Entries by Death Penalty Information Center

In Crossing the River Styx: The Memoir of a Death Row Chaplain, (March 2023), author Russ Ford recounts the abuses he witnessed as the head chaplain of Virginia’s death row and the strong relationships he formed with more than a dozen condemned prisoners. Through stories, he describes the core of human dignity he experienced among death row prisoners, as well as the treacherous conditions these individuals faced during their final days. Ford vividly describes the inhumane treatment experienced…

In a case that demonstrates the risks inherent in the death penalty, Maurice Hastings was found “factually innocent” in Los Angeles of the crime that could have sent him to death row and eventual execution. On March 1, 2023, Judge William Ryan dismissed all charges and freed Hastings, who was serving a sentence of life without parole. The District Attorney’s Office had sought the death penalty for Hastings, which enables the prosecution to obtain a jury that is willing to impose a death…

On February 24, 2023, Governor Katie Hobbs [pictured] of Arizona announced the appointment of retired Judge David Duncan, a former federal magistrate, to lead Arizona’s Death Penalty Independent Review Committee, with all executions to be put on hold in the interim. “Arizona has a history of mismanaged executions that have resulted in serious concerns about ADCRR’s (Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation, & Reentry) execution protocols and lack of transparency,” Governor Hobbs said…

In a recent op-ed published in the Miami Herald, former Florida warden Ron McAndrew wrote about his experience with electrocutions and lethal injections in Florida and Texas. He witnessed botched executions and observed the psychological effects that carrying out the death penalty has on the correctional officers involved. He noted, “Each time an execution was scheduled, I worked with my staff to manage the process in minute-by-minute detail. Despite this meticulous preparation, one execution…

In a forthcoming article in the Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice regarding limitations on the death penalty for those with diminished responsibility, Richard Bonnie summarizes the reasons why an exclusion for severe mental illness in capital cases is needed and examines key drafting issues that can be expected to arise in state legislatures. Bonnie was a member on the American Bar Association’s Task Force on Mental Disability and the Death Penalty, which was established in 2003 after…

Researchers based at the University of North Carolina found a strong statistical relationship between the level of racial resentment in a state and the number of death sentences handed down on Black people. In particular, racial resentment was a stronger predictor of Black death sentencing rates than conservative ideology, even when controlling for several factors such as homicide and violent crime rates. Writing in the Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics, the authors noted: “[W]e find…

A joint research project begun by two Texas universities illustrates the confinement conditions of death-row prisoners, including areas such as visitation, health care, attorney visits, recreation, food, and opportunities for work. The Capital Punishment & Social Rights Research Initiative has created an initial infographic describing the conditions in Texas. The project includes qualitative research on death row conditions, as well as firsthand accounts from prisoners. Anthony Medina, a Texas…

In a letter to Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, dated January 13, 2023, nine former Oklahoma Department of Corrections (ODOC) officials called attention to the trauma experienced by prison staff from repeated executions. The “relentless pace of executions means the prison never really returns to normal operations after the emotional and logistical upheaval of an execution,” explained the officials. “Indeed, reports from the Oklahoma State Penitentiary describe near-constant mock…

In an op-ed in The Tennessean, Dr. Keith Caruso, President of the Tennessee Psychiatric Association, shared the reasons behind the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) opposition to capital punishment for those with severe mental illness. He noted that in July 2020, the APA released a position statement aimed at protecting those with severe mental illness and disabilities, stating: “There should be a moratorium on capital punishment in the United States until jurisdictions seeking to…

In a 5 – 4 decision in Cruz v. Arizona on February 22, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court held that John Cruz should have been able to inform his sentencing jury that if he were spared a death sentence, he never would have been eligible for parole. The Court said that its holding was in direct line with its previous decisions in Simmons v. South Carolina and Lynch v. Arizona, which established this right and its specific applicability to Arizona. This ruling not only allows Cruz to renew his appeal for…