| |
 |
| Death
Penalty: |
YES |
| Prohibit
Execution of the Mentally Retarded: |
NO. However, this state must draft legislation with clear and unambiguous language prohibiting executions of persons with an IQ of less than 70 in order to reflect the recent United States Supreme Court decision Atkins v. Virginia, which held that such executions are unconstitutional. |
| 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: |
28 |
| Race
of Defendants: |
41 white (54%), 35 black (46%) |
| Racial
Make-up of State Population: |
67.2% white, 29.5% black, 2.4% Hispanic, 0.9% Asian, 0.3% Native American (1% Other) |
| 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: |
6.6 per 100,000 (ranked 17th out of 51) |
| Governor: |
Mark Sanford, (Republican),
|
| Presidential
Vote: |
57% Bush, 41%Gore, 1% Nader |
| Organizations
Endorsing a Moratorium: |
Amnesty International, Group 182 (Greenville)
Call to Action South Carolina (Columbia)
Greenville Malcolm X Grassroots Movement (Greenville)
Hopewell United Methodist Church School (Jefferson)
Our Lady of Peace Parrish (N. Augusta)
Poor Clare Nuns (Greenville)
St. Francis Inn, Soup Kitchen
South Carolina Christian Action Council
|
| 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)
[email protected]
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)
[email protected]
David Bruck*
P.O. Box 11744
Columbia, SC 29211
803-765-1044--(day)
803-765-1143--(fax)
[email protected]
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)
[email protected]
|
| 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 |
