Entries by Death Penalty Information Center
News
Jan 13, 2025
Connecticut Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Prohibit the Production and Manufacturing of Lethal Injection Drugs and Other Materials for Executions
On January 10, 2025, three Connecticut lawmakers introduced a bill that would make it illegal to manufacture and sell any drugs or medical devices in the state meant to carry out the death penalty. In 2024, Connecticut-based company Absolute Standards was identified as the source of lethal injection drugs used in 13 federal executions in 2020 and 2021. In a letter to the bill’s sponsors, John Criscio, President of Absolute Standards, said the company ceased production…
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Jan 06, 2025
Military Appeals Court Rules 9/11 Defendants Can Plead to Avoid Death Sentences
On December 30, 2024, a military appeals court upheld a lower court ruling rejecting Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s attempt to throw out plea deals reached for three men charged in the September 11 terrorism attacks. The court affirmed Judge Colonel Matthew N. McCall’s ruling in November 2024 that the plea agreements reached in July 2024 are valid. Col. McCall stated at the time that he would proceed with the…
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Jan 03, 2025
Tennessee to Resume Executions with Single-Drug Lethal Injection Protocol
On December 27, 2024, the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) completed a multi-year lethal injection protocol review and announced that instead of the previous three-drug cocktail, lethal injection executions will use a single-drug barbituate, pentobarbital. Ohio was the first state to use pentobarbital, in the March 2011 execution of Johnnie Roy Baston. State officials now use single drug protocols in 14 states, including Tennessee, as well as in…
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Jan 02, 2025
In Wake of President Biden’s Federal Commutations, North Carolina Governor Cooper Grants Clemency to 15 Death-Sentenced Prisoners, the Largest Grant of Capital Clemency in State History
Governor…
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Dec 19, 2024
DPI Year End Report 2024: Death Sentences and Executions Remain Near Historic Lows Amid Growing Concerns about Fairness and Innocence
This year marked the tenth consecutive year during which fewer than 30 people were executed (25) and fewer than 50 people were sentenced to death (26), while high profile cases of death-sentenced people attracted significant attention and new, unexpected supporters. In most U.S. states, the death penalty is a relic of another era. According to DPI’s 2024 Year End Report, just four states (Alabama, Texas, Missouri, and Oklahoma) were responsible for more than…
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Dec 18, 2024
4th Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Legal Challenge to South Carolina’s Restriction on Media Access to Prisoners
On December 13, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed the August, 2024 dismissal of a lawsuit that sought to challenge, on First Amendment grounds, a South Carolina Department of Corrections’ (SCDC) policy that prohibits the publication of interviews between prisoners and the media or members of the public. In its decision, the Fourth Circuit cited to Houchins v. KQED, a 1978 Supreme Court ruling which held that the U.S. Constitution does…
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Dec 16, 2024
Florida Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments Challenging Non-Unanimity Sentencing Standard
On December 12, 2024, the Florida Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of Michael James Jackson, who is challenging the constitutionality of Florida’s 2023 law that allows for non-unanimous jury death sentences. Mr. Jackson is represented by the ACLU, who argued that the Florida law is unconstitutional under the Supreme Court’s 2020 ruling in Ramos v. Louisiana, which struck down non-unanimous criminal convictions. According to the ACLU’s brief,…
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Dec 10, 2024
Federal Court Stays Clemency Hearing of Oklahoma Prisoner with December Execution Date
On December 9, 2024, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a temporary stay for Kevin Underwood’s clemency hearing scheduled that same-day with the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, which is lacking its full five-member compliment after two resignations in recent months and one last minute addition on December 6. This decision marks the second time Mr. Underwood’s clemency hearing has been canceled. Meanwhile, Mr. Underwood, age 44, is facing a December 19 execution date, and if it were to…
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Dec 09, 2024
Religious Groups, Former Corrections Officials, Pro-life Voices, and Many Others Urge President Biden to Commute Federal Death Sentences
In letters released on December 9, 2024, hundreds of stakeholders urged President Joe Biden (pictured) to commute all federal death sentences before his term ends, citing racial bias, systemic arbitrariness, and the failure of the federal death penalty to enhance public safety. This collective request reflects broad, bipartisan acknowledgement of the flaws in the capital punishment system and aligns with the national downward trend of support for the death penalty, now at historic lows. 40…
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Dec 06, 2024
Indiana Plans to Resume Executions after 15-Year Pause with a Severely Mentally Ill “Volunteer”
The state of Indiana is scheduled to carry out its first execution in 15 years on December 18, 2024, with the scheduled execution of Joseph Corcoran (pictured). Sentenced to death for the 1997 murders of four people, including his brother, Mr. Corcoran has a long history of serious mental illness. He has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, which includes symptoms of hallucinations and delusions, and multiple experts have testified that he is incompetent to face execution. Mr. Corcoran holds…
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