In brief: December 2018
December 14, 2018
In Texas, three men were executed in the space of four weeks: 43-year-old Alvin Braziel was executed on Tuesday for the 1993 murder of Douglas
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Mike Farrell explains why you should sign our petition to Gov. Brown
November 28, 2018
Thanks so much to all of you who have signed our petition to California Gov. Jerry Brown asking him to remove as many people as
Catholic group presents Gov. Brown six thousand letters asking for clemency on death row
November 20, 2018
Representatives from Catholic and other organizations opposed to the death penalty delivered six thousand signatures to California Gov. Jerry Brown yesterday asking him to commute
Midterms 2018
November 9, 2018
There was much to celebrate after this week’s election, especially the strides made in criminal justice reform. In Louisiana, Amendment 2 passed easily, which means
Ten years after being wrongfully convicted, Florida prisoner leaves death row
November 9, 2018
He spent 14 years, 10 of them on death row, and on Monday, Florida prosecutors announced they would not proceed with a retrial for Clemente
SCOTUS hears case of Missouri man too sick for lethal injection
November 9, 2018
On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in the case of 50-year-old Russell Bucklew, a Missouri death row prisoner who came within a few
In brief: November 2018
November 9, 2018
In Mississippi, a man who has been on death row for over 20 years, after being tried six times for a quadruple murder in 1996,
While we’re on the subject. . .
November 9, 2018
In his op-ed in the Fort Worth Star Telegram, “It’s Wrong for an Imperfect System to Impose an Irreversible Punishment,” former district attorney Tim Cole notes
Voices: Rev. Joseph Ingle
November 9, 2018
Tennessee’s nine-year break in executions ended in August when the state killed Billy Ray Irick by lethal injection. Last week, Edmund Zagorski was executed by
Tennessee executed Edmund Zagorski by electric chair last night
November 2, 2018
Edmund Zagorski was executed in Tennessee last night by electric chair, the first time in 11 years the state has used that method. The 63-year-old
Tennessee still plans to execute prisoner by electric chair on Thursday
October 30, 2018
When the state has gotten the go-ahead to execute a man by electrocuting him, it’s difficult to understand why they would fight a request by
More violence isn’t a solution
October 29, 2018
It’s foolish to hope for any sort of measured or nuanced response from Donald Trump, but his thoughtless, knee-jerk, all-too-predictable immediate demand that the man accused
Voices: Michael Radelet
August 16, 2019
“Justice Thurgood Marshall was correct in 1972 when he predicted that if people were better informed about the death penalty, they would reject it. That
Justice John Paul Stevens dies
August 16, 2019
In his book, book, Six Amendments, U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens called for revising six of the amendments to the Constitution, including the
DPF files amicus letter in support of motion to halt death penalty prosecutions
August 16, 2019
Death Penalty Focus has filed an amicus letter in support of a motion filed last month by death penalty lawyer and DPF board member Robert
“Death penalty violates PA’s constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment”
August 16, 2019
“Anyone who claims to believe in the sanctity of life, truth, or justice cannot seriously defend the application of the death penalty in Pennsylvania,” Philadelphia
In brief: August 2019
August 16, 2019
In Tennessee, the Tennessean reports Stephen West was executed by electric chair last night. He opted for electrocution over lethal injection, a choice available to
While we’re on the subject . . .
August 16, 2019
In his multi-part series, “We need to fix forensics. But how?” in the Washington Post, Radley Balko poses six questions to 14 experts who work
DOJ to restart federal executions; speed up death penalty process
August 16, 2019
The “machinery of death” will shift into high gear in the next few months if the Department of Justice gets its way. On Monday, Attorney
DPF files amicus letter in “Johnson” asking for CA Supreme Court review
August 7, 2019
Last month we reported on a case that may have enormous implications for the future of the death penalty in California. Death Penalty Focus has
The Death Penalty Will Not Prevent Mass Shootings
August 6, 2019
The mass shootings last weekend have caused unimaginable pain and suffering. Dozens of people are dead. Hundreds of family members and friends are grieving. Entire
