Flawed Science, Flawed Morals, Flawed Justice

This weekend, CNN published a story explaining that a Texas state board ruled that arson investigators used "flawed science", resulting in the execution of an innocent man in 2004. In 1991, Cameron Todd Willingham was accused of deliberately starting a fire which killed his three daughters in their Corsicana Texas home. Now, 19 years after Mr. Willingham was first falsely accused, 18 years after Mr. Willingham was sentenced to death, and 6 years after he was executed by the state of Texas, the Texas Forensic Science Commission--among others--has found that this human being was, in fact, determined to be guilty by means of "flawed science". The evidence, reviewed by three different panels of experts, concluded that the fire should not have been ruled by arson. Thus, Mr. Willingham's trial was unfounded and Texas has not only unjustly added another name to the 462 inmates they have executed since 1976, but ended the life of an innocent human being.

That Mr. Willingham's life was ended prematurely by the state of Texas is not only flawed science, but flawed morals, and flawed justice. The death penalty is irreparable; it cannot be undone. If mistakes are made--as they have been in the past, and will certainly continue to be made in the future--it is not something the state can "fix" with money, programs, or studies. A human being's life is gone forever. Mr. Willingham is far from the first innocent man to be executed, however. The cost of murdering an innocent human being is far too high a price to pay for an inefficient, ineffective, and expensive form of punishment/deterrence. The execution of innocent men like Cameron Todd Willingham is a travesty for the state of Texas, the United States, and humanity as a whole. By executing human beings, the United States sacrifices any moral high ground that it may claim in its judicial process, and the fact that every year innocent lives are stolen because of a broken criminal justice system only further underscores the appalling nature of the death penalty, and the pressing need to ban this barbaric form of punishment. The death penalty is permanent. Nothing will bring back Cameron Todd Willingham. However, we can honor the memories of fallen innocent human beings by working to save the lives of the innocent human beings currently on death row, and the countless others who will inevitably be sentenced to death in the future. We must ban the death penalty in Pennsylvania, the United States and the world, forever.

Cameron Todd Willingham's final words:

"The only statement I want to make is that I am an innocent man convicted of a crime I did not commit. I have been prosecuted for 12 years for something I did not do. From God's dust I came and to dust I will return so the Earth will become my throne. I gotta go, Road Dog."

Source

Kevin Keith Appeal

PADP, in conjunction with the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, is asking you to please take action to save the life of a potentially innocent man. Kevin Keith has been on death row since 1994. He was sentenced to death for the murder of Marichell Chatman, her seven-year-old daughter, Marchae, and her aunt, Linda Chatman, in a trail which lasted only three and a half months, and was based on potentially faulty eye-witness identification. Despite overwhelming evidence supporting his innocence, Kevin Keith is scheduled to be executed on September 15, 2010.

However, Mr. Keith's clemency hearing is set for August 11. We urge you to add your name to the clemency petition now, to forward this message to friends and ask them to join you by adding their names as well, and to share this information on Facebook, Twitter, and whatever other networking tools you use.


Please sign the petition, and help save yet another life.

Kevin Keith's website.

HB 1996 Public Hearing

On Monday July 19, 2010, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Judiciary Committee held a public hearing concerning House Bill 1996 (also known as the Racial Justice Act), which amends Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, eliminating the possibility of the use of the capital punishment if "race was a significant factor in a decision to seek or impose the sentence of death". This bill seeks not only to lessen the number of individuals that receive the death penalty, but also to mend the appalling racial disparity on death row.

Among the presenters for the hearing were Rev. Dr. Roger Thomas, co-chair of the Pennsylvania Committee for the Analysis and Reform of Our Criminal System, who offered both a factual and spiritual analysis of the Act; Robert Brett Dunham, Assistant Federal Defender for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, who presented shocking statistics about the racial disparities of death row, both on a state and national level; and Jeremy J. Collins, Director of the North Carolina Coalition for a Moratorium, who offered a spirited testimonial regarding the effectiveness of North Carolina's own Racial Justice Act, which went into effect August 11th of last year.

Read an analysis of the Act from The Independent: here.

What follows is PADP Director, Dave Kenyon's testimony to the House Judiciary Committee regarding Pennsylvania's Racial Justice Act:

July 14, 2010

The Honorable Thomas R. Caltagirone

Chairman, House Judiciary Committee

106 Irvis Office Building

PO Box 202127

Harrisburg, PA 17120-2127

The Honorable Ron Marsico

Chairman, House Judiciary Committee

218 Ryan Office Building

PO Box 202105

Harrisburg, PA 17120-2105

Dear Chairman Caltagirone and Chairman Marsico,

Thank you for the opportunity to submit written testimony for the July 19 House Judiciary Committee hearing on House Bill 1996. This legislation would provide a course of action for defendants facing death sentences in the commonwealth when the imposition or charge of capital punishment was sought in the case on the basis of race. Pennsylvanians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty supports HB 1996, and on behalf of the 12,000 members of PADP, I urge you and the members of the committee to support this legislation.

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, of the 220 inmates on death row, 59%, are black. This ratio is extremely high when considering the population of African Americans in Pennsylvania is slightly less than 11%. Of the 130 black inmates on death row, 71% are from Philadelphia County. While blacks make up 44.8% of the population of Philadelphia County, a staggering 88.5% of the death row inmates from Philadelphia are black. Clearly, there is a disproportionate number of minority convictions for capital cases in Pennsylvania.

