Collections

For over six decades, Eugene G. Wanger created or collected the materials about capital punishment that comprise the Eugene G. Wanger and Marilyn M. Wanger Death Penalty Collection. The collection includes a wide range of materials on the death penalty documenting its history, efforts to abolish or reinstate the practice, its psychological impact, compatibility on religious, moral or ethical grounds, and its operation.

This collections contains legal and administrative materials from the early 19th century from Orange County, New York.

The William Titus Papers contains a wide range of activities generally focusing on Titus' personal businesses including land ownership and his representation of clients before the US War Department's Pension Office. The collection also contains personal correspondence as well as some records from his role as warden of the Auburn Prison.

The Correctional Association of New York Records includes records from the Board of Directors, annual reports, prison visit files, Narcotics Committee files, program and bureau files, project files, subject files, and publications. The only records of the organization available from the nineteenth century are the annual reports, which have been microfilmed and are available in the University Library.

The Henry S. Manley Papers contain materials related to Manley's legal career, research materials related to Native American issues (including material used for Manley's book The Treaty of Fort Stanwix, 1784), and some of his personal papers.

The Leigh Bienen Papers include the records of the New Jersey Proportionality Review Project, the Illinois Capital Punishment Reform Study Commission, and the academic research papers of legal scholar Leigh Bienen. The New Jersey records contain material from New Jersey Public Defender Homicide Study directed by Bienen in the mid-1980s. The collection also includes the records from Bienen's involvement with the New Jersey Proportionality Review Project headed by Special Master David C. Baldus. Also present is material from Leigh Bienen's tenure on the Illinois Capital Punishment Reform Study Commission which resulted in the abolition of the death penalty in that state in 2011. Finally the collection contains Leigh Bienen's scholarly research material during her career teaching at both Princeton University and Northwestern University. Her research focused on proportionality review, the death penalty's monetary costs, and the role of prosecutor discretion.

The collection of papers is about drugs and drug related crimes in the United States. It is written by Carleton P. Simon. Simon is a psychiatrist by profession and is very much interested in crimes. This passion led to his next profession as a criminlogist. His writings focus on crimes and examine the motives behind the crimes. Simons has also written fiction magazines and poems.

The David Von Drehle Papers contain information on the death penalty, primarily in Florida. Von Drehle compiled the materials while researching his 1995 book Among the Lowest of the Dead: Inside Death Row.

Papers of eugenics researcher Arthur Estabrook focus on racial integrity, sterilization of the mentally defective, venereal disease, intelligence, and criminality. Limited material is availible on the Jukes of New York state, the "Tribe of Ishmael" of Indiana, and the Carrie Buck trial.

The Walter A. Friedländer (Friedlander) Papers consist of 45 archival boxes of materials, dating primarily from 1932 to 1984, with the bulk of material comprising Friedländer's voluminous correspondence (30 boxes). The collection also contains biographical materials, manuscripts and publications by Friedländer, as well as course materials and materials pertaining to national and international social welfare conferences, publications by other scholars, and materials collected by Friedländer on topics of interest, particularly social welfare topics.

This collection documents the lifelong activism of Albany, N.Y. resident Vera Michelson, especially her work with the Capital District Coalition Against Apartheid and Racism.

The Henry Ehrmann Papers are focused on Ehrmann's scholarly career as a political scientist and a professor of law and his participation in the program of re-education of German prisoners-of-war in the 1940s. The material also documents Ehrmann's association with other universities and institutions in the United States and Europe. The correspondence from and to the former German prisoners-of-war who met Ehrmann during the reeducation program organized by the War Department include letters - in several cases written by the prisoners' family members as well - almost entirely dating from the period immediately subsequent to the POWs' release and their return to Germany. Therefore, they are a valuable source of information about the living conditions in occupied Germany, the country's political transformation, and the correspondents' adaptation to new circumstances. Letters in the general correspondence subseries are, for the most part, related to Ehrmann's contacts with his fellow scholars and with academic or political institutions. Also included are speeches, lectures, lecture notes, and newspaper articles, 1941–1984. Ehrmann was a professor of political science at the University of Colorado, the University of California at San Diego, and Dartmouth University, and worked on French politics, labor relations, and comparative government.

This collection is predominantly composed of Ernest van den Haag's publications from 1950-2000, including articles in published form, drafts, and related correspondence.

This collection documents the professional and personal life of Eliot H. Lumbard.

The Donald J. Newman Papers document the career of the Professor of Criminal Justice and Dean of the School of Criminal Justice (1977-1984) including correspondence, subject files, adminstrative records, evaluations of other universities and his criminal justice projects.

Hugo A. Bedau (Ph.D., Harvard, 1961) was a commentator, scholar, and activist for the abolition of capital punishment. He was a prominent spokesperson in the abolitionist movement and well-known for his scholarship and writing concerning the death penalty and the challenge to separate logical arguments from moral arguments.

This collection documents the death penalty abolitionist work of Marie McFadden Deans. A smaller amount of personal materials, such as Deans' poetry and writing, also is included.

This collection contains records of the activities of Dr. Alice P. Green from her days as a student of criminal justice at the University at Albany, SUNY, through her career as founder and executive director of the Center for Law and Justice in Albany.

