Capital punishment was widely used during the Middle Ages, especially for crimes against the state and church. ... Since 1973, 102 prisoners have been released from death row in the United States after evidence emerged of their innocence of the crimes for which they were sentenced to death. ... This ruling reflected a day and age when flaws in the death-penalty system were being examined thoroughly. ...
Oklahoma (1982) was the first case the Supreme Court agreed to hear based on the defendant's age. ... The 5-3 decision vacated the defendant's death sentence (at the age of 15, Thompson had participated in the murder of his former brother-in-law). ... The outcome of the decision was that a State's execution of a juvenile who had committed a capital offense prior to age 16 violated Thompson unless the State had a minimum age limit in its death penalty statute. ... - Seventy-three percent committed their crimes at age 17... Most juveniles sentenced to death share varying comb...
We can really only speculate why all the innocent citizens that were wrongfully accused and inappropriately sentenced to death row didn't jump at this free opportunity to prove there innocence. ... As of December 2002 black males between the age of 20 and 39 years old made up one third of all sentenced prisoners in both state and federal prisons. ...
Back in 1959, Steven Truscott, a young boy, aged fourteen, was convicted of murdering and raping a young girl and was set to hang. ... Ever since Truscott got out of prison he has maintained his innocence, but only now has he come out of hiding to share his story. ...
From the Medieval dark ages of Europe to the present day United States, there have been those in favor and those against the death penalty. ... DNA testing has been around for quite a few years now, but only recently has the testing methods improved and used to prove someone's innocence or guilt. ...
