Death Penalty

‘Secrets of the Killing State’ exposes realities of lethal injection

Execution by lethal injection is seen by many Americans as a less barbaric alternative than older methods, such as hanging, firing squads and electrocution. It is easy to assume that the process must resemble euthanasia procedures for terminally ill people or pets. The reality is very different, says Corinna Barrett Lain, a law professor and a death-penalty expert.

Apr 23, 2025 8:51 AM CDT

Seeing power abuse by federal judges, 5th Circuit judge warns of ‘hundreds of kings in judicial robes’

A federal appeals judge issued a concurrence to his majority opinion in a death-penalty case last week to remark on federal trial judges who, in his view, abuse their powers to overturn the will of the electorate.

Apr 21, 2025 3:32 PM CDT

Inmate executed with nitrogen gas after Supreme Court declines to intervene, with 4 dissents

A Louisiana death row inmate was executed Tuesday by nitrogen gas, the first time that the execution method was used in Louisiana and the fifth time that it was used in the United States.

Mar 19, 2025 10:02 AM CDT

State’s failure to correct accuser’s lithium testimony entitles death row inmate to new trial, SCOTUS rules

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that an Oklahoma death row inmate is entitled to a new trial because the prosecution failed to correct testimony by the man who implicated him.

Feb 25, 2025 2:28 PM CST

Expected noncompliance with court orders shouldn’t defeat standing, Kavanaugh says in DNA-test arguments

The U.S. Supreme Court appeared divided Monday in arguments over a death row inmate’s quest for a DNA test to show that he wasn’t inside a trailer where robbery accomplices killed an 85-year-old woman.

Feb 25, 2025 11:08 AM CST

Death row inmate can pursue due process appeal over sex-life evidence admitted at trial, Supreme Court says

A death row inmate can pursue a claim that her Oklahoma trial was prejudiced by the introduction of evidence about her sex life, provocative clothing and thong underwear, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.

Jan 22, 2025 10:40 AM CST

Biden commutes 37 of 40 federal death sentences before Trump takes office

President Joe Biden on Monday is commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 prisoners on federal death row to life without parole, taking the unprecedented step ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, whose incoming administration is widely expected to restart executions.

Dec 23, 2024 9:25 AM CST

Meet 11 ABA members who inspired us in 2024

In this year’s Members Who Inspire series, the ABA Journal featured 11 outstanding ABA members who brighten the world around them.

Dec 20, 2024 2:12 PM CST

Obbligato: What They Don’t Teach You in Law School

Read the winner of the 2024 ABA Journal/Ross Writing Contest for Legal Short Fiction, written by Rita Radostitz, a former public defender who represents a detainee at Guantanamo Bay.

Nov 25, 2024 8:58 AM CST

Legislature can’t use subpoena to delay execution in shaken-baby case, Texas Supreme Court rules

Texas lawmakers can’t force courts to delay an execution by issuing a legislative subpoena for a death row inmate’s testimony after the scheduled execution date, the Texas Supreme Court has ruled.

Nov 19, 2024 1:41 PM CST

Appeals judge told state attorney how to handle resentencing while badmouthing others, texts indicate

A Florida appeals judge who obtained a 2004 murder conviction of an alleged gang leader texted advice to the Miami-Dade, Florida, state attorney handling his resentencing while “denigrating defense attorneys and badmouthing local judges,” according to the Miami Herald.

Nov 12, 2024 11:34 AM CST

Trump wants to expand death penalty to include these crimes

President-elect Donald Trump said during his campaign he would like to expand the death penalty to include child rapists, immigrants who kill U.S. citizens and police officers, human traffickers and drug dealers.

Nov 11, 2024 9:44 AM CST

Evidence of judge’s ‘poisonous antisemitism’ entitles Jewish death row inmate to new trial, top Texas court says

The top criminal court in Texas has ordered a new trial for a death row inmate because of evidence that the judge was actually biased against the defendant because he is Jewish.

Nov 8, 2024 9:46 AM CST

Execution of Texas man in ‘shaken baby’ case temporarily halted by judge

A district judge in Texas has granted a temporary restraining order, blocking the Thursday execution of Robert Leslie Roberson III after a bipartisan coalition of state House members unanimously voted to subpoena him. Roberson’s scheduled execution would mark the first time a death sentence has been imposed for a case related to shaken baby syndrome, a once widely accepted diagnosis that bolstered criminal prosecutions but has come under increasing scrutiny with evolving science.

Oct 18, 2024 8:30 AM CDT

SCOTUS seems closely divided on new trial for Oklahoma death row inmate

The Supreme Court appeared closely divided Wednesday over whether to order a new trial for Oklahoma death-row inmate Richard Glossip, whose case has attracted support from across the political spectrum after independent investigations revealed prosecutorial misconduct.

Oct 9, 2024 3:50 PM CDT