ABA recommends Georgia death penalty moratorium News
ABA recommends Georgia death penalty moratorium

[JURIST] The American Bar Association [official website] has recommended a moratorium on the Georgia death penalty after an ABA panel study [ABA materials] identified numerous flaws in the state criminal justice system that it claimed greatly compromised the fair administration of capital punishment. The Georgia Death Penalty Assessment Report [DOC] noted that Georgia is the only state that does not guarantee lawyers to death row inmates at every stage of their appeals process, that state requirements to prove that a defendant is mentally retarded and therefore ineligible for execution are the toughest in the nation, and that research shows race plays a key role in a defendant's likelihood to receive the death penalty. Earlier this month, New Jersey imposed a temporary moratorium on the death penalty [JURIST report] after the state legislature found alarming flaws in its system [JURIST report]. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Pope Urban II sparks First Crusade

Pope Urban II threw his support behind what would become the First Crusade on November 27, 1095 during the Council of Clairmont. The Pope urged the council's participants to render aid to the Byzantine Empire, which was being attacked by the Seljuks. Pope Urban called for a wide coalition of rich and poor to combat the threat, which eventually resulted in the conquest of much of the Muslim-controlled Levant by the Crusaders and the establishment of the Crusader States. Read Pope Urban's address.  

Catholic Code of Canon Law revised

On November 27, 1983, the revised Code of Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church went into effect. Learn more about the history of Canon Law from Professor Kenneth Pennington of the Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law.

Alfred Nobel creates Nobel Prize in his will

On November 27, 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his will, creating the Nobel Prize. Learn more about the history of the Nobel Prize and the Nobel Commission.