News

The US Supreme Court: “Finality” Can Be More Important Than Innocence Issues

Protecting prisoners’ rights and avoiding executions of innocent people in federal courts is nigh onto impossible. A man is on death row in part because of poor lawyering.  Four federal judges have agreed the man may well be innocent but the Supreme Court couldn’t overturn his conviction or stop the state from executing him because of a Clinton-era law and the Supreme Court … [Read more...] about The US Supreme Court: “Finality” Can Be More Important Than Innocence Issues

The Death Penalty and Its Impact on Justice

When a homicide case is prosecuted as capital, there are ramifications for the justice system. The Fiscal Consequences It is well documented that death penalty cases take longer to make their way through the courts.  The 2014 Kansas Death Penalty Advisory Committee Report to the Judicial Council studied this impact from a cost perspective. Whether the case went to trial … [Read more...] about The Death Penalty and Its Impact on Justice

Death Penalty Abolition: The Necessary Milestone in the American Struggle for Racial Equality, Civil Rights and Criminal Justice Reform

  Please join us for the 2020 KCADP  Annual Meeting and Abolition Conference! November 14, 2020  1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Great speakers:  Bea Swoopes, Mark McCormick, Cheryl Pilate. No charge!  Open to KCADP members and the general public. Click here to view the full flyer. Questions:  Contact us at info@ksabolition.org or by calling … [Read more...] about Death Penalty Abolition: The Necessary Milestone in the American Struggle for Racial Equality, Civil Rights and Criminal Justice Reform

Kansas Reaches 55 Year Milestone: No Executions!

On June 22, Kansas will turn 55.  No it doesn’t mean Kansas can take money out of a retirement plan or get senior citizen discounts.  Rather, we celebrate 55 years without an execution conducted in the name of the people of Kansas! Kansas has long had a conflicted history regarding the death penalty.  That history set a foundation for the fifty five year milestone. A … [Read more...] about Kansas Reaches 55 Year Milestone: No Executions!

Colorado is # 22!

Governor Jared Polis on March 23, 2020, signed the legislation which ended the Colorado death penalty.  They became the twenty-second abolitionist state overall and the tenth to end the death penalty since 2007.   credit:  Death Penalty Information Center   A failed policy Republican Senator Jack Tate used to support the death penalty.  This year he signed on … [Read more...] about Colorado is # 22!

The Death Penalty’s Decline Continues!

Across the United States, the death penalty continues to fall out of favor with Americans in general and with juries. A majority of Americans choose life! Since 1985 the Gallup poll has asked a question about whether the death penalty or life in prison without parole “is the better penalty for murder”.  For the first time ever, a majority of Americans, 60%, chose life in … [Read more...] about The Death Penalty’s Decline Continues!

Kansans Making a Difference

Just 60 days into his tenure as governor of Kansas, John Carlin was forced to confront the death penalty head-on. While he had promised not to oppose its reinstatement during his campaign, he admitted that, like many, he hadn't thought very deeply about the death penalty at that point.  When freshly passed legislation authorizing executions arrived on his desk in early … [Read more...] about Kansans Making a Difference