New Abolitionist No. 32 -- Massachusetts governor tries to bring back the death penalty

s New Abolitionist No. 32 -- Massachusetts governor tries to bring back the death penalty

The New Abolitionist
June 2004, Issue 32

Justice has waited too long Ryan Matthews should be free

Interview with Monique Matthews "The fight will continue as long as people are on death row"

Will North Carolina win a moratorium?

A new movie about Stanley "Tookie" Williams Making change from death row

The juvenile death penalty: Cruel and unusual punishment

Innocent on Texas death row We demand a new trial for Rodney Reed

Chicago police torture exposed

Torture: As American as apple pie

Highlights of the struggel Reports from chapters around the country

A question for our movement: The "in house" death sentence

Remembering May Molina

Keeping it Real: By pardoned Illinois death row prisoner Stanley Howard Going up top

MA governor tries to bring back the death penalty

The fight to save Steven Oken

Mumia Abu Jamal stuck in legal limbo: "I am still on death row"

Former death row inmate Billy Moore: "I was considered the worst of the worst"

On death row and still fighting

Archive Issues of The New Abolitionist

Massachusetts governor tries to bring back the death penalty
By Mary Rogers

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is bent on bringing the death penalty back to Massachusetts--one of 12 states without it. It has been nearly 60 years since someone was executed in Massachusetts. Attempts to bring back the death penalty have failed in recent years -- most memorably, by a tie vote in 1997.

But Romney wants to give it another try. He created a commission to make recommendations on how to have an "error-free" death penalty. The report says that there should be "no doubt" as to the question of the person’s guilt at the sentencing phase of the trial, and also recommended that scientific evidence be required to support the conviction. Romney plans to introduce his death penalty bill sometime this year.

An examination of just one of the recent wrongful convictions in Massachusetts conclusively proves that there is "no doubt" that Romney’s plan will result in wrongful convictions. Stephen Cowans was convicted of shooting a police officer on the basis of expert testimony that a fingerprint was Cowans’ and an eyewitness account by the injured police officer, who testified that he had "no doubt" that Cowans was the shooter. Six years later, DNA was tested and proved Cowans was not the shooter.

Romney’s proposal recommends that two high-quality criminal defense attorneys be appointed to represent the accused in capital cases. Yet Massachusetts ranks third-lowest in the nation for compensating criminal defense attorneys who represent the poor. Efforts to increase compensation have been countered by a Romney proposal that would in reality cut the pay of lawyers, despite the fact that they have not received a raise for 19 of the last 20 years. Romney’s proposals are expected to be overwhelmingly defeated. Editorials and media reports show strong opposition and virtually no support.

The New Abolitionist - June 2004, Issue 32
Campaign To End The Death Penalty, PO Box 25730, Chicago, IL - www.nodeathpenalty.org