Report reveals Tennessee’s appalling execution protocol
January 25, 2023
2022 was the “year of the botched execution,” according to the Death Penalty Information Center. And now, a 166-page report from a law firm commissioned
2022 was the “year of the botched execution,” according to the Death Penalty Information Center. And now, a 166-page report from a law firm commissioned
The California Supreme Court granted review earlier this month on whether people serving life-without-parole sentences for crimes committed when they were between the ages of
California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an Executive Order in May 2021, calling for an investigation into Kevin Cooper’s 1985 death penalty conviction for a quadruple
In Oklahoma, Scott Eizember was killed last week. Eizember was sentenced to death in 2003 for the murders of A.J and Patsy Cantrell. His execution
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is moving ahead with its plan to dismantle its death row in San Quentin State Prison and move
“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
“2022 can be called ‘the year of the botched execution,’” the Death Penalty Information Center stated in its annual report on capital punishment in 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
Missouri killed Kevin Johnson on Tuesday evening. He was sentenced to death for killing Kirkwood police officer Sgt. William McEntee in 2005, a crime he
In Kentucky, a bill prohibiting the execution of people with serious mental illness passed last week. HB 269 adds mental illness to the list of disabilities preventing the state from executing those convicted of capital murder. In Tennessee, officials announced plans to execute five people this year, with the first killing scheduled for next month, the Tennessean reports. Seventy-one-year-old Oscar Franklin Smith’s execution has been set for April 21. He
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 ways, it was an important year in the ever-growing movement to abolish the death penalty, not just here in the U.S. but also around the world. And it’s why our Death Penalty Focus 30th (Virtual) Awards Event honored the people and organizations whose tireless efforts
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 bipartisan majority of legislators in the Texas House asked state officials to halt her execution. Lucio is scheduled to be executed on April 27, despite evidence that she was wrongly convicted for the accidental death of her two-year-old daughter, Mariah, in 2007. In a news
South Carolina plans to execute its prisoners by firing squad, the first time a state has used this method since 2010 when Utah killed Ronnie Lee Gardner. The Department of Corrections this month that the electric chair will be its “primary means of execution,” but will allow prisoners to choose lethal injection or death by a firing squad of three men with rifles,“if those methods are available.” The state renovated
The U.S. Supreme Court earlier this month reimposed the death sentence of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who set off one of the bombs at the 2013 Boston Marathon. The ruling reverses a 2020 federal appeals court decision nullifying the sentence and ordering a new penalty phase trial. The justices’ 6-3 ruling was in response to a Biden administration request to reinstate Tsarnaev’s original sentence, calling Tsarnaev a “terrorist” who caused “carnage at
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 night from prostate cancer at the age of 69. The New Hampshire House Democratic leader, Cushing spent decades promoting legislation to abolish the death penalty, finally succeeding in 2019. The legislature overrode the governor’s veto, and on May 30, 2019, Cushing was responsible for New
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 at the same inevitable conclusion: “Our country’s system of capital punishment is broken. It is time to work together toward systemic changes that will bring about the elimination of the death penalty nationwide.” The statement, released by Fair and Just Prosecution, a network of elected
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 in their way. The Death Penalty Information Center reports that Virginia lawmakers tried and failed to reinstate the death penalty for killing police officers last month. Several legislators in Illinois also recently introduced bills to reinstate it, arguing that “law enforcement is under attack.” However,
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 one person” could have committed the 1983 San Bernardino quadruple murder Cooper was convicted of and sentenced to death for, in 1985. California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered an innocence investigation in the case in May 2021. Moriarty has covered the case since 2000. She hopes
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