New York City Lawyers
Monday, October 31st, 2011Death Penalty Policy in New York State
In 2004 the New York State court of appeals declared the New York State death penalty statute unconstitutional. There are currently no viable or enforcable death penalty laws in the state.
New York State has had a long history with death penalty legislation and enforcement. The latest legislative death penalty turnabout occurred in 1995 when then governor George Pataki signed legislation reinstating the death penalty in New York. Until 1995 executions had been largely been suspended in the state following the U.S. Supreme court decision to overturn all state death penalty statutes in 1972.
The death penalty was in force in New York from 1995 to 2004 when it was declared unconstitutional by the New York State Court of Appeals. After the appeals court overturned Pataki’s legislation, death rows were slowly emptied in New York State. New York currently has no prisoners on death row. All execution equipment was removed from state facilities by an executive order issued by former governor Paterson in 2008.
New York City Lawyers – through the New York Bar Association – have long fought against the death penalty in the state. The Civil Rights committee of the New York Bar issued a statement in 1984 declaring that “…The death penalty has no place in the American criminal justice system”.
The New York Bar Association has published arguing for the abolition of capital punishment. These reports, as well as legal analysis on death penalty issues are available on the web site of the Bar Association.