Death Penalty

Alabama bill intended to streamline death-penalty appeals has ‘serious problems,’ ABA says

Alabama legislation designed to streamline capital appeals increases the risk that an innocent person will be executed, according to ABA President Linda A. Klein. Her May 12 letter (PDF) to members of the Alabama Legislature, written on behalf of the ABA, says the legislation known as the Fair Justice Act…

May 15, 2017 3:06 PM CDT

Arkansas governor dismisses calls for investigation of convulsions during execution

On Thursday night, Arkansas carried out the fourth of eight executions it scheduled over 11 days, putting Kenneth Williams to death for the murder of a deputy prison warden nearly two decades earlier. But this one had complications, The Associated Press reported Friday. About three minutes into the execution, the…

Apr 28, 2017 3:48 PM CDT

Judge pulled from Arkansas execution cases accuses state’s AG and Supreme Court of ethics violations

When Arkansas planned to execute eight inmates in 11 days, state judge Wendell Griffen was one of several on the federal and state levels to block the executions—in his case because a drug manufacturer objected to the use of its product. On the same afternoon, he participated in a rally…

Apr 28, 2017 8:00 AM CDT

Oklahoma death penalty moratorium should continue until flaws are addressed, commission says

An independent commission is recommending that Oklahoma’s moratorium on the death penalty be extended until reforms can address “the volume and seriousness of the flaws” in the state’s capital punishment system. One of the commission co-chairs, former Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry, announced the study findings at a press conference Tuesday,…

Apr 26, 2017 12:51 PM CDT

Arkansas carries out double execution after courts deny stay requests

Updated: Arkansas executed two inmates on Monday evening after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to grants stays. Arkansas executed Jack Jones and Marcel Williams, report the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Guardian, the Associated Press and the Arkansas Times. A double execution in the United States was last…

Apr 25, 2017 8:14 AM CDT

One Arkansas inmate executed after SCOTUS rejects his stay requests

Updated: On Thursday night, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected appeals that would have halted the execution of Ledell Lee, the Associated Press reported. The justices voted 5-4 to reject an initial batch of appeals, and new Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch voted with the majority, according to AP. A last-minute…

Apr 20, 2017 8:56 PM CDT

Broad stays are lifted in Arkansas executions, but two prisoners set to die win temporary reprieves

Two Arkansas inmates scheduled to die Monday in the first of a series of executions remain alive as a result of action by the state’s top court and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Apr 18, 2017 8:29 AM CDT

State judge who blocked Arkansas executions and protested is removed from capital cases

A state judge in Arkansas who barred the state from using one of its execution drugs has been removed from hearing capital cases after participating in death-penalty protests. The Arkansas Supreme Court reassigned capital cases on the docket of the judge, Wendell Griffen, in an assignment order (PDF) on Monday,…

Apr 17, 2017 1:47 PM CDT

Federal and state judges block executions of eight Arkansas inmates; state appeals

Federal and state judges on Friday and Saturday temporarily blocked the execution of eight inmates in Arkansas, but the state is nonetheless preparing to execute two of the inmates Monday evening. The state has filed appeals, and the issues could reach the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, Arkansas Online reports.…

Apr 17, 2017 8:20 AM CDT

Two pharma companies file to stop Arkansas from using their drugs to execute seven inmates

Arkansas’ plan to execute seven inmates in less than two weeks has drawn the ire of two pharmaceutical companies who are trying to stop the state from using their drugs as part of the lethal injection procedure. Fresenius Kabi USA and West-Ward Pharmaceuticals Corp. filed an amicus brief (PDF) in…

Apr 14, 2017 6:04 PM CDT

Alabama federal judge rules inmate’s defense team cannot have phone access during execution

An Alabama federal judge ruled that attorneys for a death row inmate scheduled to be executed next month cannot have telephone access during the execution to call a judge in case something goes wrong. AL.com reported Wednesday that U.S. District Judge W. Keith Watkins of the Middle District of Alabama…

Apr 14, 2017 11:24 AM CDT

Alabama’s new governor signs bill ending judicial override in capital cases

Alabama’s new governor, Kay Ivey, signed a bill on Tuesday that eliminates the ability of judges to override juries’ recommendations in capital cases. The law eliminates judicial override but allows juries to recommend the death penalty by a 10-2 vote, AL.com reports. Alabama is the only state that allows jurors…

Apr 12, 2017 12:48 PM CDT

7 executions in 11 days wouldn’t allow due process, ABA president tells Arkansas governor

ABA President Linda Klein has asked the governor of Arkansas to delay an unprecedentedly accelerated series of executions scheduled for this month.

Apr 11, 2017 2:35 PM CDT

Jailhouse informant program used for decades, and sheriff’s dept. tried to cover it up, brief says

Judge Thomas Goethals of the Orange County, California Superior Court has threatened several times to send people at the county sheriff’s department to jail for shredding or playing discovery games with evidence about the department’s jailhouse informant program, the Orange County Register has reported in the past. But the 5,653…

Apr 4, 2017 1:36 PM CDT

Florida governor pulls 21 more murder cases from state attorney who won’t seek the death penalty

Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Monday removed 21 first-degree murder cases from a state attorney who refuses to seek the death penalty. It’s not the first time that Scott has acted because of his disagreement with Orange-Osceola State Attorney Aramis Ayala, the Orlando Sentinel and the Tampa Bay Times report.…

Apr 4, 2017 9:59 AM CDT