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
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
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 we have two tasks: abolish the death penalty, and keep it abolished. A Powerful Attack on the Death Penalty The California Supreme Court ruled, by a 6-1 vote, that the death penalty violated the state Constitution, which prohibits “cruel or unusual punishments.” The court said
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 Penalty. And of the 186 men and women who were exonerated after being sentenced to death since 1973 in the U.S., 16 were wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death in Texas, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. So it’s not all that surprising, but
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 expanded, resulting in the transfer of most if not all, of the 694 men and women currently on death row to lower-level security prisons throughout the state. The goal, a spokesperson for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation told the Associated Press, is to
In Alabama, Matthew Reeves was executed January 27, despite having an intellectual disability. Reeves was killed by lethal injection because he failed to choose a new method, nitrogen hypoxia, within the 30-day period required by corrections officials. Reeves’ lawyers had argued that his intellectual disabilities prevented him from understanding the form giving him the option of choosing nitrogen hypoxia over lethal injection. Reeves was sentenced to death for the killing
Alabama executed Matthew Reeves last night despite the fact he had an intellectual disability. His execution was the second state killing yesterday after Oklahoma executed Donald Grant in the morning. State officials killed Reeves after the U.S. Supreme Court lifted a lower court order staying his execution. Reeves was killed by lethal injection because he failed to choose a new method, nitrogen hypoxia, within the 30-day period required by corrections
Oklahoma executed Donald Grant this morning, less than 24 hours after the U.S. Supreme Court denied a stay on Wednesday afternoon. He was killed by lethal injection. Grant was sentenced to death for killing two hotel workers during a robbery in 2001. Although Oklahoma has a history of botched executions, initial reports indicate there were no serious physical problems with Donald Grant’s. AP reporter Sean Murphy said Grant spoke for
“In his Defense,” a documentary on the Kevin Cooper case, is in the works right now, and California filmmaker Kenneth Carlson has released a teaser for it on CarlsonFilms.com Just over seven months ago, California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered an independent investigation of Cooper’s death penalty case. At the time, he explained that,“In cases where the government seeks to impose the ultimate punishment of death, I need to be satisfied
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