News & Developments
Innocence
Aug 11, 2022
Former Illinois Death-Row Prisoner Marilyn Mulero, Framed by Disgraced Chicago Detective, Exonerated After 29 Years
An Illinois woman who was sentenced to death without a trial as a result of a false confession coerced by a disgraced Chicago detective has been exonerated after 29 years. Marilyn Mulero …
Public Opinion
Aug 10, 2022
NEW RESOURCES: Capital Punishment and the State of Criminal Justice 2022
The American Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Section has released its annual report, The State of Criminal Justice 2022, examining the state of the American criminal legal system. The annual publication include…
Innocence
Aug 09, 2022
Shelby County Voters Oust Prosecutor Who Sought to Execute Pervis Payne
Tennessee voters have issued a stunning rebuke to controversial Shelby County District Attorney General Amy Weirich (pictured), ousting her from office after an eleven-year tenure marred by charges of racism and m…
Botched Executions
Aug 08, 2022
Sister Calls for Investigation Into Alabama’s Botched Execution of Joe James
The sister of death-row prisoner Joe Nathan James Jr. has called for an investigation into his botched execution following a statement by an Alabama Department of Correction’s spokesperson that ADOC could not conf…
Clemency
Aug 05, 2022
Oklahoma Board of Pardons and Parole Recommends Clemency for James Coddington
The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board has recommended clemency for James Coddington (pictured at his clemency hearing), the first of 25 death-row prisoners scheduled to be executed in Oklahoma between August 2022 a…
Arbitrariness
Aug 04, 2022
As Trial in South Carolina Execution-Method Challenge Begins, Review of State’s Death Penalty Reveals System that is Biased, Arbitrary, and Error-Prone
As the trial challenging South Carolina’s execution methods began on Augu…
Innocence
Aug 03, 2022
Amicus Groups Ask Supreme Court to Overturn Texas Appeals Court Refusal to Grant New Trial to Death-Row Prisoner Convicted Based on DNA Testimony Prosecutor and Trial Court Agree Was False
Three groups of fair justice advocates have filed friend-of-the-court briefs asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review and overturn a Texas appeals court ruling that denied a new trial to a death-row prisoner who prosecutors and the…
Innocence
Aug 02, 2022
Commentary: Despite Strong Evidence of Innocence, Courts and Officials ‘Pass the Buck’ Keeping Toforest Johnson on Alabama’s Death Row
The innocence case of Alabama death-row prisoner Toforest Johnson (pictured, center) has drawn substantial support from former judges, jurors, prosecutors, and state bar presidents, but disinterest by current Ala…
Innocence
Aug 01, 2022
Massachusetts Formally Exonerates Last ‘Witch’ Wrongfully Condemned During Salem Hysteria. Will Connecticut Follow Suit?
As Massachusetts formally exonerated the last person condemned for witchcraft in the colony, efforts are under way to clear the names of the 46 people wrongfully charged with witchcraft in neighboring Connecticut …
Botched Executions
Jul 29, 2022
Alabama Execution of Joe Nathan James Marred by Failures to Set IV Line, Embarrassing Dress-Code Controversy, and Disrespect of Victim’s Family
Alabama put Joe Nathan James, Jr. to death on July 28, 2022 against the wishes of his victim’s family in an execution marred by an hours-long failure to set a lethal-injection intravenous line and an embarrassing …