The American Bar Association warned of exactly this kind of racial (and geographical) skewing in it Pennsylvania Death Penalty Report. The recommendations resulting from the ABA report suggest the Commonwealth should eliminate racial and geographical bias from its death penalty system. House Bill 1996 would begin to address the need to alleviate a grave injustice that plagues Pennsylvania's judicial system. It will not be a panacea.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court recommended the Commonwealth adopt a Racial Justice Act in its 2003 report Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Imposition of the Death Penalty. Citing the need for legislative action as implied in McCleskey v. Kemp, the report suggests codifying the ability of defendants to use statistical information to argue racial discrimination. By enacting HB 1996 Pennsylvania would join Kentucky and North Carolina in the attempt to enshrine the equal protection rights of the accused.

Both the ABA and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court advocate for a comprehensive data gathering system to track capital cases in the Commonwealth. The need for data to monitor the judicial system is great, particularly to gauge the effect if HB 1996 is passed.

The citizens of Pennsylvania deserve to reside in a society free from racial discrimination. Flagrant use of racial bias in seeking or imposing the death sentence in Pennsylvania erodes the judicial integrity of Pennsylvania and denigrates the concept of equality in the United States. House Bill 1996 can help to reverse the inherent injustice of racial and ethnic bias that is rampant in the system. It is for the aforementioned reasons PADP urges you to support this legislation.

Pennsylvanians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty thanks the House Judiciary Committee for the opportunity to express our position on this matter. Please feel free to contact us with any comments or if any additional information is needed.

Sincerely,

Dave Kenyon

Director, PADP

114 Walnut St.

Suite 3

Harrisburg, PA 17101

(717) 236-4840 phone

(717) 236-4850 fax

dkenyon@padp.org

William C. Holland

While speaking to the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections about inconsistencies in their records, we at PADP learned that on June 27, 2010, William C. Holland--a man who was awaiting execution by the state of Pennsylvania--had died of 'natural causes' at the age of 54. Mr. Holland had been sentenced to death on February 7th, 1986, meaning that he had been on death row for 24 years.

Yet there is no mention of him in area newspaper columns, obituaries, or even the state Department of Corrections. Mr. Holland's name has been all but erased from the records; a simple screen displaying the message 'prisoner not found' is all that results from of a search for his name on the Department of Corrections website. Mr. Holland is far from the first to suffer this fate. Because Pennsylvania has only executed three individuals since its reinstatement, to be sentenced to execution is nearly a guarantee that you will die on death row. However, the economic cost of maintaining prisoners on death row for such a long period of time is significantly higher than a 'life without parole' sentence. Meanwhile, the state legal system remains bogged down with endless case appeals. The Death Penalty Information Center examines the time between sentencing and execution on a national scale here:



(source)


There is no reason to doubt that the number is significantly higher in 2010.

If the death penalty were eliminated, this economic, social, and political cost would not be exacted upon the taxpayers of the state of Pennsylvania without their consent, and those on death row would not have to join the countless others--like William C. Holland--who have died waiting for the state of Pennsylvania to demonstrate its disregard for social justice.

Four More Scars

Governor Ed Rendell has added four more human beings' names to the list of those waiting to be executed by the state of Pennsylvania.

In a press release dated June 25, 2010, Governor Rendell signed the death warrants of James W. VanDivner, 61, of Fayette County; Anthony Fletcher, 54, of Philadelphia; Dennis L. Miller, 47, of Chester County; and Bryan Sean Galvin, 45, of Berks County, increasing the grand total of death row inmates to 220.

The warrants are four more scars of hypocrisy for both the judicial system of Pennsylvania, and the state as a whole. These scars burn deep into our society, and they are not allowed to heal, as our elected officials continue to sacrifice the lives of human beings--and the credibility of our judicial system--for the sake of political gain. The example set by Governor Rendell throughout his eight year administration has been abhorrent. The Governor is responsible for signing the warrants of nearly half (108) of the 220 individuals currently residing on death row. Mr. Rendell could have used these cases as an opportunity to take a stand against capital punishment. He could have refused to send these 108 individuals to their deaths. Instead, Mr. Rendell has sought to end the lives of four more individuals, bog down the legal system even further, and cost the taxpayers of this state money that they cannot afford to spend in these trying economic times.

Furthermore, the statistics of Governor Rendell's death penalty warrants are concerning in the racial disparity of the cases. According to the Pensylvania Department of Corrections, 58 of the 108 death penalty warrants were for black individuals. This means that 53% of the individuals sentenced to death by Governor Rendell were black, in a state which is 85% white, and 11% black. This is a truly alarming statistic, especially coming from a politician whose political resume entails both the District Attorney and Mayor of Philadelphia. In the most populous city in the state, Mr. Rendell could have/should have gained first hand exposure to the terrible inequality in the Pennsylvania Justice System. Mr. Rendell could have used this experience to gain credibility in a fight against capital punishment on both a state and national level. Instead, he has chosen time and again to sacrifice our credibility for the sake of an outdated, ineffective, and hypocritical form of punishment. With these four new death penalty warrants, the Governor is adds more scars of hypocrisy to our state. I wonder how many more it will take for us to no longer recognize ourselves.