SCOTUS will hear death row inmate’s wrongful-conviction claim supported by state attorney general

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip is entitled to reversal of his conviction because the state suppressed evidence that a co-defendant who implicated Glossip had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Jan 22, 2024 1:04 PM CST

Only 7 states imposed new death sentences in 2023; 1 of them has passed new laws likely to expand number

Texas and Florida accounted for more than half of the executions this year, with Florida putting six inmates to death and Texas executing eight, according to a report by the Death Penalty Information Center.

Dec 5, 2023 8:15 AM CST

Alabama inmate may be first person to be executed this way

An Alabama inmate may be the first person in the United States to be executed with the use of nitrogen asphyxiation.

Nov 7, 2023 12:24 PM CST

May death row inmate reopen habeas case if lawyer abandons him? ABA urges SCOTUS to decide

The ABA has filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case of a death row inmate whose appointed habeas lawyer "functionally" abandoned him.

Oct 31, 2023 11:28 AM CDT

Death row prisoner treated as ‘guinea pig,’ Sotomayor dissent says

Justice Sonia Sotomayor complained in a dissent early Friday that the U.S. Supreme Court should not allow Alabama to treat a death row inmate as a “guinea pig” to test its lethal injection process.

Jul 25, 2023 8:03 AM CDT

Weekly Briefs: New ethics rule considered in Virginia; name partner launches new firm

Virginia proposes ban on agreements limiting ethics complaints A proposed ethics rule in Virginia would ban lawyers from making agreements with clients or former clients that limit their right to pursue disciplinary complaints. The Virginia State Bar is seeking public comment on the proposal, which would be added to Rule…

May 26, 2023 10:48 AM CDT

Supreme Court stays execution of inmate who won support from Oklahoma AG

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday stayed the execution of an Oklahoma inmate after the state attorney general said he supported vacating the conviction.

May 8, 2023 9:55 AM CDT

Florida now has nation’s lowest death-penalty threshold; second bill allows execution of child rapists

Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday signed a bill that allows juries to recommend capital punishment with an 8-4 vote.

Apr 20, 2023 12:02 PM CDT

Texas death row inmate can pursue challenge to DNA testing procedure, Supreme Court rules

A Texas death row inmate didn’t wait too long to challenge the state law governing postconviction DNA testing, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in a 6-3 decision.

Apr 19, 2023 10:50 AM CDT

Jackson dissent: SCOTUS should have heard case of death-row inmate who didn’t get co-defendant’s confession

Apr 3, 2023 10:05 AM CDT

Arizona governor won’t carry out lethal injection, despite execution warrant by top state court

Democrat Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs said Friday her administration won’t carry out an execution to allow for a review of the state’s death-penalty protocols.

Mar 6, 2023 1:10 PM CST

Lawyer for Black man on trial for murder referenced ‘justifiable lynching’ in trial note, petition says

Updated: Racism pervaded the Texas murder trial of a Black man to such an extent that one of his lawyers appeared to suggest that he deserved to be lynched, according to a Jan. 30 habeas petition.

Feb 7, 2023 8:39 AM CST

Weekly Briefs: Legal jobs increase in January; 11th Circuit doesn’t rule out execution by firing squad

Legal industry adds 2,400 jobs The legal services sector added 2,400 jobs in January, according to preliminary and seasonally adjusted figures released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The legal industry had 1,183,900 jobs, a gain of 13,700 jobs since January 2022. But the January 2023 number is…

Feb 3, 2023 3:09 PM CST

Law prof stirs controversy with tweet calling Scalia ‘basically a klansman’

Updated: A professor at the Emory University School of Law is under fire after he tweeted that the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was “basically a klansman.”

Jan 18, 2023 12:35 PM CST

2022 could be called ‘the year of the botched execution,’ new report says

Seven of 20 execution attempts in 2022 were “visibly problematic” in 2022, according to a year-end report by the Death Penalty Information Center.

Dec 16, 2022 10:25 AM CST