Kenneth Clair, who spent more than 30 years on California’s death row before having his sentence reduced, is still fighting to prove his innocence. Clair
Richard Kamler, who died last year, was an activist and artist who used his skills to protest capital punishment in an unusual and highly effective
Three states, Oklahoma, Mississippi, and Alabama, have recently given the go-ahead to execute prisoners using nitrogen gas, a new, untested, untried method of killing women
Just how old, how sick, or how mentally ill does a death row prisoner have to be for the government to opt not to execute
Stating that there’s “a major gap in resources for lawyers who defend capital cases,” the American Bar Association is launching The Capital Clemency Resource Initiative,
A new poll conducted by Quinnipiac University finds that American voters choose life without parole over the death penalty 51-37 percent, the first time a
In Georgia, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit declined to hear an appeal by Keith Tharpe that he was sentenced to death
A collection of the writings of the late Rabbi Leonard Beerman, edited by David N.. Myers, can be found in The Eternal Dissident: Rabbi Leonard
In Texas, 47-year-old Ruben Ramirez Cardenas, a Mexican citizen, was executed on Wednesday for the 1997 killing of his 16-year-old cousin, Mayra Laguna. He was the seventh prisoner to be executed in Texas this year. ABC News reports that his execution was delayed for four hours while attorneys filed last ditch appeals for new DNA testing of trial evidence. In Florida, also on Wednesday, 53-year-old Patrick Hannon was executed for
“We have lost one of the best among us, but each day when we do something good for a client, we are renewing our connection with Rob.” Death penalty attorney Richard Burr wrote those words to the defense community in late September, shortly after his close friend, defense attorney Rob Nigh, died at the age of 57. Burr and Nigh were two of the three attorneys who initially represented Timothy
In an op-ed in AZ Central, Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice president Amy Kalman explains why she and more than 20 former Arizona judges, former prosecutors and legal experts, including the former judge who co-authored the state’s death penalty statute, are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to end capital punishment not just in Arizona, but nationwide. “There are now so many aggravating factors that Arizona prosecutors can seek the death
Jack Greene was granted an emergency stay by the Arkansas Supreme Court on Tuesday, two days before he was scheduled to be executed. Greene’s attorneys requested the stay so the court could consider a lower court ruling that dismissed their challenge to a state law that says a death row prisoner can be found incompetent to be executed only if the prison’s director asks for a mental health evaluation. “The
“Plagued by wrongful convictions, high costs, and delays, the death penalty has proven to be ineffective and incompatible with a number of core conservative principles. It runs afoul of conservative commitments to limited government, fiscal responsibility, and a culture of life.” That’s according to a report published by the four-year-old organization, “Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty,” that maintains that “more Republicans are recognizing that the death penalty is a
Americans’ support for the death penalty is now at 55 percent, the lowest number since 1972, according to a poll released by Gallup late last month. The number continues “a trend toward diminished death penalty support as many states have issued moratoria on executions or abolished capital punishment,” Gallup says. The poll shows that support among Democrats has been steadily decreasing for the past five years, with just 39 percent
Death Penalty Focus is partnering with CharityBuzz to bring you two new charity auctions–your chance to meet Ed Asner and Ed Begley, Jr.–all while supporting our work. Lunch with Award Winning Actor Ed Asner in Los Angeles Enjoy lunch in Los Angeles with Ed Asner, legendary actor and seven time Emmy Award winner. Ed Asner is perhaps best known for his comedic and dramatic crossover as the gruff but soft-hearted journalist ‘Lou Grant,’ the
Last night, members of the Bay Area death penalty community gathered to honor the late Scharlette Holdman, a woman who, as SF attorney Andy Love said, “forever changed not just the way death penalty cases were litigated but for those lucky to work with and be mentored by her, how to confront injustice in all its forms. . . .” The celebration of Scharlette’s extraordinary life and work, sponsored by
Americans’ support for the death penalty is now at 55 percent, the lowest number since 1972, according to a poll released by Gallup today. The number “continues a trend toward diminished death penalty support as many states have issued moratoria on executions or abolished capital punishment,” Gallup says. The poll shows that support among Democrats has been steadily decreasing for the past five years, with just 39 percent favoring it
