With the Death Penalty, There are no Winners

“Justice was served, and nobody wins.”

This is a quote by a mother whose son was murdered in Philadelphia. A woman who did not want the murderer put to death because “there’s too much death in Philadelphia.”

Derrick White became the first person sentenced to death by a Philadelphia jury since April 21, 2010. White does not deny committing the crime, but as the victim’s mother said, nobody wins.

It’s clear that she won’t feel closure when Derrick White is put to death. It’s true that a convicted criminal is off the street, but wouldn’t the same thing be accomplished by sentencing him to life without parole? In addition, because of Pennsylvania’s law that automatically sends White’s case to Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court for appeal, how many more times will a grieving mother be forced to relive a tragedy?

When it comes to the death penalty, there are no winners. There are only losers.

PA: 125 Post-Conviction Death Sentences Overturned!

What would it take for the death penalty to finally be abolished in Pennsylvania or even the entire United States? How long will it be before we realize how arbitrary the system is, and that the act itself is barbaric and senseless? These questions seem unanswerable because the death penalty still remains prevalent in our justice system, but as the number of inmates taken off death row continues to rise, we should feel rejuvenated with hope. Hope that some day our country will be rid of this unjust system.

On March 22, Donnetta Hill and Angel Reyes became the 124^th and 125^th overturned Pennsylvania death sentences in the post-conviction process. Both were resentenced to life without parole, but Hill continues to maintain her innocence.

It is cases such as these that add to the already high amount of evidence against the efficiency and effectiveness of the death penalty. We allow defendants to sit on death row for years, sometimes decades, all the while forcing the family of victims to relive their tragedies. We use money to fund this broken system that could be much more beneficial in other areas, such as improved education systems or cleaning up a city.

The death penalty is and will continue to be a barbaric and broken tool of “justice” in our country. Until it’s abolished, we will be funding a system that has never been proven to be an effective crime deterrent, we run the risk of executing an innocent person and potentially commit the same crime that we sentence people to death for: murder.

Texas DA Calls for Reevaluation of Death Penalty

A district attorney in the state that leads all others in the number of people executed via the death penalty is now seeking a review of the system.

Craig Watkins, who has been serving as the DA of Dallas County since 2006, has garnered a reputation for resolving wrongful convictions using DNA evidence. The county has exonerated 27 inmates since 2001 (22 through DNA evidence), most of which were during Watkins’ tenure.

Now, Watkins wants the state to review the system to make sure they get everything right. In an interview with the Associated Press, Watkins said, “The conversation needs to be had about if we pursue (the death penalty) and when we pursue it, are we pursuing it against someone who actually committed the crime.”

This comes as somewhat of a surprise given Texas is the most active death penalty state. It could, however, be beneficial to all other states that still use the death penalty. If a death penalty titan state such as Texas can reform their system, surely the other states will follow.

Message to Pennsylvania: "It is Well Past Time for the State to Stop its Machinery of Death"

While the amount of criticism surrounding the death penalty in the United States continues to build up, this so called “crime deterrent” still exists as part of our justice system.

An editorial published in The New York Times highlighted some of the issues raised against the death penalty in Pennsylvania. The article titled, “Pennsylvania and the Death Penalty,” mentioned recent reports done by a Philadelphia Judge that found the amount of money paid to court-appointed lawyers is severely inadequate and often leads to ineffective legal counsel.

The article also mentions the case of Derrick White, who was sentenced to death by a Philadelphia jury on February 29, 2012. Derrick White’s case follows the pattern of poor representation found by the RAND study. White’s lawyers did not take the most basic steps for a capital case; such as entering evidence of his background and failure to hire a death penalty expert to prepare for the case.

The death penalty in Pennsylvania and the rest of the United States continues to tarnish our status as a “civilized” nation. In order to transcend beyond barbarism, we must abolish the death penalty now.

MO Runs Risk of Executing Innocent Man

The flawed justice system of the United States is once again at risk of executing another potentially innocent person.

The case involves Reggie Clemons, who was sentenced to death for the 1991 murder of Julie and Robin Kerry. Clemons case represents a checklist of everything that is wrong with the death penalty, including poor legal representation, a “stacked” jury, racial discrimination, police coercion, lack of physical evidence, prosecutorial misconduct and questionable witnesses.

In April 1991, Thomas Cummins was with his two cousins, Julie and Robin at the Chain of Rocks Bridge in St. Louis. While there they countered Clemons, Antonio Richardson, Marlin Gray and Daniel Winfrey. According to reports, the two only spoke briefly before parting ways. Shortly after the two women plunged into the river to their deaths and were followed by Cummins who swam to shore. Cummins later told police that the four youths raped his two cousins, robbed him and forced them to jump into the bridge. After they were convicted, Richardson had his sentence reduced to life in prison and Gray was executed in 2005. Winfrey, who was the only white member of the group, plead to a lesser charge in exchange for his testimony against the other three. Clemons still remains on death row and continues to maintain his innocence.

