| Death
Penalty: |
YES |
| Prohibit
Execution of the Mentally Retarded: |
NO |
| Life
Without Parole: |
YES |
| Minimum
Age to Eligible for the Death Penalty: |
16 (5 juveniles currently on death row) |
| Number
on Death Row: |
76 |
| Executions
Since 1976: |
25 |
| Race
of Defendants: |
40 white (53%), 36 black (47%) |
| Racial
Make-up of State Population: |
66% white, 30% black, 2% Hispanic, 1% Asian |
| Innocents
Exonerated: |
YES (3)—Michael Linder spent 2 years on death row before being released in 1981; Jesse Keith Brown was released in 1989 after six years; and Warren Douglas Manning was released in 1999 after serving 10 years. |
| Columbia
University Study Rate of Error in Capital Cases: |
67% |
| Murder
Rate: |
8.0 per 100,000 (ranked 13th out of 51) |
| Governor: |
Jim Hodges (D). Elected 1998, term expires 2003, (),
|
| |
 |
| Presidential
Vote: |
57% Bush, 41%Gore, 1% Nader |
| Public
Opinion on the Death Penalty: |
see attached |
| Organizations
Endorsing a Moratorium: |
Amnesty International, Group 182
Call to Action South Carolina
Greenville Malcolm X Grassroots Movement
Hopewell United Methodist Church School
Our Lady of Peace Parrish
Poor Clare Nuns
St. Francis Inn, Soup Kitchen
|
| Organizations
Working FOR a Moratorium: |
ACLU of South Carolina
1338 Main Street, Suite 800
Columbia, SC 29201
LaVerne Neal-contact
803-771-6520-(day)
803-254-7374-(fax)
aclusc@aol.com
Amnesty International State Death Penalty Abolition Coordinator
Ron Katz-contact
843-795-3572-(day)
Amnesty International State Death Penalty Abolition Coordinator
Efia Nwangaza-contact
864-242-3039-(phone)
wangaza@aol.com
David Bruck*
P.O. Box 11744
Columbia, SC 29211
803-765-1044--(day)
803-765-1143--(fax)
david@brucklaw.com
www.capdefnet.com
South Carolina Center for Capital Litigation*
P.O. Box 11311
Columbia, SC 29211
Teresa Norris-contact
803-765-0650--(day)
803-765-0705--(fax)
South Carolina Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
6248 Yorkshire Drive
Columbia, SC 29209
Bruce Pearson, Julia Pearson-contacts
803-776-7471--(day, eve)
803-777-9064--(fax)
pearson6248@earthlink.net
|
| Clemency: |
The Governor has the exclusive authority to grant reprieves and to commute death sentences to life imprisonment |
| Who
Decides Sentence: |
Jury |
| Method
of Execution: |
Lethal injection or electrocution |
