Book Review: Courage in the Face of Cruelty by James Alexander
April 25, 2022
Reviewed by Robert M. Sanger This is California James Alexander was originally charged in San Diego with capital murder but was finally convicted of second
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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
California Gov. Gavin Newsom to Close Death Row
February 11, 2022
California’s death row, the largest in the Western Hemisphere, will be dismantled. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced last week that a two-year-old pilot program will be
In brief: February 2022
February 9, 2022
In Alabama, Matthew Reeves was executed January 27, despite having an intellectual disability. Reeves was killed by lethal injection because he failed to choose a
While we’re on the subject . . .
January 10, 2022
In his editorial in Verdict, Austin Sarat says there is such significant “new progress in the effort to abolish America’s death penalty,” that it’s “not
In brief: January 2022
January 10, 2022
In Texas, the oldest person imprisoned on death row is scheduled to be executed on April 21. Carl Wayne Buntion, who is 77, has been
Alabama to tinker with the machinery of death again
March 3, 2023
Three months after a series of botched executions caused Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey to call for a pause in state killing to allow time for
The execution of Donald Dillbeck
February 27, 2023
Florida corrections officials killed Donald Dillbeck last Thursday. They did so despite the extensive evidence of his horrific sexual and physical abuse as a child,
Donald Spoto
February 27, 2023
Former Death Penalty Focus board member Donald Spoto died earlier this month. He was 81. His death from a brain hemorrhage was announced by his
While we’re on the subject . . .
February 27, 2023
“Justice Department standards on federal death penalty called confusing,” was the headline in a recent Washington Post article. The paper interviewed federal defense lawyers and
In brief: February 2023
February 27, 2023
The Death Penalty Information Center reports that the first state killing this year occurred on January 3, when Missouri executed Amber McLaughlin. Texas followed one
The incomprehensible injustice of the Andre Thomas case
February 27, 2023
The State of Texas plans to execute Andre Thomas on April 5. Throughout his life, Thomas sought treatment for his severe mental illness symptoms, including
Pennsylvania governor continues moratorium; calls on legislature to abolish the death penalty
February 27, 2023
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro announced earlier this month that he will not sign any execution warrants while he is in office; he will continue the
Poll: Majority of Oklahomans support a moratorium on the death penalty
February 27, 2023
A poll commissioned by Oklahoma Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty, released last week, shows that 78% of Oklahoma voters support a moratorium on the
CA AG Rob Bonta establishes a conviction integrity unit
February 27, 2023
In an effort to “remedy cases where there have been miscarriages of justice,” California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta announced earlier this month that he is
