Our criminal justice system is fallible. We know it, even though we don't like to admit it. It is fallible despite the best efforts of most within it to do justice. And this fallibility is, at the end of the day, the most compelling, persuasive, and winning argument against a death penalty. Eliot Spitzer
For centuries the death penalty, often accompanied by barbarous refinements, has been trying to hold crime in check; yet crime persists. Why? Because the instincts that are warring in man are not, as the law claims, constant forces in a state of equilibrium. Albert Camus
Capital punishment is the most premeditated of murders. Albert Camus, French philosopher
My objection to the death penalty is based on the idea that this is a democracy, and in a democracy the government is me, and if the government kills somebody then I’m killing somebody. Steve Earle
Imposition of the death penalty is arbitrary and capricious. Decision of who will live and who will die for his crime turns less on the nature of the offense and the incorrigibility of the offender and more on inappropriate and indefensible considerations: the political and personal inclinations of prosecutors; the defendant’s wealth, race and intellect; the race and economic status of the victim; the quality of the defendant’s counsel; and the resources allocated to defense lawyers. Gerald Heaney, former appellate judge
Former Conservative MP Michael Portillo is on a mission to investigate the science of killing. He wants to find a method that is unquestionably humane. And to do so he will delve into one of the darkest areas of science – his aim is to try and understand what it feels like to die by execution. Horizon: How to Kill a Human Being, BBC 2008
Fifty-five countries in the world use execution as the ultimate punishment. But the killing of prisoners has long been the issue of controversy. ibid.
There are many different schools of thought on capital punishment. The Office US s7e1: Nepotism, Michael, NBC 2010
So how did hanging go from being a spectator event to the taboo it is now? 1955 ... The last woman to be hanged in this country – Ruth Ellis. Portillo’s State Secrets 1/10, BBC 2015
Albert Pierrepoint: more than four hundred people. His record being seventeen in a single day. ibid.
‘It is said to be a deterrent. I cannot agree ... I have not prevented a single murder.’ ibid. Albert Pierrepoint
The only things that I can tell you is that every case I have reviewed I have been comfortable with the innocence or guilt of the person that I’ve looked at. I do not believe we’ve put a guilty ... I mean innocent person to death in the state of Texas. George W Bush
I became involved in the manufacture of execution equipment because I was concerned with the deplorable conditions of the hardware that was in most of the states’ prisons. Errol Morris, The Rise and Fall of Fred A Leuchter Jnr, 1999
I sat down on my own time and at my own expense and made a new design and new equipment available to the states utilizing electrocution at a price far lower than they would have to deal with if they hired an engineering firm to redesign a specific item. ibid.
Once the chair broke in half in the state of New York. ibid.
If my belief that there were no gas chambers … makes me a revisionist then so be it. ibid.
‘He came from nowhere and he went back to nowhere.’ ibid.
Many states in America use the death penalty to punish the worst crimes. On average 45 prisoners are executed each year. Over half of those on Death Row were arrested for murder in their teens or twenties. For two of the youngest men on Death Row in Texas execution day has arrived. Life and Death Row s1e1: Execution, BBC 2014
‘In 2002 Richard Cobb and Beunka Adams kidnapped three people from a convenience store … one of their victims wound up dead. Adams was executed in April last year; now Richard Cobb faces death by lethal injection.’ ibid. news report
‘Houston cop killer Anthony Haynes will be executed by lethal injection.’ ibid. news report
‘We received nothing from the US Supreme Court that Anthony Haynes received a stay of execution.’ ibid. legal statement
‘The execution is now in progress; he is sitting there with clenched fists; he’s slowly relaxing at this time.’ Life and Death Row s1e2: Judgment, commentary, BBC 2014
In 2009 22-year-old Guy Heinze was charged with the murders of 8 members of his own family. He’s now on trial for his life in the state of Georgia. ibid.
‘Police say each of them was beaten with a blunt object.’ ibid. news report
‘Suspect says he returned to mobile home and found victims already dead.’ ibid.
‘When we get to the crime scene he’s wearing those shorts; underneath, he was wearing silver and black gym shorts – what was found was the blood of three different people from that house.’ ibid. prosecutor
For some prisoners there is one last hope: a team of law students fighting to save their lives. Life and Death Row s1e3: Crisis Stage
Two crisis appeals: gang member and drive-by killer Robert Garza and Prison guard murderer Robert Pruett. ibid.
‘He was stabbed to death and a make-shift knife was found.’ ibid. news
A few hours before his murder Daniel Nagle had written a disciplinary report on Robert Pruett for breaking prison rules. ibid.
And next to Daniel Nagle’s body they found the ripped pieces of Robert Pruett’s report. ibid.
Ray Yarborough died from multiple stab wounds … Robert had turned 16 by the time the case came to trial; he was sentenced as an adult and given ninety-nine years. ibid.
Corpus Christi 10th March 2009: ‘Lieutenant Stuart Alexander died an immediate death: he was struck and killed by a suspect fleeing in an SUV.’ Life and Death Row s2e1: Execution, news, BBC 2016
At the age of 21 Daniel Lopez was sentenced to death for the murder of Lt Stuart Alexander. He will be executed in five weeks unless he decides to appeal. ibid.
‘He wanted to waive all of the appeals.’ ibid. judge
2nd April 2013 12:33 p.m. ‘We got two murders: 4488 Rex Lake Drive, Akron, Ohio: We’re here doing some remodel work and I just went into the bathroom, and I walked by the bedroom and oh my God, Peg was laying on the ground, Jeff was in the bed, and they’re stabbed to death.’ Life and Death Row s2e2: Punishment, BBC 2016
In 2013 18-year-old Shawn Ford was charged with murdering his girlfriend’s parents. ibid.
‘The sledgehammer – it seemed very barbaric, up close, personal.’ ibid. Juror
‘We therefore unanimously find that the sentence of death should be imposed upon Shawn E Ford junior.’ ibid. jury forms
In 2014, 18-year-old Justin Back was brutally murdered in his own home. 19-year-old friends Austin Myers and Timothy Mosley were charged with his murder. Both faced the death penalty. Each had a different story. Only one could be believed. Life and Death Row s2e3: Truth, captions, BBC 2016
At Justin’s home we decided we were going to cut that carpet out. And that’s what we did. Once we’d cut that carpeting, and were able to pull those layers back, and in the subfloor we were able to see what we knew was blood. ibid. rozzer
Austin’s trial began on 22nd September 2014. If found guilty, he would face the death penalty. ibid.
Tim’s plea agreement meant he avoided a trial. He was given life without parole and was saved from the death penalty. ibid.
Houston, Texas, May 3rd 1993: [TV News]: Last night police say Wille Tyrone Trottie finally carried out his threat. Trottie forced his way into the house armed with a 9 mm handgun. Babara and her brother Titus were shot and killed. Life & Death Row s2e4: Forgiveness
In 1993 Tyrone Trottie shot and killed his common-law wife, Barbara, and her brother, Titus. He was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death. After 21 years on Death Row, Tyrone will be executed in 3 days. ibid.
I’m sitting on death row for nothing more than a series of lies. Life and Death Row s3e1: Love Triangle I, Emilia, BBC 2017
When we first started speaking to Josh he acted as if he had no idea where Heather was. ibid. rozzer
We also learned that Josh had an off and on again relationship with a female named Emilia Carr. ibid.
We had received information that somebody had used the bank card for Heather Strong at a nearby public supermarket. Life and Death Row s3e2: Love Triangle II, rozzer
Josh Fulgram is Heather Strong’s estranged husband. ibid.