- Death Penalty FOCUS

Alabama SC gives the state the go-ahead to kill with nitrogen gas

November 6, 2023

The Alabama Supreme Court ruled last week that the state attorney general can proceed with his plan to execute Kenneth Eugene Smith with nitrogen gas, CBS News reports. It was a 6-2 decision by the all-Republican court. No other state has ever attempted to kill a person using nitrogen gas, although Oklahoma and Mississippi have also included the method in their execution protocols. Smith, who is one of two men

Death penalty bill for child rapists goes into effect in Florida

October 26, 2023

In Florida, a new law that would allow a person convicted of the rape of a minor to be sentenced to death went into effect earlier this month. The bill, which establishes a minimum sentence of life without parole, was signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis in May. The law defies the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Kennedy v. Louisiana (2008), which found that “the Eighth Amendment categorically rules

While we’re on the subject . . .

October 26, 2023

University of San Francisco School of Law professors Lara Bazelon and Charlie Nelson Keever explained “Why California’s reinvestigation of an infamous quadruple murder case is a sham” in their op-ed in the San Francisco Chronicle last weekend. They argue that a 250-page report by a law firm appointed by California Gov. Newsom to investigate the case of Kevin Cooper, sentenced to death in 1985 for a quadruple murder in San

In brief: October 2023

October 26, 2023

In Alabama, Gov. Kay Ivey scheduled an execution date for Casey McWhorter for a 30-hour window between midnight November 16, and 6 a.m., November 17, the Montgomery Advertiser reports. McWhorter was sentenced to death for the 1993 murder of Edward Lee Williams. He was 18 when he was sentenced to death by a jury in a 10-2 vote. He had four accomplices, including the 15-year-old son of the victim, but

Update on the Kevin Cooper case

October 25, 2023

We wanted to update you on the Kevin Cooper case, which we have written extensively about over the years. Cooper, who has been on California’s death row for 35 years, is asking California Gov. Gavin Newsom to reject the findings of an investigation into his case by the law firm Morrison Foerster that was released in January. Cooper, through his law firm, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, included his request in

Louisiana pardons board denies clemency hearing for first five appeals; Sister Helen sues the board

October 25, 2023

The Louisiana Board of Pardons rejected clemency hearings for the first five people sentenced to death who submitted applications earlier this month. The five men and the only woman on the state’s death row were the first hearings to come before the board since Gov. John Bel Edwards, whose term is up at the end of this year, publicly expressed his opposition to the death penalty in May, nola.com reported.

CDCR releases new solitary confinement policy

October 25, 2023

“Does CDCR have solitary confinement?” is the first question on the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s “restricted housing” webpage. The answer? “No.” That answer would surprise the thousands currently held in solitary confinement (CDCR uses the euphemism “restricted housing’) in California’s prisons and jails. (The United Nations Nelson Mandela Rules define solitary confinement, which it stipulates is torture, as locking a person in a cell with no meaningful human

CA state appeals court upholds Racial Justice Act

October 16, 2023

In a 2-1 ruling, a state appeals court upheld California’s Racial Justice Act earlier this month. The law, which took effect in 2021, prohibits the state from seeking or obtaining a criminal conviction or from imposing a sentence based on race, ethnicity, or national origin. But it was prospective only, excluding judgments rendered before January 1, 2021. The Racial Justice Act for All, which was signed into law by Gov.

On-Demand: A Conversation on “The Torture of Solitary Confinement”

October 12, 2023

As of 2020, 12 states automatically housed death-sentenced people in indefinite solitary confinement, in violation of the UN’s Nelson Mandela Rules. The rules “restrict the use of solitary confinement as a measure of last resort, to be used only in exceptional circumstances.” Watch our thought-provoking and lively discussion on yet another example of how cruel, barbaric, and unjust capital punishment is. Our panelists, including DPF President Mike Farrell, former United

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Alabama SC gives the state the go-ahead to kill with nitrogen gas

Death penalty bill for child rapists goes into effect in Florida

While we’re on the subject . . .

In brief: October 2023

Update on the Kevin Cooper case

Louisiana pardons board denies clemency hearing for first five appeals; Sister Helen sues the board

CDCR releases new solitary confinement policy

CA state appeals court upholds Racial Justice Act

On-Demand: A Conversation on “The Torture of Solitary Confinement”

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