Entries by Death Penalty Information Center
News
Jun 10, 2024
Missouri Supreme Court Sets Execution Date for Marcellus Williams Despite County Prosecutor’s Pending Motion for Innocence Hearing
On June 4, 2024, the Missouri Supreme Court set a September 24, 2024, execution date for death-sentenced prisoner Marcellus Williams (pictured), despite serious doubts that he was not involved in the murder for which he is incarcerated. The announcement came just hours after the state Supreme Court ruled that Governor Mike Parson did not violate any rules when he dissolved a board of inquiry established in June 2023 by his predecessor, Eric Greitens, to investigate Mr.
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Jun 06, 2024
Idaho: New Death Sentence, Updates on Executions, and Lethal Injection Drug Purchase
On June 1, 2024, an Idaho jury sentenced Chad Daybell to death for the 2019 murders of his first wife and his second wife’s two youngest children. Mr. Daybell pleaded not guilty to multiple first-degree murder, fraud, and conspiracy charges, but after being found guilty, he chose to waive his right to present mitigating evidence during his sentencing hearing. With this decision, Mr. Daybell declined the opportunity to provide the jury with reasons why he should not be sentenced to death.
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Jun 03, 2024
Amicus Briefs Submitted to Florida Supreme Court Describe Non-Unanimous Sentencing Law as a “Quintessential Game of Chance”
Florida Supreme Court in Tallahassee,…
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May 31, 2024
Discussions with DPIC Podcast: Lamont Hunter on His Wrongful Conviction and Release
In this month’s episode of Discussions with DPIC, Managing Director Anne Holsinger speaks with Lamont Hunter (pictured), a former Ohio death-sentenced prisoner who was wrongfully convicted of causing the death of his three-year-old son. After nearly 18 years of incarceration, Mr. Hunter was released from Ohio’s death row on June 15, 2023, after pleading guilty to lesser charges in exchange for his freedom. Since his release, Mr. Hunter has spoken widely about his…
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May 28, 2024
Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals Categorically Bars Review of Racial Bias in Capital Jury Selection
Madison County,…
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May 24, 2024
Article of Interest: Retired Supervising Detective Says There Was No Crime in Robert Roberson’s Case
Robert Roberson with daughter Nikki. Courtesy of the…
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May 22, 2024
Family of Youngest Person Executed in Pennsylvania History Sues County for His Wrongful Conviction and Execution 93 Years Ago
Delaware County, Pennsylvania…
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May 21, 2024
Alabama District Attorney Files Amicus Brief in Support of New Trial for Toforest Johnson
On May 20, 2024, Jefferson County, Alabama District Attorney Danny Carr asked a circuit judge to grant a new trial to Toforest Johnson (center), an Alabama death row prisoner whose conviction DA Carr believes is“fundamentally unreliable.” This extraordinary request is the latest in a series of appeals for Mr. Johnson, who was sentenced to death in 1998 for the 1995 murder of Jefferson County Deputy Sheriff William Hardy but has always maintained his innocence.“A…
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May 20, 2024
NAACP Legal Defense Fund’s Most Recent Report Confirms Continued Decline of Death Row Population
As of October 2023, the number of people in the United States sentenced to death or facing the possibility of a death sentence continued its more than two-decade decline, according to the latest report issued by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund…
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May 17, 2024
Tennessee Authorizes Death Penalty for Child Sexual Assault in Direct Challenge to Supreme Court Precedent
On May 9, Governor Bill Lee of Tennessee signed a bill authorizing the death penalty for aggravated rape of a child, following Florida’s passage of a similar law last year. Both laws contradict longstanding Supreme Court precedent holding the death penalty unconstitutional for non-homicide crimes. Tennessee’s law takes effect on July 1. The state has had a death penalty moratorium in place since May 2022 after Governor Lee learned that state officials had failed to…
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