October 2 was the fourth annual International Wrongful Conviction Day. Around the world, exonerees, attorneys, and activists spoke out about wrongful convictions, their impact on
Death Penalty Focus is partnering with CharityBuzz to bring you two new charity auctions–your chance to meet Paula Poundstone and Elliott Gould, all while supporting
October 10 is the 15th Annual World Day Against the Death Penalty. This year we are teaming up with All Saints Church in Pasadena, California,
Tomorrow evening, Keith Tharpe is scheduled to be executed in Georgia for the murder of his sister-in-law 27 years ago. If it happens, this will
The man responsible for the worst mass killing in Orange County history was formally sentenced to life in prison without parole today. Scott Dekraai, who
There are a number of free events in Southern California celebrating the movement to exonerate the wrongfully convicted.
The California Supreme Court’s decision last month to uphold Proposition 66, possibly green-lighting the resumption of executions in the state, was not surprising, but it
In two weeks, Scott Dekraai, who confessed to killing eight people and wounding another in October 2011, in the worst mass killing in Orange County
Mark James Asay was executed in Florida late last month, the first execution in the state since January 2016, when the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling
In what one local television station called “one of the most shocking and drastic shakeups of the district attorney’s office that anyone can recall,” newly-elected Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner fired 33 staff members, including division chiefs, long-time prosecutors, and high-ranking deputies, on Monday. And the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that “as many as a third of the office’s homicide prosecutors were asked to leave.” Krasner, a former public defender, campaigned
In California, the Los Angeles Times reports that Los Angeles County officials “mistakenly destroyed the evidence” that Scott Pinholster says would prove him innocent of the double murder that sent him to death row in 1984. The Times says Pinholster’s attorney has requested a hearing on how this happened, and will also ask for a new trial. According to state law, evidence in a death penalty case cannot be destroyed
In its editorial, “Capital Punishment Deserves a Quick Death,” the New York Times refers to the recent attempted execution of Alva Campbell by the State of Ohio that had to be called off when executioners were unable to find a viable vein to inject the lethal injection cocktail into 69-year-old Campbell. “The pathetic scene was a fitting symbol of the state of capital punishment in America in 2017, a vile
“I have hope. And because I have hope I have life.” For Kevin Cooper, who has been on San Quentin’s death row since 1985, it is a hope that survives because of “the number of people I have helping me, who believe in my case, my innocence, and in me.” Those people include Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge William A. Fletcher, who wrote in the New York University Law
“Unchained Artists,” an exhibition featuring some 50 pieces of artwork, poetry, and handcrafted art objects made by men and women incarcerated in the United States, including prisoners on San Quentin’s death row, will open this Monday, January 15, in Marin County, California. The exhibit is a first-time collaboration between ArtReach, which was founded by UK artist Nicola White to provide a platform for prisoners on San Quentin’s death row to
On Monday, January 15, an art exhibit featuring the work of prisoners around the country, including those on San Quentin’s death row, will open in the Bank of Marin lobby in Mill Valley, California. “Unchained Artists” features some 50 pieces of artwork, poetry, and handcrafted art objects. Many of the pieces will be available for purchase. The exhibit is a first-time collaboration between ArtReach, which was founded by UK artist
Public support for the death penalty dropped to its lowest level in 45 years in 2017, and the number of death sentences and executions is the second-lowest in a generation, succeeded only by last year’s record lows. That’s according to the Death Penalty Information Center, which released its annual report this week, highlighting the continuation of the long-term decline of the death penalty in the United States. Eight states carried
Twenty years ago, Lucy Wilke was the prosecutor who sent Jeff Wood to Texas’ death row, even though he never killed anyone. Now, according to the Texas Tribune, Wilke, along with several other state officials, is asking the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to recommend that Wood’s death sentence be reduced to life in prison. “The penalty now appears to be excessive,” the Tribune says Wilke wrote in a
The U.S. Supreme Court will decide soon whether to accept Hidalgo v. Arizona, which not only challenges Arizona’s death penalty statute, but the death penalty nationwide. Lawyers for Abel Hidalgo argue that there are so many aggravating circumstances for which a defendant can be sentenced to death in Arizona, the sentence is unconstitutional based on the conditions the high court laid out in Gregg v. Georgia. There are 14 factors,