While we’re on the subject . . . .
January 9, 2023
“The death penalty is beyond redemption. It is unfair and unfixable, and it turns states into killers in the name of vengeance against killers,” the
“The death penalty is beyond redemption. It is unfair and unfixable, and it turns states into killers in the name of vengeance against killers,” the
After Alabama corrections officials botched their third execution in four months on November 17, Gov. Kay Ivey called a hiatus, saying it wasn’t the fault
In one week, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals denied two petitions filed by Richard Glossip for an evidentiary hearing to consider new evidence of
In a bizarrely-worded statement, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey called for a temporary halt to executions last week. She announced the decision after corrections officials botched
“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 Texas, Tracy Beatty was killed early last month despite valid questions about whether his crime qualified for the death penalty. Beatty was found guilty
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
When the jury in the death penalty trial of Nikolas Cruz, who pled guilty to killing 17 students and teachers and wounding 17 others at
In California, a new report from the U.S. Department of Justice describes how the Orange County District Attorney’s Office and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department
South Carolina’s plan to execute men and women by electrocution or firing squad constitutes cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the state Constitution, a state judge ruled earlier this month. The legislature “ignored advances in scientific research and evolving standards of humanity and decency” when it voted last year to force people to be killed by electric chair or firing squad if they refuse to choose a method of
Last week, the Oklahoma law firm Reed Smith released a third supplemental report on its investigation into the case of Richard Glossip. He was sentenced to death for his alleged role in the 1997 murder of Barry Van Treese, the owner of the Oklahoma motel Glossip managed. The actual killer was Justin Sneed, a motel maintenance worker who admitted to beating Van Treese to death with a baseball bat. But
It appears that for the second time in two months, Alabama corrections officials botched an execution with their rushed attempt to kill Alan Miller last Thursday night. The U.S. Supreme Court had lifted an injunction staying Miller’s execution, giving the execution team about three hours to find a vein for their lethal injection drugs. They failed and were forced to abandon the killing because the death warrant was expiring. What
Thanks so much for taking the time to complete our survey! One thousand of you generously gave your time to help us refine our understanding of our membership, and we are very grateful. We received responses from people in 49 U.S. states, as well as from international supporters, and found that most respondents live in a state that has the death penalty. The majority of those who filled out the
Death Penalty Focus is marking the 20th World Day Against the Death Penalty with a webinar featuring a discussion on “Torture and the Death Penalty” with DPF President Mike Farrell and Professor Juan E. Méndez, former United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture. The discussion will air on Monday, October 10, 2022, at noon Pacific/3 p.m. Eastern and is free of charge. “The most frequent setting where torture and coercion take
“His story, of a young boy victimized by addiction, poverty, violence, the foster care system and later the justice system, profoundly touched me then, and still does today,” Oprah Winfrey said in explaining why she chose Jarvis Jay Masters’ 1997 memoir, That Bird Has My Wings, as her latest selection for Oprah’s Book Club. Masters was first incarcerated at California’s San Quentin Prison in 1981 for armed robbery and was
Alabama may not kill Alan Eugene Miller on Thursday, AL.com reports. A federal judge issued a stay for Miller yesterday after Miller argued he had officially chosen nitrogen hypoxia as his method of execution, a protocol the Alabama Department of Corrections has admitted it is not ready to carry out. The 57-year-old Miller was scheduled to die at 6 p.m. Eastern on Thursday for shooting three men in August 1999
Toforest Johnson, who has been on Alabama’s death row since 1998 for a crime he likely didn’t commit, is asking the state Supreme Court for a new trial. His lawyers asked the Court to review a lower court decision denying Johnson a new trial in a filing last Friday, the Washington Post reports. Johnson was sentenced to death for killing Birmingham deputy sheriff William G. Hardy, who was working as
Conservatives love to blame high violent crime rates on progressives and their criminal justice reform efforts, especially in California, which is why the recently-released state report, “2021 Homicide in California,” from Attorney General Rob Bonta was such an eye-opening counter-narrative. According to the report, among counties with populations of 100,000 or more, the three with the highest murder rates were Kern, Merced, and Tulare. The three with the lowest rates
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