The files of the School of Criminal Justice consist primarily of records kept by Deans Richard Myren 1966-1976, and Donald Newman, 1977-84. They document the organization and formation of the School, particularly during the critical years of development (1963-1969).

The Illinois Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (ICADP) formed in 1976 as the Illinois Coalition Against the Death Penalty by Mary Alice Rankin and other activist groups and organizations to try to prevent passage of capital punishment legislation in Illinois. After the state adopted the death penalty in 1977, ICADP expanded its grassroots legislative, education, and communication activities to try to inform the public about flaws and injustices in the Illinois capital punishment system and promote humane alternatives to the death penalty.

This collection documents the seventeen-year period (1974-1991) concerning the Florida capital punishment case of Alvin Ford. The collection primarily contains the court records and research material of Ford's attorney, Laurin A. Wollan, Jr., as well as other members of the Ford defense team who began work on the case in 1981. The legal records include official court proceedings from the initial trial in 1974, appeals, attempts at clemency, and several cases by Ford against the Florida Department of Corrections. Other legal records include psychological reports, background reports, biographies of Ford, as well as his prison and medical records.

Bill Pelke is a leader in the national death penalty abolition movement. This collection documents Bill Pelke's involvement with Journey of Hope...from Violence to Healing, Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation (MVFR), National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (NCADP), Amnesty International, and other organizations committed to ending capital punishment in the United States.

This collection documents the day-to-day activities of Council 82, the New York State Law Enforcement Officers Union, during its first two decades of existence.

The collection contains materials from three separate national criminal justice task forces all from the National Advisory Committee on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals.

The materials in the Americans for Effective Law Enforcement, New York Chapter collection document the chapter's early activities and establishment.

The Robert Corliss Papers contain reports and other publications pertaining to criminal justice.

The Bill Babbitt Collection documents nearly ten years of legal efforts to spare Manny Babbitt's life from execution, and two decades of advocacy activities to try to abolish the death penalty.

The records of the Institute of Gerontology include materials from the Institute on Aging, the Institute of Gerontology and the Ringel Institute of Gerontology, all of which served the same function within the State University of New York at Albany. Records include materials about program creation, correspondence, day files, grant applications, budgets, publications, research materials and professional development.

Organized in 1974, the Southern Coalition on Jails and Prisons was formed to promote greater awareness of the problems of prisons and corrections, improve communication between the prison population and the outside world, and advocate for alternatives to the death penalty.

Formed in reaction to the Rockefeller Administration's crack-down following the Attica Prison riot, the New York State Coalition For Criminal Justice's primary mission was to reform what it regarded as an excessively harsh criminal justice system in New York.

Since 1976 the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty has been working to educate the public about the failings and inconsistencies of capital punishment in the United States. Founded after the Gregg v. Georgia Supreme Court decision in 1976, the NCADP has emerged as one of the more influential national anti-death penalty organizations. The collection contains the group's internal case files, administrative material, publications, petitions, photographic materials, video tapes, and audio cassettes.

The collection contains photocopied news clippings related to the death penalty, amassed by the New York State Defenders Association.

For more than three decades, Abraham J. Bonowitz has worked to educate the public about human rights problems, in particular the death penalty and the need for alternatives to the death penalty. During this time he served in numerous director, consultant, managerial, and activist roles with leading advocacy and death penalty abolitionist organizations.

This collection contains materials from David Lee Powell's cell on Death Row in Texas at the time of his execution on June 15, 2010.

The New York State Executive Advisory Commission on the Administration of Justice Records is composed of materials retained by Vincent O'Leary, a past president of the State University of New York at Albany and member of the commission. The collection provides insight into the inner workings and public exchanges of the commission members as they discussed and dealt with problems associated with the criminal justice system.

Death penalty abolitionist who worked with many anti-death penalty organizations, capital defense attorneys, representatives of various communities of faith, newspaper editorial boards, victims' rights groups, members of the families of the condemned, and many death row inmates throughout the country.

This collection details records kept by the ACT UP organization committed to ending the AIDS crisis.

This collection documents the day-to-day activities of the Center for Law and Justice in Albany, New York, founded by its Executive Director Dr. Alice P. Green in 1985.

This collection documents investigator Jeffrey Walsh's work on the Frank Lee Smith case. Smith was convicted of rape and murder and served 14 years on Death Row in Florida before dying of cancer. Less than a year after his death he was exonerated.

Records of Steven W. Hawkins's tenure as Executive Director of the National Coalition Against the Death Penalty. The papers include extensive minutes of board meetings, speeches, travel arrangements, fundraising and reception notes, and pamphlets and other papers relating to his attendance at various board and committee meetings with related organizations.

This collection contains material related to the dealth penalty abolitionist work of Judith "Jude" Filler in Texas.

Campus Action was formed in April of 1992 as a multi-cultural, multi-issue organization with a mission to promote activism and support activist organizations on university campuses in New Yorks Capital Region.

The Steven King Ainsworth Papers contain his artwork and writings, including "Heads Up" bulletins written by Ainsworth for prison inmates sentenced to life, life without parole, and their advocates.