pm

12/2/2019 A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., on Monday denied the Justice Department's efforts to lift a temporary halt on four federal executions.

The department had appealed a trial judge's ruling last month that ordered a stay of the executions while a separate legal challenge to the Trump administration's new lethal injection protocol plays out.

The longest running of the four lawsuits was filed 16 years ago, and the cases went dormant during the Obama administration amid a shortage of lethal injection drugs.

Few Pending Cases Meet Oregon's Higher Bar For Death Penalty

Submitted by OADPEditor on Fri, 10/11/2019 - 7:53pm

Oct. 2, 2019 5:12 p.m. | Portland, Ore. For a state that hasn’t seen an execution in more than two decades, the death penalty has cast an enormous shadow in Oregon this year.

Now, the potential for any future executions has become much more limited, even in pending cases that were eligible for the death penalty when they were charged, an analysis by OPB has found.

Candidate for Multnomah County DA pledges to never seek the death penalty if elected

Submitted by OADPEditor on Fri, 10/11/2019 - 7:31pm

“When the death penalty is on the table, the number of motions filed by the state and by the defense is way higher than cases where it’s not on the table,” he said. “The estimates I’ve seen with aggravated murder cases with the death penalty average $800,000 to $1 million — and that doesn’t even take into consideration if the person’s sentenced.”

Oct 01, 2019 A former prosecutor has announced his run for the soon-to-be vacant Multnomah County district attorney seat.

Schmidt is running for Multnomah County District Attorney.

Calling Oregon death penalty ‘costly and immoral,’ governor signs bill limiting its use

Submitted by OADPEditor on Fri, 08/02/2019 - 5:44am

Gov. Kate Brown on Thursday signed a bill that represents the first major legislative restriction to Oregon’s death penalty since 1984, when voters amended the constitution to include capital punishment.

“Our state’s criminal justice system continues to impose death sentences, and send people to death row, even as we know that no one has been executed here in a generation,” said Brown, according to prepared remarks released by her office.

Gazette Times: Editorial: Legislature goes almost all the way on death penalty

Submitted by OADPEditor on Thu, 07/04/2019 - 11:51pm

Gazette Times: Editorial: Legislature goes almost all the way on death penalty

Jul 3, 2019 It was probably inevitable, considering the dramatic way that the last couple of weeks of the legislative session played out. With so much focus on the Republican senators' walkout and the death of the cap-and-trade bill, a number of relatively high-profile measures were passed that normally would have earned more attention.

Oregon Senate passes SB 1013

Submitted by OADPEditor on Tue, 05/21/2019 - 7:30pm
The Oregon Senate passed Senate Bill 1013 this mornig. It removes future dangerousness as factor for jury to determine when deciding on sentence of death,  The vote was 1809. See this measure in OLIS  https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2019R1/Measures/Overview/SB1013?pubDate=2019-05-21-11-39 The bill now goes to the Oregon House, which has scheduled a first reading for Tomorrow May 21st.

Oregon Senate to Vote on SB 1013 Today

Submitted by OADPEditor on Tue, 05/21/2019 - 5:43pm

Today, Tuesday May 21, at 11:00 AM the Oregon Senate will read, debate and vote on the OADP supported bill to "reduce the use" of the death penalty, with Senate Bill 1013.

If you can, please alert your senator to let them know you support SB 1013 to reduce the use of the death penalty as a step towards repeal. 

Oregon death row inmate’s conviction overturned by Appeals Court

Submitted by OADPEditor on Fri, 05/03/2019 - 4:01am

Posted May 1, 2019

The Oregon Court of Appeals this week overturned the conviction and death penalty sentence of a 54-year-old inmate
accused in the 1998 fatal stabbing of another inmate in a prison recreation yard.

The ruling found that David Lee Cox, who was sentenced to death in 2000, received ineffective counsel.

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.

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