Death Penalty
Rachel Barkow: Did Trump and Biden Turn Pardons Into a Corrupt Joke?
Presidential pardons have become a tool of favoritism and politics.
Did Glossip and the Oklahoma Attorney General Collusively Conceal Evidence to Win Their U.S. Supreme Court Case?
Justice Thomas observes in his dissent that "the parties collusively excluded" evidence—which I presented to the Court for the victim's family—"in order to reach a predetermined outcome." And the Court majority offers no defense of this deceitful maneuver.
Why Texas Lawmakers Tried To Stop America's First 'Shaken Baby Syndrome' Execution
Robert Roberson was sentenced to death based on outdated and largely discredited scientific evidence.
Trump's Death Penalty Executive Order Aims To Expand Execution
The order directs the attorney general to ensure that states have the drug cocktails to carry out lethal injections.
Helen Prejean: Why This Nun Is Fighting To End the Death Penalty
Billy Binion speaks to Sister Helen Prejean about her activism to end the death penalty, as depicted in her book Dead Man Walking.
Sister Helen Prejean on Capital Punishment, Justice, and Meeting Victims' Families
"Jesus said, 'Love your enemy.' Jesus didn't say, 'Execute the hell out of the enemy,'" the Catholic nun and anti–death penalty activist tells Reason.
Was Biden Right To Take Prisoners Off Death Row?
Plus: A listener asks the editors to consider the Second Amendment's key importance for keeping the government in check.
Biden Commutes Nearly All Federal Death Penalty Sentences
Biden preserved the death sentences of three mass murderers but commuted the sentences of 37 other federal death row inmates to life in prison.
Trump's Plan To Fight Illegal Drugs With Punitive Tariffs Makes No Sense
If stopping drugs from entering the country is as straightforward as the president-elect implies, why didn't he do it during his first term?
Biden Faces Mounting Pressure To Clear Federal Death Row and Issue More Commutations After Pardoning His Son
Civil rights groups, law enforcement officials, and religious leaders say Biden needs to use his pardon power to fulfill his campaign promises, not just help his son.
Texas Lawmakers Temporarily Save Death Row Inmate Robert Roberson From the Execution Chamber
Roberson was scheduled to become the first person in the country to be executed based on "shaken baby syndrome" evidence, until Texas lawmakers subpoenaed him to testify.
Texas Appeals Court Overturns 'Shaken Baby' Conviction Ahead of Execution Date in Another Disputed Case
The court found scientific opinion about "shaken baby syndrome" has changed, and a man sentenced to 35 years in prison deserves a new trial.
Texas Court Rejects Last Appeal for a Man Set To Be Executed Based on Disputed 'Shaken Baby Syndrome' Evidence
Robert Roberson is scheduled to become the first person in the country to be executed based on evidence of what used to be called "shaken baby syndrome."
Criminal Justice Reform Took a Back Seat at the 2024 DNC
The official Democratic Party platform no longer endorses abolishing the death penalty, decriminalizing marijuana, or repealing mandatory minimums.
Texas Might Soon Become the First State To Execute Someone Based on Disputed 'Shaken Baby Syndrome' Evidence
Texas has set an October 17 execution date for Robert Roberson, convicted in 2003 of murdering his 2-year-old daughter.
Biden's Final Flip-Flop
The president's decision to drop out after insisting he never would continued a pattern established by a long career of politically convenient reversals.
Trump Decries Disproportionate Drug Penalties While Threatening Dealers With Death
The former and possibly future president hopes voters will overlook his incoherence.
Texas Takes Intellectually Disabled Inmate Off Death Row
Randall Mays, who has an IQ of 63, was resentenced to life without parole.
Alabama Discovers There Is No 'Humane' Way To Execute Someone
Instead of searching for gentle execution methods, states should just stop killing prisoners.
Writer's Suspended Death Sentence Is a Reminder of China's Awful Record on Human Rights
Yang Hengjun's punishment will be commuted to life in prison if he passes a probationary period. But the espionage accusations against him are highly spurious.
Alabama Killed an Inmate With an Experimental Execution Method. Ohio Could Be Next.
Following the nitrogen hypoxia execution of Kenneth Eugene Smith last week, Ohio lawmakers introduced a bill to bring the execution method to their state.
'The Most Horrible Thing I've Ever Seen': Alabama Executes Inmate With Experimental Method
Kenneth Eugene Smith was likely the first person in the world to be executed by nitrogen hypoxia.
This Death Row Inmate Says He's Innocent. The Supreme Court Has Agreed To Hear His Case.
