Death Penalty: 111 And Counting As New Cases Break...

* Death Penalty Update — 111 And Counting As New Cases Break in
Missouri, Ohio and Pennsylvania

111 And Counting: More Innocent People Walk Off Of Death Row As New
Cases Break In Missouri, Ohio And Pennsylvania

July 28, 2003 - With Monday’s release of Joseph Amrine of Missouri
from prison, at least 111 people now have been freed from death row
due to actual innocence, more evidence that the death penalty is an
egregiously flawed and error-prone public policy, the National
Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty said today.

Amrine was released after having been convicted of a 1986 murder of
a prison guard. Witnesses who testified against him later recanted
and admitted they were seeking reductions in their sentences in
exchange for their false testimony.

Last week, Gary Lamar James of Ohio was released from prison after
new evidence proved he was innocent of the murder of a bank teller,
which occurred in 1976. James and an alleged accomplice, Timothy
Howard, spent some 26 years in prison after they were convicted of
killing a bank guard, who was shot during a robbery. Both men were
sent to death row; however, their sentences were commuted after
Ohio’s existing death penalty statute was ruled unconstitutional.

Howard was released in April and became at least the 109th death row
exonoree; James is No. 110. Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien
acknowledged the two men’s innocence, saying, "We don’t want anybody
in prison serving time for something they didn’t do."

On Monday, it was announced that yet another person soon will gain
his freedom from death row due to actual innocence. Nicholas James
Yarris of Pennsylvania has been on death row since 1983 for the rape
and murder of a 32-year-old Pennsylvania woman. He was proven
innocent by DNA analysis after recent testing showed Yarris’ DNA did
not match physical evidence left on the victim’s clothes and under
her fingernails. When Yarris is released, he will become at least
the 112th exonoree.

"Far too often than we want to admit, we are convicting innocent
people and sentencing them to death," said Steven W. Hawkins, NCADP
executive director. "This is absolutely chilling for three reasons.
First, it is a life-wrecking experience for those who spend decades
on death row for a crime they did not commit. Second, it means we
quite likely are executing innocent people. And third, it means
crimes are going unsolved, which constitutes a continued threat to
public safety."

=====
for more information contact:

National Coalition To Abolish The Death Penalty — www.ncadp.org

David Elliot, NCADP Communications Director
202-543-9577, ext. 16; cell phone: 202-607-7036 delliot@ncadp.org
=====

The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty was founded in
1976 and is the only fully-staffed national organization devoted
specifically to abolishing the death penalty. NCADP is comprised of
more than 100 local, state, national and international affiliates.