[Deathpenalty] Press Release: GEORGIA CLEARS WAY FOR THE U.S.’S 1,500TH EXECUTION

[Rick Halperin]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 20, 2019


GEORGIA CLEARS WAY FOR THE U.S.’S 1,500TH EXECUTION

ATLANTA -- With the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles denial of clemency for 
death row prisoner
Marion Wilson, Jr., the State of Georgia has cleared the way for his June 20th 
execution. Barring
any unforeseen delays, his execution will become the United States’ 1500th 
execution since
resumption began in 1977.

“This is a horrific milestone in our country’s barbaric practice of killing 
prisoners.  Even with
the death penalty in steady decline throughout the country, it is still 
troubling each time a state
decides to take a life,” said Scott Langley, co-director of Death Penalty 
Action, a national
organization which has been providing resources and leadership to highlight 
pervasive issues of
concern as the count reaches 1500. (See www.DeathPenaltyAction.org/1500th) 
Petition signatures from
around the country and the world are being delivered today to the office of 
Georgia Governor Brian
Kemp.

The pace of executions is only one indicator of the steady decline of capital 
punishment. It took 7
years between the 500th and 1,000th executions. Then it took almost 14 years to 
get to the 1,500th.


While 29 states still have the death penalty on the books, Georgia is on a 
small list of only a
handful of states that are still actively executing prisoners. It has carried 
out 73 of the 1,499
executions to-date making it the sixth-most executing state in modern history. 
Georgia has also
figured prominently in some of the most significant rulings and executions this 
country has seen in
the last 50 years.

1972’s Furman v. Georgia decision ruled that all death penalty laws in the 
United States were
“arbitrary and capricious” and therefore unconstitutional. The 1976 Gregg v. 
Georgia decision upheld
the new laws and allowed the resumption of executions.  The death penalty is no 
less arbitrary
today. Georgia is also the state that carried out the controversial 2011 
execution of Troy Davis, a
man largely believed to have been innocent. A searchable database covering the 
1,499 executions
to-date was made available last week by the Death Penalty Information Center at
www.DeathPenaltyInfo.org (not affiliated with Death Penalty Action).

Since the 1000th execution, which took place in 2005, nine states have ended 
the death penalty by
legislation or court order, including New Hampshire just last month, while 
another four have put a
moratorium in place.

Protestors are planning to vigil around the State of Georgia Thursday night in 
protest of the
execution.  Other solidarity vigils will be taking place around the world, 
including in Washington,
DC, Dallas, Paris and the UK.

At the prison in Jackson where the execution is to be carried out, Death 
Penalty Action Advisory
Board Members Randy Gardner of Utah and SueZann Bosler of Florida will be there 
to add their voices
to the protest against the execution of Mr. Wilson. Randy's brother was 
executed by firing squad in
Utah, and SueZann witnessed her father’s murder and she herself was stabbed and 
left for dead.

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(source: Scott Langley, Abolitionist Action Committee)