Collections : [National Death Penalty Archive]
National Death Penalty Archive
Researchers, writers, activists, and records on capital punishment in the United States.
The National Death Penalty Archive (NDPA) is a partnership between the University at Albany Libraries and the Capital Punishment Research Initiative (CPRI) at the University's School of Criminal Justice. In 1999, researchers at the School of Criminal Justice formally established the CPRI. Its overarching goals were research and education -- initiate capital punishment research activities, facilitate collaboration among researchers, and make findings and information available to legal and criminal justice policymakers, practitioners, and the public. One of the original goals of the CPRI was to establish and maintain a collection of archival materials documenting the important history of capital punishment, and to provide resources for historical scholarship. This growing collection of archival materials is housed in the M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, which is located in the University's state of the art Science Library. Open since 1999, the new archival repository includes climate-controlled storage for more than 25,000 cubic feet. The following collections have been acquired for the NDPA through the collaborative efforts of the CPRI and the University Libraries; work is continuing to build this important link to the history of capital punishment in the United States.
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Alvin Ford Papers, 1965-1995 5.4 cubic ft.
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 Papers, 1965-2007, Undated 18.32 cubic feet
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.
Capital Defender Office Records, 1975-2007, bulk 1995-2007 116.73 cubic ft.
The Capital Defender Office (1995-2008) (CDO) was established as part of New York States 1995 death penalty legislation which took effect on September 1, 1995. Under the new law, the State expanded the crime of first degree murder and introduced two new penalties, death and life in prison without possibility of parole, for those convicted. Working from offices in Albany, New York City, and Rochester, the CDO sought to ensure that defendants being tried by the State, who could not afford representation, receive skilled counsel in capital cases. The CDO closed its Rochester office in 2005, and, as no state death penalty cases remain, the Albany and New York City offices in 2008. This collection consists of news clips (filed by subject), subject files, bound records of appeal in the cases of the People v. Cahill, Harris, LaValle, Mateo, McCoy, and Taylor, notebooks with appellate briefs, New York county court papers arranged by county, government studies, reports and debates on capital punishment, annual reports, and a small number of VHS tapes recording court proceedings. There are defendant case files, some with correspondence, court papers, and news clips and others with just news clips.
An artificial collection of over 150 clemency petitions filed by inmates from across the United States for the lessening of their death sentence.
Card File Index of Executions, Undated 2.8 cubic ft.
Watt Espy kept a series of index cards, grouped mainly by state, that records information about executions on American soil (colonies, states, territories) since the 1600s. Some cards contain lots of information, including name, place of execution, method, and details of the crime. Other cards have very little information aside from the fact that someone was executed. Sometimes there is not even a name—just "two slaves" or "pirate". There are additional categories for federal, military, and indigenous executions. There are two different card sizes; for the 3x5 inch cards, each state, territory, or other main division is identified with a manila tab. Subdivisions are marked with blue, unlined cards and are intended to mirror the arrangement of materials in Series #2 as closely as possible.
Case Files, 1947-2012, Undated 19 cubic ft.
This series contains a file for every execution or sentence of death given to a woman or a juvenile that was known to Victor L. Streib. Some of the case study files are simply photocopies of Watt Espy's research cards, especially in cases where Espy's research is the sum total information available that particular execution. Many of these cards are from before 1976, when the death penalty was re-instated in America. Due to improved record-keeping in the modern era, case files from recent years, especially ones that Streib advised in some capacity, may contain significantly more information than others. Information pertinent to these cases vary greatly by individual depending on the state, the era, as well as media coverage of the case. The research collection is up-to-date as of 2012, so any executions, pardons, or reversals that went forward since that date will remain in the series they were in at the time these papers were acquired by the archives.
Case Files, 1988-2006, Undated 12.55 cubic ft.
The NCADP collection is comprised mainly of case files. Files include newspaper clippings, publicity materials, and correspondence between the NCADP, inmates, lawyers, and family and friends. Some artwork, court transcripts, and death warrants are also present. Each folder represents a death penalty case that the organization was interested in or involved with.
Correctional Association of New York Records, 1844-1988 30.97 cubic ft.
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.
David Baldus Papers, 1965-2011 192.3 cubic ft.
The David C. Baldus Papers document the distinguished legal research career of David C. Baldus, which includes the most sophisticated challenges to capital punishment in the United States since the reinstatement of the Death Penalty in 1976. Included is material from the Georgia Charging & Sentencing Study, which was used as evidence in the McCleskey v. Kemp (1987) decision. Similar studies involving capital sentencing in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the U.S. Military are also detailed, as is Baldus's formal reports to the supreme courts of a number of other states. Also present is material documenting Baldus's long career as the Joseph B. Tye Professor of Law at the University of Iowa Law School. This includes teaching material, presentations, publications, and material documenting faculty service.