The University of Texas School of Law’s Capital
Punishment Center will host a conference on legislative
developments concerning the American death penalty on
April 9–10. “The American Death Penalty
in the Twenty-first Century: the Direction of Legislative
Change and the Prospects for Legislative Abolition” will
bring together lawyers and lawmakers from around the country
to talk about efforts to abolish the death penalty (New
Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Colorado, Kansas) as well
as efforts to expand it (Georgia, Massachusetts, Virginia,
New Hampshire) and reform it (North Carolina, Maryland,
California).
State legislatures have been reevaluating the emotionally
and politically charged issue of capital punishment. While national public opinion
polls show broad support for the death penalty in the abstract, states
like New Mexico and New Jersey have abolished capital punishment outright
within the last three years, and other states have seen similar proposals
closely contested and only narrowly defeated. These new legislative
battles over the death penalty reflect longstanding concerns: the
financial cost of death penalty trials and appeals; the ever-present
risk of wrongful conviction; the enduring stain of racial discrimination;
and more. The symposium will explore this newly active
legislative foment around capital punishment, closely examining
the experience in particular states to see whether any broader
lessons may be drawn with respect to the future of state
legislative efforts to abolish, limit, and reform the death
penalty.
The panels will convene in the Eidman
Courtroom, beginning at 10:15 a.m. on April 9 and at
8:30 a.m. on April 10. The full program is as follows:
Friday, April 9
10:15 a.m.: Welcoming Remarks (Dean Larry Sager, UT School of Law,
Jordan Steiker, Professor, UT School of Law)
10:30 a.m.– noon: National Perspective on Recent
Developments (Shari Silberstein, executive director, Equal
Justice USA; Dick Dieter, executive director, Death Penalty
Information Center; Diann Rust-Tierney, executive director,
National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. Moderator:
Maurie Levin, UT School of Law)
12:15 p.m.– 1:30 p.m.: break
1:30 p.m.– 3:00 p.m.: Abolition Achieved: The Experiences in
New Mexico, New Jersey, and New York (Shari Silberstein, executive
director, Equal Justice USA; Viki Elkey, director, New Mexico Coalition
to Repeal the Death Penalty; Jonathan Gradess, executive director,
New York State Defender’s Association. Moderator:
Jordan Steiker, UT School of Law)
3:15 p.m.– 4:30 p.m.: Study and Reform of the Death
Penalty: Maryland and California (Dick Dieter, executive
director, Death Penalty Information Center; Amy Fusting,
program director, Maryland Citizens Against State Executions;
Gerald Uelmen, dean, Santa Clara School of Law. Moderator:
Jordan Steiker, UT School of Law)
Saturday, April 10
8:30 a.m.– 9:45 a.m.: Reintroduction, Expansion and Administration
of the Death Penalty: Georgia, Virginia, and Massachusetts (Chris
Adams, Law Office of Chris Adams, Atlanta, Georgia; Beth Panilaitis,
executive director, Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty;
Renny Cushing, New Hampshire House of Representatives, executive director,
Murder Victims’ Families for Human Rights. Moderator:
Rob Owen, UT School of Law)
9:45 a.m.– 11:00 a.m.: Abolition Contested: The Experiences
in Colorado, Kansas, and New Hampshire (Michael Radelet, professor,
University of Colorado at Boulder; Donna Schneweis, State Death Penalty
Abolition coordinator, Amnesty International; Renny Cushing, New Hampshire
House of Representatives, executive director, Murder Victims’ Families
for Human Rights. Moderator: Jordan Steiker, UT School of
Law)
11:00 a.m.– 12:15 p.m.: Reform to Redress Race Discrimination: The Experience in North Carolina (Rob Owen, professor, UT School of Law; Ken Rose, senior attorney, Center for Death Penalty Litigation; Larry Womble, state representative, North Carolina. Moderator: Maurie Levin, UT School of Law)
The conference is free and open to the public. Information regarding directions and parking can be found on the Law School’s website.
Contact: Kirston Fortune, UT Law Communications, 512-471-7330, or kfortune@law.utexas.edu