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On Demand: Torture and the Death Penalty: in Recognition of World Day Against the Death Penalty
October 11, 2022
On Monday, October 10, 2022, at noon Pacific/3 p.m. Eastern, in recognition of World Day Against the Death Penalty, DPF presented “A Conversation with Death
Webinar On-Demand: District Attorneys & The Death Penalty
June 16, 2022
On Tuesday, June 14, 2022, at 12 p.m. (Pacific) / 3 p.m. (Eastern), Death Penalty Focus hosted a one-hour webinar on the role district attorneys
2022 Virtual Awards Event (On-Demand)
March 24, 2022
Death Penalty Focus Presents: 30th Awards Event (Virtual) Originally Aired: March 24, 2022 Watch On-Demand Tribute Journal Donate About While 2021 was difficult in many
Melissa Lucio appeals to Texas governor and pardons board for clemency
March 23, 2022
Last week, lawyers for Melissa Lucio submitted a clemency application to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole. And a
New Hampshire’s Abolition Architect Robert “Renny” Cushing Dies
March 8, 2022
The criminal justice community has lost a giant and Death Penalty Focus has lost a dear friend with Robert “Renny” Cushing’s passing. Cushing died Monday
57 prosecutors pledge to work to eliminate the death penalty
March 8, 2022
Fifty-seven elected prosecutors from around the country, holding “varied opinions surrounding the death penalty,” issued a joint statement last month, declaring that they have arrived
The death penalty doesn’t make police or public any safer, DPIC reports
March 1, 2022
Legislators anxious to reinstate the death penalty in their states hope their trump card will be police and public safety issues. But the facts stand
While we’re on the subject . . .
February 21, 2022
CBS News’ “48 Hours” reporter Erin Moriarty updates the Kevin Cooper case in an interview and article, noting that “It’s very difficult to believe that
50 Years Ago, California Abolished the Death Penalty
February 18, 2022
Fifty years ago this month, on February 18, 1972, California abolished the death penalty. But it didn’t stay abolished. The lesson for us is that
The Texas case of Melissa Lucio is a terrible miscarriage of justice
February 16, 2022
Texas has executed at least five men who were very likely innocent, according to a recent report by the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death
California Gov. Gavin Newsom to Close Death Row
February 11, 2022
California’s death row, the largest in the Western Hemisphere, will be dismantled. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced last week that a two-year-old pilot program will be
California man is freed on DNA evidence after 38 years in prison
November 29, 2022
“What has happened to Mr. Hastings is a terrible injustice,” Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón said at a news conference announcing Maurice Hastings’ release
In brief: November 2022
November 29, 2022
In Texas, Tracy Beatty was killed early last month despite valid questions about whether his crime qualified for the death penalty. Beatty was found guilty
Alabama’s cruel and unusual execution protocol results in another botched execution
November 23, 2022
For the second time in two months, Alabama botched an execution. Corrections officials ended their attempt to kill Kenneth Smith on November 17 after trying
While we’re on the subject. . . .
November 15, 2022
The problems with Alabama’s July execution of Joe Nathan James, Jr., during which it took the execution team three hours to kill him because of
Tennessee’s shameful and shocking treatment of Henry Hodges
November 13, 2022
A judge’s order late last month means a man on Tennessee’s death row, who slit his writs before severing his penis in early October, will
The tragic case of Kevin Johnson, set to be killed by Missouri this month
November 7, 2022
Missouri plans to kill Kevin Johnson on November 29 for the killing of Kirkwood police officer Sgt. William McEntee in 2005, a crime he admits
SCOTUS roundup: Andre Thomas, Rodney Reed, Dylann Roof
October 25, 2022
Andre Thomas The Court, in a 6-3 decision, rejected an appeal by Andre Thomas’s lawyers to review his case because it was tainted by racism.
SCOTUS denies cert filed by three California DAs
October 25, 2022
The U.S. Supreme Court shot down an attempt by three California district attorneys to intervene in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the state’s lethal
Oklahoma: execution frenzy continues; more evidence of Glossip innocence
October 25, 2022
Oklahoma killed Benjamin Cole last week, a severely mentally ill man who did not understand the legal proceedings surrounding his execution. The 57-year-old Cole was
