News & Developments
Arbitrariness
Oct 04, 2024
A Chance at Life, Withdrawn: When Politics Interferes with Plea Deals
American prosecutors have immense power and relatively unchecked discretion in capital cases. But in several recent cases, death-sentenced prisoners reached agreements with prosecutors that would have saved them from execution, only to learn that another official had interfered to block the agreement. Critics have argued that these decisions sow public distrust in the legal process and raise concerns that government officials may be exploiting death penalty cases for political…
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Oct 03, 2024
Hispanic Heritage Month: Travis County, Texas District Attorney José Garza
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15-Oct. 15), DPI is posting a weekly feature on Hispanic or Latino/a people who have had a significant impact on the death penalty in the U.S. This post highlights José Garza, District Attorney of Travis County,…
Read MoreHuman Rights
Oct 02, 2024
Worldwide Wednesday International Roundup: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, United States, and Vietnam
On September 13, 2024, 37 people, including three Americans, who were “charged with terrorism, murder, criminal association and illegal possession of weapons, among other charges” for their participation in an attempted coup in May were convicted and sentenced to death by a military court. Richard Bondo, lawyer for the three Americans, filed an appeal on Tuesday, September 17, 2024. Mr. Bondo argues that since the DRC is a member of the Treaty of Rome, the reinstatement of the death penalty…
Read MoreInnocence
Oct 01, 2024
Citing Misconduct, Japanese Court Formally Exonerates Iwao Hakamada of 1966 Murder After 46 Years on Death Row
On September 26, 2024, a Japanese court formally acquitted 88-year-old Iwao Hakamada (pictured), who was wrongfully sentenced to death in 1968 for the murder of his former boss and family in Shizuoka, Japan. After 46 years on death row, and another decade of litigation, Judge Kunii Tsuneishi of the Shizuoka District Court ruled that blood-stained clothing used to convict Mr. Hakamada was fabricated long after the murders. “The court cannot accept the fact that the blood stain would remain…
Read MoreConditions on Death Row
Sep 30, 2024
Rulings for Two Death-Sentenced Prisoners Recognize Devastating Harm Caused by Solitary Confinement
Scientists and other experts are unanimous in their conclusion that indefinite or prolonged solitary confinement causes serious harm, and the United Nations says it amounts to torture — yet most death-sentenced people in America are confined to these extreme conditions of isolation and deprivation for years. As of 2020, a dozen states routinely kept death-sentenced prisoners in single cells for at least twenty-two hours a day with little-to-no human contact. Two recent developments in capital…
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