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
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
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
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,
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
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
“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
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
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
Scott Panetti, diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia 35 years ago, was convicted of killing his wife’s parents in 1992 and sentenced to death in 1995 in
The murder convictions of two East Contra Costa men were reversed by a Superior Court judge last week, who ruled that the prosecutor and police testimony violated the Racial Justice Act of 2020, the San Jose Mercury News reports. The Racial Justice Act 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,
(Update: Today, just two weeks after Alabama corrections officials botched the execution of Alan Miller, the state wants to try again. According to AL.com, the attorney general confirmed that he has asked the Alabama Supreme Court to set another execution date for Miller.) As reported in last week’s Focus, for the second time in two months, Alabama corrections officials botched an execution on September 22, when they rushed to kill Alan
“Cole is a man who is so debilitated by paranoid schizophrenia and brain damage that he barely speaks or moves, crawls on his cell floor or drags himself into and out of a wheelchair, and cannot care for his most basic hygiene. It should shock our collective conscience” that Oklahoma plans to kill Benjamin Cole on October 20, Catholic Conference of Oklahoma executive director/state coordinator for Oklahoma Conservatives Concerned About
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
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