Source: The Washington Post The Trump administration is engaged in a full-court press to execute as many people on federal death row as possible before
Gov. Gavin Newsom filed a brief in support of the appeal of Don’te McDaniel, a man on death row convicted of murder. Newsom argued in
2020 demonstrates the random callous nature of the death penalty. Until July 7,2020, for 17 years, the federal government did not execute a single federal
Former San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón, a progressive prosecutor, has officially beat incumbent Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey. This is a significant
Source: The Atlantic “Strapped to a gurney, two body lengths from where I sat behind thick glass and a curtain, Ricky Ray Rector groaned each
Why I Support Death Penalty Focus . . . by Colleen Tracy It is hard to say what sparked my interest in supporting the work
A state commission appointed to study Pennsylvania’s death penalty system released its report late last month, almost five years after its original deadline. The 280-page report was the result of a seven-year effort by the Joint State Government Commission, which was composed of four senators and an advisory committee of prosecutors, defense attorneys, law enforcement, and at least one victim’s family member. Among the findings: As in most, if not
Two-and-a-half years ago, Kevin Cooper’s lawyer, Norman Hile, submitted to Governor Jerry Brown a 235-page clemency petition, pleading for advanced DNA testing of evidence from the quadruple murder that sent Cooper to death row in 1985. The appeal garnered enormous support, from former American Bar Association President Paulette Brown and four California law school deans, to five of the original jurors who signed declarations expressing concerns about the case. Last
In terms of the criminal justice system, it can be argued that the most important locally elected official is the district attorney. So, in last month’s election, while many people focused their attention on House and Senate candidates, some of the most important races were at the local level. In California, the most significant – and surprising — development was the defeat of longtime San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos
Next Tuesday, 34-year-old Christopher Young is scheduled to be executed in Texas for the 2004 murder of a 55-year-old convenience store owner. Exactly three months later, on October 17, Ohio plans to execute 61-year-old Raymond Tibbetts for the 1997 murder of his 67-year-old landlord. Young is black, Tibbetts is white. Young was 22 years old when he was arrested for killing Hasmukhbhai Patel during a robbery. Tibbetts was 40 when
Last Friday, Japan executed doomsday cult leader Shoko Asahara and his six followers, who had been sentenced to death for the sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway that killed 13 people in 1995. And, while this killing shocked the Japanese people for its unprecedented scale, it was not a surprise for those who had been following the case. The transfer of the condemned prisoners to different prisons had indicated
Scott Dozier In Alabama, AL.com reports that eight death row prisoners are dropping their lawsuit challenging the state’s three-drug lethal injection method because they have decided to be executed by nitrogen hypoxia, which was approved as an execution method in March. “Because they’ve now opted to die by nitrogen hypoxia instead of lethal injection, their claims in the lawsuit are moot,” AL.com says. The story includes a statement by the Federal
In a New York Times op-ed, “What Happens When Prosecutors Break the Law?” defense attorney Nina Morrison focuses on the case of Suffolk County, New York prosecutor Glenn Kurtzrock who was found to have suppressed evidence in five murder cases, and in spite of being fired and having all five cases overturned, “hasn’t been charged with a single crime. Not fraud, not tampering with government records, not contempt of court.”
An American pharmaceutical company filed a lawsuit blocking Nevada’s scheduled execution of Scott Dozier on Wednesday. New Jersey-based Alvogen said the state had “illegitimately acquired” its product, midazolam, to use as one of the drugs in its new, untested, three-drug lethal injection cocktail. “Past attempts by other states to use the medicine in lethal injections have been extremely controversial, and have led to widespread concern that prisoners have been exposed
The son of the man whose life Christopher Young took 14 years ago has released a powerful video asking the State of Texas not to execute Chris this coming Tuesday. But in spite of his eloquence, and the compassion and forgiveness Mitesh Patel expresses, the TX Board of Pardons and Paroles rejected Chris Young’s clemency application by a vote of 6 to 0. It’s hard to believe not one person