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.
Death Penalty
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?
Women Who Get Abortions Could Be Charged With Homicide Under South Carolina Bill
Plus: ACLU sues over low-flying helicopter during protests, Canada's Online News Act, and more...
Alabama Set To Resume Executions. But Will They Stop Botching Them?
"No one buys this sham of a review," wrote one critic. "And the reason we don't buy it is because we all have functioning brains."
Pennsylvania Governor Says He Won't Sign Execution Warrants
"This is a fundamental statement of morality, of what's right and wrong," Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro said Thursday. "And I believe Pennsylvania must be on the right side of this issue."
Oklahoma Pulls Back the Relentless Pace of Planned Executions
A plan to put 25 inmates to death over two years is reconsidered.
Arizona Pauses Executions After Gov. Hobbs Orders a Review of the State's Procedures.
"It's time to address the fact that this is a system that needs better oversight on numerous fronts," Gov. Katie Hobbs said in a Friday press release.
Ron DeSantis Says Florida Shouldn't Require Unanimous Juries for Death Sentences
"We can't be in a situation where one person can just derail this," DeSantis told a gathering of law enforcement officials.
In Alabama, New Rules Make Botched Executions More Likely
"Under the new rule, the State would have been able to prolong the botched execution process indefinitely," the Equal Justice Initiative wrote in a press release.
Texas Executes Man Using Expired Drugs
A last-minute injunction gets tossed, allowing the state to give Robert Fratta a lethal dose of pentobarbital.
South Carolina Supreme Court To Decide the Future of the Death Penalty in the State
On Thursday, the South Carolina Supreme Court began hearing arguments in a case that could see the state's attempt to execute inmates by electrocution or firing squad declared unconstitutional.
Is Texas About To Use Expired Drugs To Execute Death Row Inmates?
Defendants say this practice violates the state’s own laws. The attorney general is pushing onward anyway.
Amber McLaughlin's Jury Deadlocked—So the Judge Decided She Should Be Executed
Today's scheduled execution is getting attention because she's trans. But the bigger story here is how she was sentenced to die.
2022 Was a Year of Bad, Botched Death Row Executions
Fortunately, government kills fewer prisoners each year.
Oregon's Governor Commutes Sentences of All State Death Row Inmates
Brown: “The state should not be in the business of executing people.”
Court to Girl: You Have To Wait 2 Years To Comfort Your Father as He Dies. And We're Killing Him Next Week.
Missouri law bans those under 21 from witnessing executions. Despite attempts to challenge the law, 19-year-old Khorry Ramey will be barred from attending her father's execution on Tuesday.
Alabama's Governor Calls for a Moratorium on Executions in the State
While the pause comes as a relief to those opposed to the death penalty, Ivey's full-throated defense of the practice makes it clear that she seeks only a temporary pause in executions, not an end to the policy.
Alabama Execution Called Off Because Officials Couldn't Insert Needle
For the second time in three months, the state struggles and fails to execute a death row inmate.
Justice Thomas Says "Sixth Circuit Must Do Better" in AEDPA Cases
The Supreme Court often reverses the U.S. Court of Appeals in habeas cases, but not this time.
Oklahoma Court Denies New Evidence Hearing for Death Row Inmate Richard Glossip
After the latest reprieve from the governor, he’s scheduled for execution in February.
Jackson, in First Supreme Court Opinion, Defends Death Row Inmate
In her short, yet searing dissent, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson argues that the court should have granted the petition of an Ohio man sentenced to death after prosecutors hid a key witness' severe intellectual disability from jurors.
Some Supreme Court Justices Want the Court To Tackle More Government Abuse Cases
Unfortunately, in five separate cases today, they're outnumbered.
Selling Fentanyl Could Mean the Death Penalty Under New Rubio Bill
As per usual, politicians' response to negative effects of the drug war is…more drug war.
Marvin Guy No Longer Faces Death Penalty for Allegedly Shooting, Killing Cop in Botched No-Knock Raid
An unannounced SWAT team invaded a Texas man’s home in failed pursuit of drug evidence. They’ve blamed him for the violence they incited.
Oklahoma Governor Orders Stay of Execution for Richard Glossip
Delaying Glossip's execution until December allows the courts to consider new evidence that might prove his innocence.
An Alabama Prison Allegedly Botched a Man's Execution. Officials Deny That Anything Unusual Occurred.
Joe Nathan James appeared to have suffered for hours as prison officials tried to establish an IV for lethal injection.
Oklahoma Lawmakers Urge New Review of Evidence Before Richard Glossip Is Executed for Murder
A newly unearthed letter suggests the primary witness against Glossip (and the actual killer) had regrets and made a “mistake.”
Oklahoma Starts Planning Executions for 25 Death Row Inmates, Including Richard Glossip
A federal judge rules against effort to stop use of three-drug cocktail.
Texas Court Stays Execution of Mom Sentenced for Child's Death
The state claimed she beat a 2-year-old to death. But evidence may show it was the result of a fall down stairs.
Possible Problems With Lethal Injection Drugs Stop Tennessee Execution
Meanwhile in South Carolina, the state Supreme Court delays a planned execution by firing squad.
Death by Firing Squad Returns to South Carolina
Due to a lack of access to lethal injection drugs, Richard Moore had to choose between the electric chair and getting shot through the heart.
Texas Plans To Execute a Mom for Killing Her 2-Year-Old, but the Case Has Numerous Problems
The district attorney who put Melissa Lucio away is now behind bars himself.
If Biden Is Serious About Ending the Death Penalty, He Should Start Commuting Sentences
A Supreme Court ruling restoring Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s capital sentence and a congressional logjam makes it clear that only he can keep his campaign promise.
Do Circuit Courts Have "Supervisory Power" Over District Courts?
An interesting concurrence to one of today's Supreme Court decisions.
'Functionally Illiterate' Death Row Inmate Couldn't Understand a Form Letting Him Choose His Execution Method
Alabama allows death row inmates to pick an execution method other than lethal injection. But this intellectually disabled prisoner didn't receive proper accommodation, a judge says.
The Death Penalty Continued Its Downward Trend in 2021
The Trump administration's revival appeared to be an outlier. Executions are becoming more and more rare.
Oklahoma's Governor Commutes Julius Jones' Death Sentence, Halting Today's Scheduled Execution
In exchange, Jones shall “never again be eligible to apply for, be considered for, or receive any additional commutation, pardon, or parole.”
Will Oklahoma's Governor Stop the Execution of a Man Many Think May Be Innocent?
The state’s pardon board vote to recommend clemency for Julius Jones. He’s scheduled to be put to death on Thursday.
Oklahoma Botches Another Execution
John Marion Grant convulsed and vomited as he was put to death.
Texas Court Recommends a New Trial for a Man on Death Row, Saying the Trial Judge's Anti-Jewish Bias Violated Due Process
A district court judge found "overwhelming evidence" of Vickers Cunningham's bigotry.
Missouri's Governor Rejects Pope's Request To Spare Death Row Inmate
Ernest Johnson is scheduled to be executed today.
185 Americans Wrongly Sentenced to Death Have Been Freed in the Last Half-Century
For every 8.3 executions in the United States, one innocent person on death row has been exonerated.
Sixth Circuit Issues Two En Banc Habeas Decisions in Four Days
In two slightly different line-ups, the en banc court denied two habeas claims 9-7.
