American Psychological Association Calls for Death Penalty Moratorium

The American Psychological Association (APA) , the largest association of psychologists worldwide, recently called for a moratorium on executions.  In passing the resolution, the APA cited the number of wrongly convicted inmates exonerated by DNA testing, inconsistencies in prosecutors' decisions to seek the death penalty, and the role that race plays in death penalty cases. The resolution also noted that two-thirds of all death penalty cases from 1973-1995 were reversed because of error. The APA called upon each jurisdiction in the U.S. to halt executions "until the jurisdiction implements policies and procedures that can be shown . . . to ameliorate the deficiencies" cited in the resolution.  (APA Resolution, 8/26/01)