| |
 |
| Death
Penalty: |
YES |
| Prohibit
Execution of the Mentally Retarded: |
YES. However, this state will need to redefine its definition of mental retardation to conform to the recent United States Supreme Court decision Atkins v. Virginia, which held that it is a violation of the United States Constitution to execute persons with an IQ of less than 70. |
| Life
Without Parole: |
YES |
| Minimum
Age to Eligible for the Death Penalty: |
16 (1 juvenile on death row) |
| Number
on Death Row: |
42 |
| Executions
Since 1976: |
24 |
| Race
of Defendants: |
16 white (38%), 1 Latino/a (2%), 25 black (60%), 0 Native American (0%), 0 Asian (0%) |
| Race
of Victims: |
unknown |
| Racial
Make-up of State Population: |
64% white, 25% Hispanic, 5% Native American, 3% black, 2% Asian |
| Innocents
Exonerated: |
NO |
| Columbia
University Study Rate of Error in Capital Cases: |
70% |
| Murder
Rate: |
7.9 per 100,000 (ranked 14th out of 51) |
| Governor: |
Mike Huckabee , (Republican),
|
| Presidential
Vote: |
51% Bush, 46% Gore, 1% Nader |
| Organizations
Endorsing a Moratorium: |
Black Law Student Association, University of Arkansas School of Law (Fayetteville)
Seeking More Light Church School Class (Little Rock)
St. Scholastica Monastery (Fort Smith) |
| Organizations
Working FOR a Moratorium: |
ACLU of Arkansas
904 W. 2nd St. Ste 1
Little Rock, AR 72201
Rita Sklar-contact
501-374-2660--(day)
501-374-2842--(fax)
Arkansas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
Dave Rickard-chair
501-663-6069
|
| Clemency: |
The Governor has the sole authority to grant clemency. However, all clemency application must be referred to the Parole Board for investigation and non-binding recommendation. |
| Who
Decides Sentence: |
Jury |
| Method
of Execution: |
Arkansas authorizes the use of lethal injection for those whose capital offense occurred after 7/4/83. Those who committed an offense before that date may choose between lethal injection or electrocution. |
