Equal Justice USA Press Release

St. Louis Board of Aldermen Urges Death Penalty Moratorium, Becoming 150th Municipality Nationwide

Resolution comes in wake of increased debate over error-riddled system

Today, the St. Louis Board of Alderman passed a resolution without opposition urging a moratorium on executions in Missouri while a study is conducted to determine if the death penalty is being applied fairly.

St. Louis is the first municipality in Missouri to urge such a halt to executions and the 150 th municipality nationwide. Other cities across the nation urging a moratorium include Philadelphia, PA, Nashville TN, Buffalo, NY, Atlanta GA, and 145 others.

"The St. Louis Board of Alderman joins a growing chorus of voices raising doubts about the death penalty across Missouri and across the country," said Shari Silberstein, Co-Director of the Quixote Center. "From the reopening of Larry Griffin's case last year to the Missouri Supreme Court's ruling that sparked a ban of juvenile executions across the country, Missouri voices have been among the forefront in calling for fairness and justice. It's no surprise that the St. Louis Board of Alderman is now continuing that important tradition."

The Board of Alderman’s resolution comes less than two weeks after a federal judge rejected Missouri’s lethal injection protocols for the second time, placing all executions on hold. U.S. District Judge Fernando Gaitan Jr.’s ruling requires a physician trained in anesthesia participate in the execution process. However in a June 30, 2006 message, American Society of Anesthesiologists President Orin F. Guidry, M.D. advised members that they adhere to AMA guidelines that prevent physician participation in executions.

The inaccuracy of Missouri’s death penalty system gained national attention last year when investigations revealed that the state probably executed an innocent man in 1995. St. Louis Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce reopened the case of Larry Griffin in 2005, marking the first time a prosecutor has reopened a case post-execution in the modern era. Since then, newspaper investigations have uncovered several additional cases where likely innocent men were executed, all in Texas. Larry Griffin’s case was profiled in the Quixote Center’s October 2000 report, “Reasonable Doubts: Is the U.S. Executing Innocent People?” The results of Joyce’s investigation are still pending.

"In my opinion it is long past time that Missouri takes a long and hard look at the documented disparities related to the administration and implementation of the death penalty,” said Alderman Terry Kennedy. “It is clear from all data and studies that the death penalty has not curtailed crime and serves little real function and purpose in the state's justice system."

The Quixote Center is a national organization founded in 1976. The Center's Equal Justice USA program pioneered the national grassroots movement for a moratorium on executions in 1997. Nationwide, over 4,300 national and local groups, businesses, and faith communities have called for a halt to executions, including 150 local governments. (For a complete listing, call 301-699-0042 or see the National Tally at www.ejusa.org).

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