Voices: Dr. Philip Hansten
“It was so frustrating to see these horrible, untrue claims go unconfronted. I felt I could go after them and call them out for what
“It was so frustrating to see these horrible, untrue claims go unconfronted. I felt I could go after them and call them out for what
Amnesty International called on President Biden to make good on his 2020 campaign promise and abolish the federal death penalty, and commute the sentences of
The Death Penalty Information Center marked the 50th anniversary of Furman v. Georgia by releasing a census of death sentences handed down from June 29,
In our June Focus newsletter, we covered how Oklahoma’s attorney general has asked for execution dates for 25 men who have exhausted their appeals, but
(Updated July 4, 2022) On Friday, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals scheduled execution dates for 25 men on death row, including individuals with claims
Fifty years ago this week, the United States took a historic step toward a more fair, humane, less racist criminal justice system. On June 29,
The Oklahoma City law firm that conducted a pro bono independent investigation into the case of Richard Glossip, the second in line of the 25
Three California district attorneys are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that denied their right to intervene
The death penalty is off the table for Cleamon Johnson, an alleged Los Angeles gang leader accused of killing five people during the 1990s. Now,
A year ago, wrongful convictions and the death penalty were not something that crossed my mind very often. As a Japanese major, I generally stay in the same academic “bubble” of Japa-nese courses, venturing out only to learn the very basics of other academia through GE courses. Some of the classes I have taken have made a lasting impact on me as a student; but most of these classes come
“I want to share with you my absolute conviction that the death penalty must disappear from the entire world as it is a shame for humanity. The death penalty does not protect society; it dishonors it,” said Robert Badinter, the French justice minister who led the successful effort to abolish capital punishment in France 40 years ago, at an event marking the anniversary last month. In the U.S., where there
In Japan, death row prisoners wake up every day wondering if it will be their last. Execution dates are not set in Japan so the prisoners don’t know when they will be executed until right before they are hanged (the only method Japan uses).
In its analysis of the President Biden-appointed US Supreme Court Reform Commission’s draft recommendations, Balls and Strikes says the “commission gave the death penalty a pass.” Lisa Needham writes that “The notion that the Court might be the final link in a chain of decisions that results in an innocent person’s death does not seem to cause much consternation for the commission.” She argues that “a series of both-sides takes
You are going to want to meet Mamie Lang Kirkland.
The state of Alabama executed Willie B. Smith last month without bothering to dispute the fact that he was intellectually disabled.
Updates from Mississippi, Tennessee, Florida, and Utah.
Why Victims’ Family Members Oppose the Death Penalty Watch the recap on-demand below Additional Resources Committee on Revision of the Penal Code – Death Penalty Report & Recommendations Facts about the people on California’s death row
How we Decrease Death Row & Abolish the Death Penalty: A Conversation with the California Committee on Revision of the Penal Code Watch the recap on-demand below Special thanks to chair of the Committee Michael Romano, staff attorney Rick Owen, and consultant to the Committee Natasha Minsker for discussing how they arrived at the decision and the strategies for reaching that goal. And thank you to our cosponsors, who share