While we’re on the subject . . .
March 29, 2022
On “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” Oliver explains just how overwhelmingly difficult it is to be exonerated for a wrongful conviction even in the
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In brief: March 2022
March 29, 2022
In Kentucky, a bill prohibiting the execution of people with serious mental illness passed last week. HB 269 adds mental illness to the list of
2022 Virtual Awards Event (On-Demand)
March 24, 2022
Death Penalty Focus Presents: 30th Awards Event (Virtual) Originally Aired: March 24, 2022 Watch On-Demand Tribute Journal Donate About While 2021 was difficult in many
Melissa Lucio appeals to Texas governor and pardons board for clemency
March 23, 2022
Last week, lawyers for Melissa Lucio submitted a clemency application to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole. And a
South Carolina plans to execute by firing squad
March 22, 2022
South Carolina plans to execute its prisoners by firing squad, the first time a state has used this method since 2010 when Utah killed Ronnie
SCOTUS reinstates death penalty for Tsarnaev
March 15, 2022
The U.S. Supreme Court earlier this month reimposed the death sentence of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who set off one of the bombs at the 2013 Boston
New Hampshire’s Abolition Architect Robert “Renny” Cushing Dies
March 8, 2022
The criminal justice community has lost a giant and Death Penalty Focus has lost a dear friend with Robert “Renny” Cushing’s passing. Cushing died Monday
57 prosecutors pledge to work to eliminate the death penalty
March 8, 2022
Fifty-seven elected prosecutors from around the country, holding “varied opinions surrounding the death penalty,” issued a joint statement last month, declaring that they have arrived
The death penalty doesn’t make police or public any safer, DPIC reports
March 1, 2022
Legislators anxious to reinstate the death penalty in their states hope their trump card will be police and public safety issues. But the facts stand
While we’re on the subject . . .
February 21, 2022
CBS News’ “48 Hours” reporter Erin Moriarty updates the Kevin Cooper case in an interview and article, noting that “It’s very difficult to believe that
50 Years Ago, California Abolished the Death Penalty
February 18, 2022
Fifty years ago this month, on February 18, 1972, California abolished the death penalty. But it didn’t stay abolished. The lesson for us is that
The Texas case of Melissa Lucio is a terrible miscarriage of justice
February 16, 2022
Texas has executed at least five men who were very likely innocent, according to a recent report by the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death
Former victim and Oklahoma Parole Board ask OK governor for mercy for Coddington
August 29, 2022
A former victim of James Coddington is asking Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt for mercy for Coddington, who is scheduled to be executed next Thursday. KWGS
CA Supreme Court decision could lead to multiple death LWOP resentencings
August 29, 2022
A number of people on California’s death row could be resentenced in the wake of a state Supreme Court ruling earlier this month. The unanimous
Oklahoma kills James Coddington; first of 25 scheduled for execution
August 27, 2022
James Coddington, a 50-year-old man who turned his life around in prison over the last 25 years, was executed by Oklahoma last Wednesday, two weeks
Voices: California People of Faith’s Terry McCaffrey
August 24, 2022
Terry McCaffrey is on a mission. Chair of the East-West San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the California People of Faith and Amnesty International’s Death
In brief: August 2022
August 23, 2022
In Alabama, Joe Nathan James, Jr., was executed late last month in what a private autopsy indicates was a “long death.” The Atlantic’s Elizabeth Bruenig’s
Governor issues execution stay for Glossip
August 17, 2022
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has issued a 60-day stay of execution for Richard Glossip. The stay is effective September 22, the day Glossip was scheduled
Texas high court stays Gonzales’s execution
July 28, 2022
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted a stay of execution to Ramiro Gonzales earlier this month, two days before he was scheduled to be
Oklahoma’s first of 25 executions is set for August
July 26, 2022
Oklahoma’s plan to kill 25 men between next month and December 2024 has been met with outrage and disbelief. Former Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry and
In brief: July 2022
July 26, 2022
In California, three death sentences were overturned by state and federal courts in the past few weeks, the Death Penalty Information Center reports. “Richard Clark,
