Annual report on capital punishment [US DOJ] News
Annual report on capital punishment [US DOJ]

Capital Punishment, 2003, United States Department of Justice, November 2004 [reporting that the number of people sentenced to death in the United States reached a 30-year low in 2003]. Read the full text of the report here [PDF]. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Sandra Day O'Connor confirmed as first female US Supreme Court justice

On September 21, 1981, the US Senate approved the nomination of Sandra Day O’Connor to the US Supreme Court by a vote of 99-0, making her the first female Supreme Court justice. Learn more about Justice O'Connor from Oyez.

Ferdinand Marcos declares martial law in the Philippines

On September 21, 1972, President Ferdinand Marcos signed Proclamation 1081, implementing martial law in the Philippines. Marcos used the proclamation not only to suppress a communist insurgency but to eliminate political opponents as well. He remained in power until he was forced from office and into exile by the People Power Revolution in 1986.