編按：2007年9月17日，喬瑟夫．霍夫曼 Joseph L. Hoffmann 教授應政大法學院刑事法學研究中心、政大法學院公法研究中心、成功大學法律系、輔大和平研究中心、廢除死刑推動聯盟之邀發表專題演講。演講的主題為「死刑廢除前，我們能做什麼？」。廢死聯盟並且翻譯「麻州州長死刑諮詢委員會的最終報告」供大家參考。（全文下載請見下方）

WASHINGTON

Last fall, the American Law Institute, which created the intellectual framework for the modern capital justice system almost 50 years ago, pronounced its project a failure and walked away from it.

There were other important death penalty developments last year: the number of death sentences continued to fall, Ohio switched to a single chemical for lethal injections and New Mexico repealed its death penalty entirely. But not one of them was as significant as the institute’s move, which represents a tectonic shift in legal theory.

2009-02-14

美聯社亞利桑納州弗羅倫斯14日電

全國年齡最大的死刑犯12日因自然原因去世，享年94歲。亞利桑納州教化廳（Department of Corrections）發言人馬森14日說，納許（Viva Nash）12日死在該州弗羅倫斯的監獄，但不清楚他是死在牢房，還是在監獄的醫療部門。
納許生於1915年，早在1930年代就有犯罪紀錄。他1947年因槍擊康州警察而被判入獄25年，1977年因在鹽湖城槍殺一名男子而被判終身監禁。他在1982年10月在監獄工作時逃脫，一個月後在鳳凰城打死一家硬幣商店的店員，因此被判死罪。但因上訴纏訟，一直未能定讞。

English Version

2009-12-19 KansasCity.com

BY RON SYLVESTER
The Wichita Eagle

Kansas will consider abolishing the death penalty next year as death sentences are declining across the United States.

Fewer people were sentenced to death this year than any other year since 1976, according to a report released Friday by the Death Penalty Information Center.

The U.S. state with the busiest death chamber and one of the largest prison populations is Texas, where public opinion polls show the death penalty is supported by more than 70 percent of the population. A new book by students at a Texas university compiles writings and art work done by condemned prisoners. The book, Upon This Chessboard of Nights and Days, Voices from Texas Death Row, was published by Texas Review Press, on the campus of Sam Houston State University in Huntsville - a city that is the location of one of the state's largest prisons and where executions are carried out. The book provides a rare look into the minds of men who await their moment in the death chamber.