Entries by Death Penalty Information Center
News
Sep 23, 2009
Congress Conducts Hearings on the Innocence Protection Act
On September 22, the House Subcommittee on Terrorism, Crime and Homeland Security of the Judiciary Committee held hearings on the re-authorization of the Innocence Protection Act. Among those making presentations were noted defense attorneys Stephen Bright (pictured), President of the Southern Center for Human Rights in Atlanta, and Barry Scheck, Co-Director of the Innocence Project in New York. Mr. Bright emphasized that the best…
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Sep 21, 2009
No New Trial despite Judge-Prosecutor Affair
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled on September 16 that death row inmate Charles Hood is not entitled to a new trial despite the fact that the judge and the prosecutor from his trial had been having an affair. In a 6‑to‑3 decision, the court held that Hood should have raised the argument that the affair tainted his trial in earlier appeals of his 1990 murder conviction. The court’s decision reverses…
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Sep 17, 2009
Chronology of A Failed Execution
The partial timeline below of the attempted execution of Romell Broom in Ohio on Sept. 15 was compiled by the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Sept. 17, 2009; reporter Peter Krouse. The entire timeline can found by clicking…
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Sep 16, 2009
New Revelations of Inmate’s Struggles During Ohio Execution Attempt
More information is being reported about the botched execution-attempt of Romell Broom yesterday (Sept. 15) in Ohio. According to the Associated Press, the correctional officers encountered so much difficulty in finding a suitable vein for the lethal injection that, after an hour, Broom attempted to assist them by moving on his side, sliding the rubber tubing up and down his arm, and flexing his fingers. A vein was found, but…
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Sep 15, 2009
Ohio Execution Halted After First Attempt is Botched
Romell Broom (pictured) was to be executed at 10 AM on Tuesday, September 15, in Ohio. The execution was delayed as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit considered granting him a hearing. When that temporary stay was lifted, the execution process began again with a searching for a suitable vein in Broom’s arm to insert an IV and to inject the lethal chemicals. However, after two hours of fruitless endeavor, the correctional…
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Sep 14, 2009
Arson Cases in Texas Under Broader Review
In 2004 Cameron Todd Willingham was executed in Texas for murdering his children by arson. Since then, numerous forensic fire experts have concluded that the evidence of arson presented at Willingham’s trial could not support the conclusion that he caused the fire. That same year, Ernest Willis was freed from death row in Texas after the prosecution concluded that his conviction and death sentence for arson were…
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Sep 10, 2009
Florida Inmate Who Faced Death Penalty at 15 to be Freed 26 Years Later
Anthony Caravello was convicted of rape and murder for a crime he allegedly committed in 1983 at age 15 in Florida. The prosecution sought the death penalty. Now DNA evidence from the crime scene points to another individual and may result in his exoneration. The state is not contesting his release. Caravello has an IQ of 67 and was convicted largely on the basis of his own statements, which he says were obtained from him after…
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Sep 09, 2009
Radio Host Bob Edwards Explores the Troy Davis Case
On September 9, The Bob Edwards Show on Sirius XM Radio interviewed Stephen Bright and Nina Morrison regarding the case of Troy Anthony Davis. Edwards is the award-winning former host of National Public Radio’s“Morning Edition.” The show offered this introduction:“Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court did something it hadn’t done in 50 years – it ordered a stay of execution and court hearing for an inmate to attempt to prove his innocence. Since…
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Sep 08, 2009
Vietnam Vet on Death Row Receives His Medals and Waits for Execution
A recent article in the Fayetteville Observer in North Carolina captures the poignant story of one man’s life on death row. James Floyd Davis is a Vietnam veteran who lashed out with a burst of violence fourteen years ago, killing three people including his boss who had fired him a few days before. He suffers from mental illness and post-traumatic stress disorder. Through the intervention of a therapist who also served in Vietnam, it was learned…
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Sep 04, 2009
BOOKS: No Human Way to Kill
Acclaimed artist Robert Priseman has assembled some of his drawings of execution chambers with essays on the death penalty into a new book entitled “No Human Way to Kill.” The essays include the story of a mother whose daughter was murdered, a death row inmate’s diary, and an interview with Jim Willett, former warden of the prison where Texas executions are held. Death penalty attorney Clive Stafford Smith writes in review,“The etchings and accounts…
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