One year ago, we wrote about the case of Walter Ogrod, a man whom many believe was wrongfully convicted of killing four-year-old Barbara Jean Horn
It’s no secret that there are some very talented men and women on death rows around the country. We’ve published some of their works here
This week, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed a bill joining Oklahoma and Mississippi in allowing officials to execute prisoners using nitrogen gas, a new, untested,
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
Anthony Ray Hinton spent 30 years on Alabama’s death row for a crime he didn’t commit. He was exonerated and freed in April 2015. The
Tomorrow, on the three-week anniversary of the botched execution of Doyle Lee Hamm, which left him bruised, bleeding and limping after a two-and-a-half hour attempt
On Thursday, February 22, three executions in three different states were scheduled, with three very different outcomes. Eric Branch was executed in Florida, dying with
The U.S. Supreme Court late last month stayed the execution of Vernon Madison, less than an hour before it was to take place on January
Kevin Cooper has been on San Quentin’s death row for 33 years for a quadruple murder he didn’t commit. As we reported in the January
In August, two of our longest-serving and most dedicated board members left to travel, spend time with family and friends, and simply relax and enjoy their rich and fulfilling lives. We miss their wisdom, insight, and guidance, but are genuinely happy for them and grateful for their long service. Virginia Van Zandt In her 25 years on the Death Penalty Focus Board of Directors, Virginia Van Zandt served as Vice
Death Penalty Focus is partnering with CharityBuzz to bring you two new charity auctions–your chance to meet Mike Farreell and Noah Wyle, all while supporting our work. Lunch with M*A*S*H Star and DPF President Mike Farrell in Los Angeles Mike Farrell is best known from his starring role as Captain BJ Hunnicutt in the hit series M*A*S*H and Jim Hansen in Providence but he has also worked behind the scenes
Death Penalty Focus is partnering with CharityBuzz to bring you two new charity auctions–your chance to meet Mike Farreell and Noah Wyle, all while supporting our work. Lunch with M*A*S*H Star and DPF President Mike Farrell in Los Angeles Mike Farrell is best known from his starring role as Captain BJ Hunnicutt in the hit series M*A*S*H and Jim Hansen in Providence but he has also worked behind the scenes
On September 29, the United States voted against a United Nations resolution that condemns the death penalty as a sentence for those found guilty of engaging in same-sex sexual acts. The US was one of 13 countries that opposed the resolution, titled “The Question of the Death Penalty,” joining such countries as China, Egypt, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. The resolution “urges states that have not yet abolished the death penalty
Duane Buck was sentenced to life in prison last week, 20 years after he was first sentenced to death. In a plea deal, the 54-year-old Buck pleaded guilty to two murders, and to two additional counts of attempted murder, in exchange for the life sentence. Buck was sentenced to death in 1997 for the murder two years earlier of two people, his girlfriend, Debra Gardner, and her friend, Kenneth Butler,
The death penalty “is inextricably linked to poverty. Social and economic inequalities affect access to justice for those who are sentenced to death for several reasons: defendants may lack resources (social and economic, but also political power) to defend themselves and will in some cases be discriminated against because of their social status.” That’s according to the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, which observes its 15th World Day Against
“This is a horrible collection of half-truths, and misleading information. It is shameful.” The “horrible collection of half-truths” that Dale Recinella, a Catholic chaplain on Florida’s death row, is referring to is a recently-published book, By Man Shall His Blood Be Shed: A Catholic Defense of Capital Punishment, written by Edward Feser and Joseph M. Bessette. The authors’ support for capital punishment is based on arguments that were debunked long
In Texas, 38-year-old Robert Pruett was executed last night, convicted of murdering a prison guard in 1999. He had been in prison since he was 15 years old, sentenced to 99 years in prison simply for being with his father when his father stabbed a neighbor to death. That conviction was the result of the state’s “law of parties” rule, which allows a person to be charged with murder, even
In “Fighting an Oncoming Train,” in the September 29th issue of “Slate,” Susannah Sheffer, a clinical mental health counselor and researcher, reveals what she learned after interviewing 20 death penalty attorneys who had each lost at least one client, about the emotional toll the work exacts on them. “The task is at once urgent and protracted—months or even years of low-grade anxiety punctuated by sudden crises and intense deadlines—so that