There is a lot of skepticism surrounding Cummins story. Despite being forced to jump from the bridge, police said his hair was dry and neatly combed. He also sustained no apparent injuries from the fall. Further doubt arose when Cummins failed a lie detector test. Finally, Cummins later admitted the Kerry sisters fell from the bridge after an argument, which was caused by Cummins making a sexual advance on one of them. He was then convicted of the murder, but later after meeting with prosecutor Nels Moss he identified Clemons, Richardson, Gray and Winfrey as the four youths he encountered on the bridge on the night of the murder. The four men were arrested and charges against Cummins were dropped.

Reggie Clemons was sentenced to death on April 2, 1993. On the same day, Thomas Cummins filed a police brutality lawsuit and said his original confession had been beaten out of him. The suit was settled out of court for $150,000. Clemons confessed to raping the two women, but denied any involvement in their deaths. However, he later retracted the statement and said police had beaten his confession out of him. Several witnesses said they saw Clemons with a swollen face after his interrogation, and the Judge who presided over his arraignment ordered Clemons be taken to a hospital. Despite this obvious evidence of police brutality, the confession was admitted at trial and used as evidence.

Clemons defense was far from adequate during the trial. His lawyer was suspended from practicing law after numerous complaints, and his co-council held a full-time job in another state while representing Clemons.

Racial bias was also evident throughout the case. Particularly in the sense that the two murder victims were white, the three convicted men were black and both primary witnesses were white. Also, a Judge ruled that six jurors were improperly dismissed at jury selection and that Clemons death sentence should not stand. However, the ruling was overturned because Clemons’ lawyer failed to properly preserve the claim for federal judicial review.

After the Supreme Court stayed his 2009 execution, a “special master” was assigned to the case to determine whether Clemons’ conviction is reliable and whether he should be put to death. Clemons has a hearing in March 2012, which will determine whether he is eligible for a new trial, whether he is taken off death row or if he remains at risk of being executed.

Based on the evidence, Reggie Clemons did not murder Julie and Robin Kerry in April 1991. His innocence is clear, but it must be made well known to the state of Missouri that executing Clemons would be another unforgivable mistake committed by the justice system of the United States.

To aid Reggie, write Governor Jay Nixon by filling at the form at: http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/siteapps/advocacy/ActionItem.aspx?aid=14230&b=6645049&c=6oJCLQPAJiJUG

Abolishing the Death Penalty in PA Could Save Millions

Common Please Court Judge Benjamin Lerner has recommended that Philadelphia spend an additional $340,00 on capital-case attorneys bringing the total to $540,000 per year. Meanwhile, states such as Illinois that have abolished the death penalty are saving $4.7 million per year since the death penalty was abolished. Based on the figures, which seems like a better option?

A recent study in Philadelphia by Judge Lerner concluded that the “compensation of court appointed capital defense lawyers in Philadelphia is grossly inadequate, both as to the dollar amount of compensation and as to the compensation schedule provided by the present fee system.”

As it is now, capital-defense attorneys in Philadelphia get paid less than any other county in the state. According to Judge Lerner, this low-pay system “unacceptably increases the risk of ineffective assistance of counsel in individual cases.” Because of this, Judge Lerner recommended a $340,000 increase to the $200,000 that was spent in 2010.

But wouldn’t it make more sense to save money yearly rather than spend more?

Illinois, who abolished the death penalty in March 2011, is saving $4.7 million yearly because of cutbacks made at the State Appellate Defender’s office.

While it is important that we make sure each defendant receives a fair trial with adequate defense, abolishing the death penalty in PA is undoubtedly the better option. Not only does it eliminate the risk of executing an innocent person, but it would save money that could be used elsewhere.

Racial Justice Act to be Introduced Next Week

Pennsylvania HB 1996, the Racial Justice Act will be introduced next week. The act recognizes that race has been shown to a factor in many capital cases. In fact, prosecutors in Philadelphia were trained on ways to eliminate racial minorities from juries in death penalty eligible cases. There's even a videotape detailing ways to avoid the appearance of racism in striking potential jurors. Jack McMahon, former Philly prosecutor, even explains why it's important to keep blacks from serving on juries.

HB 1996 isn't a Get Out of Jail Free card by any means. It simply allows an individual sentenced to death the opportunity to bring evidence of racial discrimination in front of a judge. The burden of proof is on the person appealing the sentencing phase of the trial. If the judge finds that race was a factor in that individual being sentenced to death, he or she may commute the sentence of death to a sentence of life in prison without parole. In Pennsylvania, a life sentence really is a life sentence and an individual sentenced to life will die in prison.

HB 1996 will be considered after the legislature comes back in session in March. Now would be a good time to call your PA House Representative and express your support for HB 1996 and request that he or she become a co-sponsor.

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