DPIC marks 50th anniversary of Furman with a death sentence census
July 7, 2022
The Death Penalty Information Center marked the 50th anniversary of Furman v. Georgia by releasing a census of death sentences handed down from June 29,
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Republican legislator fights to prove Richard Glossip is innocent
July 5, 2022
In our June Focus newsletter, we covered how Oklahoma’s attorney general has asked for execution dates for 25 men who have exhausted their appeals, but
Furman v. Georgia
June 29, 2022
Fifty years ago this week, the United States took a historic step toward a more fair, humane, less racist criminal justice system. On June 29,
At least two of the 25 men OK plans to execute have strong innocence claims
June 28, 2022
The Oklahoma City law firm that conducted a pro bono independent investigation into the case of Richard Glossip, the second in line of the 25
Spurned California DAs turn to SCOTUS
June 28, 2022
Three California district attorneys are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that denied their right to intervene
Capital charges dismissed because of racism in LA gang case
June 28, 2022
The death penalty is off the table for Cleamon Johnson, an alleged Los Angeles gang leader accused of killing five people during the 1990s. Now,
In brief: June 2022
June 27, 2022
In Texas, a state district judge rejected a request by Nueces County District Attorney Mark Gonzalez to cancel a death warrant for a man scheduled
While we’re on the subject . . .
June 22, 2022
In her piece, “How the Supreme Court Stopped Fighting the “Machinery of Death,” in Balls and Strikes, Yvette Borja looks at how far the U.S.
Arizona executes Frank Atwood
June 9, 2022
Arizona killed Frank Atwood by lethal injection on Wednesday morning, shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his final appeal. The 66-year-old Atwood was sentenced
SCOTUS “hamstrings” death row prisoners’ 6th Amendment rights
June 7, 2022
In a decision that dissenting Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor called “perverse” and “illogical,” the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 late last month that death
Texas lawmaker would support death penalty moratorium in the wake of Lucio case
May 25, 2022
Texas state Rep. Jeff Leach, who led a bipartisan effort in the legislature to commute Melissa Lucio’s death sentence last month, told the host of
Arizona plans another execution in early June
May 25, 2022
Frank Atwood, imprisoned on death row since 1987 for the killing of an eight-year-old girl, is scheduled to be executed on June 8 in Arizona’s
California man is freed on DNA evidence after 38 years in prison
November 29, 2022
“What has happened to Mr. Hastings is a terrible injustice,” Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón said at a news conference announcing Maurice Hastings’ release
In brief: November 2022
November 29, 2022
In Texas, Tracy Beatty was killed early last month despite valid questions about whether his crime qualified for the death penalty. Beatty was found guilty
Alabama’s cruel and unusual execution protocol results in another botched execution
November 23, 2022
For the second time in two months, Alabama botched an execution. Corrections officials ended their attempt to kill Kenneth Smith on November 17 after trying
While we’re on the subject. . . .
November 15, 2022
The problems with Alabama’s July execution of Joe Nathan James, Jr., during which it took the execution team three hours to kill him because of
SCOTUS roundup: Andre Thomas, Rodney Reed, Dylann Roof
October 25, 2022
Andre Thomas The Court, in a 6-3 decision, rejected an appeal by Andre Thomas’s lawyers to review his case because it was tainted by racism.
SCOTUS denies cert filed by three California DAs
October 25, 2022
The U.S. Supreme Court shot down an attempt by three California district attorneys to intervene in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the state’s lethal
Oklahoma: execution frenzy continues; more evidence of Glossip innocence
October 25, 2022
Oklahoma killed Benjamin Cole last week, a severely mentally ill man who did not understand the legal proceedings surrounding his execution. The 57-year-old Cole was
Surprising verdict against death for the Parkland shooter
October 25, 2022
When the jury in the death penalty trial of Nikolas Cruz, who pled guilty to killing 17 students and teachers and wounding 17 others at
In brief: October 2022
October 24, 2022
In California, a new report from the U.S. Department of Justice describes how the Orange County District Attorney’s Office and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department
