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Cost to keep death penalty merits debate in Oregon: Oregonian Editorial

Submitted by OADPEditor on Wed, 12/07/2016 - 5:41am
Five years ago, former Gov. John Kitzhaber made an announcement that was as bold as it was surprising: His voice shaking with emotion, Kitzhaber declared that he would not allow any executions to take place as long as he was governor.  Learn More

OADP joins the call for commutation of death row.

Submitted by OADPEditor on Wed, 12/07/2016 - 4:58am

The mission of Oregonians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (OADP) is to repeal the death penalty in Oregon as an essential step toward a more cost-effective, Humane and restorative response to violent crime and thus toward safer, more peaceful and just communities.
OADP opposes the execution of any individual. To that end, OADP urges Governor Brown to exercise her clemency powers in the best interest of all Oregonians and commute all current death sentences.
OADP Board of Directors
PO Box 2765 Salem, OR 97308

Sentenced to Death For Life: Part II

Submitted by OADP on Mon, 11/14/2016 - 3:09am
Paul Demuniz

Oregon’s Costly and Penologically Ineffective Death Penalty Law
The second essay by Paul J. De Muniz and Lee N. Gilgan in this article series.
If you missed the first article you can read it here.

NY Times: What I Learned From Executing Two Men

Submitted by OADPEditor on Mon, 09/19/2016 - 3:23am
On 9/15/2016, Frank Thompson, the retired Superintendent of the Oregon State Prison and OADP board member, who oversaw the last executions in Oregon, wrote the following op-ed in the NY Times:   http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/18/opinion/sunday/what-i-learned-from-exe... Frank, a fellow member of the board for Oregonians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (OADP), has testified ha throughout the country supporting the abolition of the death penalty.  

Jack Sullivan Jr., Executive Director of MVFR, Keynote Speaker at OADP Annual Meeting June 22nd

Submitted by OADPEditor on Mon, 05/09/2016 - 3:01pm

Jack Sullivan Jr., Executive Director of Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation (MVFR)) will be the be the keynote Speaker at OADP Annual Meeting at The Madeleine Parish Hall in Portland on June 22nd. Jack Sullivan, Jr., is a native of Cleveland, OH. He is a racial justice activist, an ordained minister, and, of course, an advocate for the abolishment of the death penalty.

DPIC Releases Year End Report: Historic Declines in Use of Death Penalty in 2015

Submitted by OADPEditor on Thu, 12/17/2015 - 1:08pm
December 16, 2015On December 16, DPIC released its annual report on the latest developments in capital punishment, "The Death Penalty in 2015: Year End Report." The death penalty declined by virtually every measure in 2015. 28 people were executed, the fewest since 1991. Death sentences dropped 33% from last year's historic low, with 49 people being sentenced to death this year. There have now been fewer death sentences imposed in the last decade than in the decade before the U.S. Supreme Court declared existing death penalty laws unconstitutional in 1972.

Justice That Works: Taxpayer coalition launches effort to replace California death penalty

Submitted by OADPEditor on Tue, 12/15/2015 - 12:26pm

Signature-gathering begins for initiative to end costly, dysfunctional, ineffective system

SACRAMENTO – Dec. 14, 2015 - Taxpayers for Sentencing Reform, a coalition that includes conservatives, liberals, law enforcement, religious leaders, and victims’ families, announced today that it is collecting signatures for a November 2016 ballot initiative to end the state’s dysfunctional and costly death penalty system.

Ohio suspends all executions until 2017 as lethal injection drug runs out

Submitted by OADPEditor on Sat, 10/24/2015 - 12:05pm
Supplies of sodium thiopental and pentobarbital dry up as other states also forced into moratorium by botched procedures or legal challenges

Monday 19 October 2015 Ohio is putting off executions until at least 2017 as the state struggles to obtain supplies of lethal injection drugs, delaying capital punishment for a full two years, the prisons department has announced.

Ohio has run out of supplies of its previous drugs and has unsuccessfully sought new amounts, including so-far failed attempts to import chemicals from overseas. It is one of several states scrambling to obtain drugs for executions, since European pharmaceutical companies began blocking the use of their products in lethal injections.

Gallup Poll: Support for Death Penalty Declines 2%, Opposition Reaches Highest Level in 43 Years

Submitted by OADPEditor on Sat, 10/24/2015 - 11:52am
Support for the death penalty in the United States dropped by two percentage points over the last year and opposition rose to its highest levels since before the Supreme Court declared existing death penalty statutes unconstitutional in 1972, according to the 2015 annual Gallup Poll on the death penalty. Gallup reports that 61% of Americans say they favor the death penalty, down from 63% last year and near the 40-year low of 60% support recorded in 2013. Support was 19 points below the 80% who told Gallup in 1994 that they supported capital punishment.

Oregonian: Kate Brown's death penalty review slowly moves from back burner

Submitted by OADPEditor on Tue, 09/22/2015 - 5:06am

September 19, 2015 SALEM — Eight days after taking office, Gov. Kate Brown said she would convene a small group of advisers to help her puzzle through one of Oregon's most contentious issues: the death penalty.

Gov. John Kitzhaber stopped executions in Oregon four years ago, citing concerns about injustice as a death row inmate sought to speed his execution. Brown, thrust into office after Kitzhaber quit last February, decided to keep his moratorium while she sought answers.

Now, seven months later, her office acknowledges she's just getting started.

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