Death Penalty

Death Penalty Issues - Death Penalty

Oregon Supreme Court Upholds Death Penalty Case

Submitted by OADP on Tue, 07/08/2014 - 7:24pm
Oregon's Supreme Court has upheld the death penalty in a case involving the 2004 murder of an African immigrant.

Oregon's Supreme Court has upheld the death penalty in a case involving the 2004 murder of an African immigrant. The ruling comes as capital punishment faces increased scrutiny nationwide after a botched execution by lethal injection in Oklahoma. Oregon's highest court upheld the conviction and death sentence of Michael Washington. The Gresham, Ore. man is on death row for the killing of Mohamed Jabbie, a West African immigrant.
After Michael Washington's 2010 murder conviction, he claimed he wasn't given a fair trial. Among other things, he said Oregon's system of lethal injection violates the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment. The justices turned aside that argument. But it doesn't mean Washington will face execution any time soon. Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber has imposed a moratorium on the death penalty while he's in office.

Jury decides in favor of death penalty for Robert Langley

Submitted by OADP on Tue, 07/08/2014 - 6:51pm

A 12-person jury unanimously ruled in favor of the death penalty Wednesday in the case of a man originally convicted of murder in 1989. Robert Langley, 54, listened as Marion County Circuit Judge Mary James read the jury's response to whether he deserved the death penalty for the torture-murder of Anne Gray. In December 1987, Langley bound and strangled Gray. He buried her body in a muddy hole behind a North Salem house where his aunt once lived. Four months later, Langley used a baseball bat to bludgeon to death Larry Rockenbrant in a garage on state hospital grounds. A prosecutor later told a jury that Langley and Rockenbrant knew each other and that Langley had told him about Gray's murder. Langley then killed Rockenbrant to keep him silent.

Justice

Submitted by OADP on Fri, 05/09/2014 - 10:21am
Justice: Does Killing Convicted Murderers Provide Victims with Justice, Revenge or Retribution?

Many people feel that killing convicted murderers will satisfy their need for justice, revenge or retribution. They feel that certain crimes are so heinous that execution of the criminal is the only reasonable response.

The scales of justice show two cups balanced, symbolizing equal treatment under the law. The administration of the death penalty is anything but fair, balanced and equitable. The death penalty, as used in this country, is biased against the poor and people of color. Fairness is not always practiced when it comes to the death penalty.

Innocence and Mistakes: Have we had mistakes in Oregon?

Submitted by OADP on Fri, 05/09/2014 - 9:58am
Innocence and Mistakes: Have we had mistakes in Oregon?

Innocence and Mistakes:(revised 2/6/13) At the time they were convicted, some more than once, the juries had no reasonable doubt that they were guilty. Some were re-sentenced two or three times before evidence of their innocence was found. As of January 2012 none of those who have been sentenced to death in Oregon since 1984, when the current death penalty law was passed, have yet been found to be innocent. However, we have come perilously close.

Murder Victim Families Against the Death Penalty

Submitted by OADP on Fri, 05/09/2014 - 9:47am
Murder Victim Families Against the Death Penalty
Supporters of the death penalty say that we must provide “closure to the family of murder victims. When a murder occurs, the victim’s family wants “justice done” which some feel will provide closure to their grief, pain and suffering; Families that have suffered the unimaginable pain and sadness of losing a loved one are not uniform in their reactions. Some think that justice will be served and closure can be attained by the execution of the convicted killer. Other family members find this “promise of closure” to be a myth.

Deterrence: Does the Death Penalty Prevent More Murders?

Submitted by OADP on Fri, 05/09/2014 - 9:37am
Deterrence: Does the Death Penalty Prevent More Murders?

Academic and professional researchers and institutions over the years have disagreed on this subject. In 2012, the National Academies National Research Council, the most respected independent research organization in the land, examined three decades of research and concluded that the research is not useful. “The committee concludes that resarch to date on the effect of captial punishment on homicide is not informative about whether capital punishment decreases, increrases or has no effect on homicide rates”.

Is a Death Penalty Needed to Assure Public Safety?

Submitted by OADP on Wed, 05/07/2014 - 2:52am
Death Penalty Facts - Public Safety

Supporters of the death penalty say, “once executed, a violent criminal will never harm anyone again”. While this is true, there is no evidence that a death penalty is superior to the alternative of life without the possibility of parole.

Religion and the Bible

Submitted by OADP on Sat, 05/03/2014 - 9:15pm
OADP Death Penalty Facts - Religion and the Bible

Some individuals who support the death penalty say: The Bible points out that the death penalty is justified....... “an eye for an eye” is often cited as justification for having the death penalty. Since someone took a life, the only fair repayment would be the perpetrator’s life in return.

Oregonians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty’s response:

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