Entries by Hayley Bedard

On October 7, a Tennessee judge issued a broadly worded order requiring the state to preserve all evidence from the failed September 30 execution attempt of Christa Pike. Her attorneys reported on October 6 that she has regained consciousness and is speaking, although her overall prognosis remains uncertain. Davidson County Chancery Court Judge I’Ashea Myles granted a motion filed by Ms. Pike’s legal team, which sought to prevent the loss of records and physical evidence from the botched…

For updates on the botched execution attempt of Christa Pike on September 30, please see our full story here. On September 28, 2026, Governor Bill Lee denied a clemency request from death-sentenced prisoner Christa Pike, who is scheduled to be executed on September 30. Gov. Lee announced, “[a]fter deliberate consideration of Christa Gail Pike’s request for clemency, and after a thorough review of the case,” he said he would uphold “the sentence of the State of Tennessee,” noting he did not…

Nearly two years after District Judge Arturo Nelson declared Texas death-sentenced prisoner Melissa Lucio “actually innocent,” the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (TCCA) refused to accept the recommendation of the lower court to overturn her conviction. A closely divided TCCA declined “to adopt any of the habeas court’s findings and conclusions,” which the majority of the court wrote “exclusively reflect [Ms. Lucio’s] interpretation of the evidence and are often unsupported.” In its 5 – 4…

UPDATE: On September 25, counsel for William Thompson filed a new federal lawsuit in the Middle District of Florida, accusing several state actors and prison healthcare providers of denying Mr. Thompson of his “constitutional right to adequate medical care.” The lawsuit does not challenge Mr. Thompson’s death sentence or scheduled execution but rather asks the federal court to require that the named officials provide constitutionally required medical care for Mr. Thompson. The lawsuit asks for…

For updates on the September 30, 2026 failed execution attempt of Christa Pike, please see our full story here. Lawyers for Christa Pike, the only woman on Tennessee’s death row, filed a 226-page clemency petition with Governor Bill Lee, asking him to commute her death sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole ahead of her September 30 execution date. Ms. Pike’s clemency petition outlines the case her team has built over decades of appeals: her actions at 18 years old cannot…

Xavier Becerra, the Democratic front-runner in California’s 2026 gubernatorial race, has pledged to extend Governor Gavin Newsom’s moratorium on executions if elected in November. This is a marked shift from his previous record as the state’s attorney general, when his office defended capital convictions and pursued new death sentences. While in office, AG Becerra said he considered capital punishment as a legitimate option for crime victims, and during his 2017 confirmation hearing, he told…

A forensic DNA analyst whose trial testimony helped secure the 2002 conviction and death sentence of Ronald “Jeffery” Prible has now disavowed that testimony, adding new weight to Mr. Prible’s long-standing innocence claim in a case marked by serious allegations of prosecutorial misconduct. In an August 28 declaration filed as part of continued efforts to overturn Mr. Prible’s conviction, DNA expert William Watson wrote that developments in forensic science and his own professional opinion…