Entries by Death Penalty Information Center
News
Mar 10, 2025
Georgia House of Representatives Unanimously Passes Bill to Ease Threshold to Prove Intellectual Disability Ahead of Capital Trials
On March 4, 2025, the Georgia House of Representatives, in a 172 – 0 vote, unanimously passed HB 123, which would provide pretrial hearings for capital defendants to raise intellectual disability claims and would lower the standard of proof for those claims from “beyond a reasonable doubt” to a “preponderance of evidence,” in line with other the other 26 states that still retain the death penalty. The bill was originally introduced by Republican Representative Bill Werkheiser during Georgia’s…
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Mar 05, 2025
Public Officials and Advocates Respond to SCOTUS’ Decision to Overturn Richard Glossip’s Conviction
In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to vacate Richard Glossip’s 2004 death sentence, public officials and advocates have expressed strong reactions. Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond acknowledged the significance of the ruling, stating,“Our justice system is greatly diminished when an individual is convicted without a fair trial, but today we can celebrate that a great injustice has been swept away.” While maintaining his belief that Mr.
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Mar 03, 2025
Alabama Governor Grants Clemency to Robin ‘Rocky’ Myers, Sparing Him from Execution
On February 28, 2025, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey commuted the death sentence of Robin‘Rocky’ Dion Myers to Life Without Parole (LWOP). Myers was convicted in the 1991 murder of Ludie Mae Tucker in Decatur, Alabama. His jury recommended that he be sentenced to LWOP, but the judge in his case overrode the jury’s recommendation and handed down a death sentence. The practice of judicial override was abolished in Alabama in 2017. In her statement, Gov. Ivey repeated her…
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Feb 27, 2025
New Podcast: The Past, Present, and Future of the California Racial Justice Act
In the February 2025 episode of 12:01: The Death Penalty in Context, DPI Managing Director Anne Holsinger speaks with three experts on California’s Racial Justice Act (RJA). Natasha Minsker, an attorney and consultant, formerly of the ACLU, speaks on the history of the RJA and the impetus for its passage. Genevie Gold, research and writing fellow at the Office of the State Public Defender (OSPD), describes the process that an RJA claim follows through the legal system, and…
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Feb 26, 2025
Robert Roberson Once Again Asks Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to Consider New Evidence Supporting His Actual Innocence and Grant Him Relief
Robert Roberson with daughter Nikki. Courtesy of the…
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Feb 24, 2025
Article of Interest: Cato Institute Fellow Critiques Medical Ethics Double Standard Around Executions
In a February blog post, Cato Institute Senior Fellow Jeffrey A. Singer criticizes the use of medicalized lethal injection, highlighting the double standard under which procedures that medical professionals are ethically barred from carrying out are not only allowed, but required, of law enforcement personnel.“A doctor who intentionally performs cruel and medically unjustifiable procedures that cause pain and suffering could face criminal charges. If…
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Feb 19, 2025
Alabama House Joins Florida and Tennessee to Advance Unconstitutional Expansion of Death Penalty that Advocates Say Would Harm Children
Alabama State…
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Feb 13, 2025
Montana House Legislators Defeat Bill that Would Have Broadened Lethal Injection Methods
Montana State…
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Feb 04, 2025
Florida Legislature Passes Unconstitutional Bill that Mandates the Death Penalty for “Unauthorized Aliens”
On January 28, 2025, the Florida Legislature passed an immigration bill that includes a provision mandating the automatic imposition of the death penalty for“unauthorized aliens” convicted of a capital offense, despite longstanding U.S. precedent and international law prohibiting mandatory death sentences. The bill was introduced during a short special legislative session called by Governor Ron DeSantis (pictured), leaving little to no time for public…
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Feb 03, 2025
Fired Federal Judge Raises Serious Concerns About Arizona’s Lethal Injection Protocol
Retired Federal Magistrate…
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