Entries by Death Penalty Information Center
News
Apr 20, 2022
Texas District Attorney Calls Death Penalty “Unethical,” Tries to Withdraw Execution Notice for John Ramirez
Days after his office asked to set an execution date for Texas death row prisoner John Ramirez, Nueces County District Attorney Mark Gonzalez (pictured) asked Ramirez’s trial court to…
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Apr 19, 2022
Missouri Capital Defendant Argues that State’s First Jury Vote for Death in Nine Years Is Based on a Nonexistent Aggravating Factor
A Missouri capital defendant whose jury was the first in nine years to recommend the death penalty in the state is challenging the verdict as based solely on a nonexistent aggravating…
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Apr 18, 2022
Forensics Experts and Shaken-Baby Exonerees File Briefs Supporting Texas Death-Row Prisoner Robert Roberson’s Innocence Claim
Robert Roberson with daughter Nikki. Courtesy of the…
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Apr 15, 2022
Advocacy Group Tells Supreme Court that Negative Stereotypes Distort Perception that Latinos in Death-Penalty Cases Pose Future Danger to Society
An amicus brief filed in the U.S. Supreme Court in support of Arizona death-row prisoner John Montenegro Cruz presents evidence that Latinx defendants are particularly vulnerable to juror bias regarding determinations of future…
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Apr 14, 2022
Kentucky Becomes Second State to Bar Imposing Death Penalty on Those Diagnosed as Seriously Mentally Ill
Kentucky has become the second state in the U.S. to bar imposing the death penalty on those diagnosed as seriously mentally ill. On April 8, 2022, Governor Andy Beshear (pictured) signed HB 269 into law, as Kentucky joined neighboring Ohio in exempting severely mentally ill defendants from…
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Apr 13, 2022
Tennessee Trial Court Denies Motion to Halt Upcoming Execution Based on New DNA Evidence
A Nashville trial judge has denied a Tennessee death-row prisoner’s motion to reopen his case and halt his scheduled April 21, 2022 execution in light of…
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Apr 12, 2022
Samuel Randolph Exonerated from Pennsylvania Death Row as Prosecutors Withdraw Charges at Retrial
A Harrisburg, Pennsylvania trial court has granted the application of the Dauphin County District Attorney’s office to withdraw all charges against Samuel Randolph, IV, completing his exoneration of a double murder that sent him to Pennsylvania’s death…
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Apr 11, 2022
Senate Confirms Ketanji Brown Jackson as First Black Woman to Serve on U.S. Supreme Court
Ketanji Brown Jackson has been confirmed as the first African-American woman to serve as a justice of the United States Supreme…
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Apr 08, 2022
Arizona Sets Expedited Execution Date for Blind, Disabled Prisoner Previously Judged Legally Insane
The Arizona Supreme Court has set an execution date of May 11 for Clarence Dixon, a death-row prisoner who is blind and has such severe mental illness that he was once judged legally insane. Dixon is a member of the Navajo Nation, which has long opposed the death penalty as inconsistent with its…
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Apr 07, 2022
Singapore Resumes Hangings for Drug Offenses, Provoking Outrage, Rare Public Protest
In a move sharply criticized by rights advocates as a violation of international human rights law, Singapore has resumed executions for non-violent…
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