After multiple investigations shed doubt on his conviction, the Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether Oklahoma death-row inmate Richard Glossip will get a new trial.
Alabama Set To Use Experimental Execution Method
In killing Kenneth Eugene Smith by nitrogen hypoxia, the state would be using him as a "test subject," Smith's lawyers argue.
Alabama Set To Execute Man for a Crime He Committed While Legally a Minor
"Alabama law sets the age of majority at 19 years old, not 18 years. An 18-year-old is thus a minor," say Casey McWhorter's lawyers.
No, Mike Pence, We Should Not Make It Easier To Execute Mass Shooters
Pence suggested executing mass shooters in "months, not years," but that would remove crucial procedural protections—and not just for those who are obviously guilty.
Alabama Set To Try New, Untested Execution Method
The state has filed a motion to set an execution date for Kenneth Eugene Smith, who survived a previous execution attempt.
Should the Philadelphia D.A.'s Office Have Been Sanctioned for Failing to Protect Crime Victims' Rights?
My amicus brief to the Third Circuit argues that the district court appropriately sanctioned the Philadelphia D.A.'s Office for making misleading representations about whether they had conferred with a crime victims' family.
Could Louisiana's Governor Empty the State's Death Row?
Gov. John Bel Edwards has directed the state to review 56 death-row clemency applications after he made comments opposing capital punishment in April.
Idaho Keeps Scheduling This Inmate's Execution Even Though It Lacks the Means To Kill Him
A federal judge ruled in favor of an Idaho death-row inmate who says that the state is "psychologically torturing" him.
Trump Can't Decide Whether To Free Drug Dealers or Kill Them
His bloody rhetoric undermines his defense of the sentencing reforms he proudly embraced as president.
Alabama Isn't Ready To Kill Inmates By Nitrogen Hypoxia. It Wants To Try Anyway.
James Barber is set to be killed next month, the first execution after a string of botched lethal injection executions in the state.
Economic Freedom Is Declining in the U.S.
We once ranked No. 4 in the world, according to the Heritage Foundation. Now we're 25th.
Louisiana Gov. Said He Opposed the Death Penalty. Then Almost Every Death Row Inmate Applied for Clemency.
Only two clemency applications from death row inmates in Louisiana have been granted in the past 50 years.
What is the Significance of an Attorney General's Confession of Error in a State Capital Case?
In my Supreme Court amicus brief for the victim's family in Oklahoma v. Richard Glossip, I argue that the Oklahoma Attorney General's unfounded confession of "error" should not dictate the case's outcome.
Alabama Botched His Execution. Now He Wants To Die Differently.
On Monday, the Supreme Court sided with an Alabama death-row inmate who, after surviving a botched lethal injection attempt last year, says he wants to die by gas chamber instead.
Alabama Schedules First Execution After Monthslong Moratorium and 'Sham' Investigation
After an array of botched and unsuccessful executions, the state's Department of Corrections says its ready to start executing inmates again.
The Supreme Court Has Halted Richard Glossip's Execution
The state's own attorney general has said Glossip deserves a new trial.
As Oklahoma's Attorney General Calls for Clemency, the State Keeps Planning To Execute Richard Glossip
Two damning investigations and a request from the state attorney general haven't been enough to stop the execution.
Oklahoma Says Richard Glossip Was Denied a Fair Trial. An Appeals Court Still Won't Overturn His Conviction.
"While I respect the Court of Criminal Appeals' opinion, I am not willing to allow an execution to proceed despite so many doubts," said Oklahoma's attorney general.
Ron DeSantis Signs Florida Law Setting Lowest Threshold for Death Penalty Sentences in the Country
Florida will now only require an 8–4 majority for a jury to recommend a death sentence. Alabama is the only other state that allows split juries to recommend death sentences.
Will Ohio Kill The Death Penalty?
Recent efforts from the governor, the attorney general, and state legislators suggest the state is moving away from capital punishment.
Oklahoma Almost Killed Him 3 Times. Now, the State Is Trying To Vacate His Conviction.
"It is critical that Oklahomans have absolute faith that the death penalty is administered fairly and with certainty," said the state's attorney general in a Thursday press release.
Idaho Likely To Authorize Execution by Firing Squad
"The firing squad, in my opinion, is beneath the dignity of the state of Idaho," said one state senator. "We have to find a better way."
Cruz v. Arizona's Very Odd Jurisdictional Holding
Did the Court misunderstand its "adequate and independent state ground" doctrine?
