Death Penalty and Extreme Criminal Punishments
"In 2011 the state of Illinois joined 15 other states in abolishing the death penalty. Thirty-four states continue to allow its imposition.
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The state of Georgia executed Troy Davis on September 21, 2011, despite significant doubts about his guilt. Davis, who was sentenced to death for the 1989 murder of off-duty police officer Mark MacPhail, maintained his innocence until the last moment. The prosecution’s case rested almost entirely on testimony from eyewitnesses, but seven of the nine who testified against Davis at his trial recanted (= announced that what they have said was wrong) and said they were no longer sure who shot MacPhail, and another three people said that another man confessed to the crime.
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While the US Supreme Court held in 2010 that youth offenders under age 18 convicted of non-homicide crimes could not be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, about 2,600 youth offenders continue to serve such a sentence for homicide-related crimes."
http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/wr2012.pdf
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