Entries by Hayley Bedard
News
Jul 24, 2025
Tennessee Court Orders Heart Defibrillator Disconnected Ahead of Byron Black’s Scheduled Execution
On July 18, 2025, the Davidson County Chancery Court issued a preliminary injunction requiring the Tennessee Department of Corrections (TDOC) to ensure that Byron Black’s implanted heart device (cardiac implantable electronic device, or CIED) is switched off just ahead of his execution by a cardiac specialist or qualified technician working under such supervision. In June 2025, counsel for Mr. Black filed a motion for a preliminary injunction, explaining that…
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Jul 22, 2025
Texas Pilot Program Allows for Less Restrictive Conditions for Some on Death Row for First Time in Decades
Recent reporting from the Houston Chronicle describes a pilot program begun in February of last year which has allowed a select group of prisoners on Texas’ death row the opportunity to experience loosened confinement conditions. About a dozen individuals on Texas’ death row are being allowed to mingle in a common room, share meals, and spend time outside of their cells without handcuffs or shackles. As the Chronicle reports,“instead of shouting to each…
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Jul 18, 2025
District Judge Sets “Unfortunate” New Execution Date for Texas Prisoner Robert Roberson, Despite Pending Petition in Support of His Innocence Claim
On July 16, 2025, Smith County District Judge Austin Reeve Jackson set an execution date of October 16, 2025 for Robert Roberson, a man with a strong innocence claim who has a habeas corpus petition pending at the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (TCCA). Judge Jackson, after hearing arguments from both defense counsel for Mr. Roberson and attorneys from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office, ruled that there was no legal basis for not signing an execution order.“It doesn’t…
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Jul 17, 2025
Oklahoma Attorney General Accused in New Court Filings of Reneging on Plea Agreement in Richard Glossip’s Case
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond is facing accusations that he broke a written agreement that would have freed former death row prisoner Richard Glossip from prison more than two years ago, according to court documents filed in mid-July 2025. The revelation centers on email exchanges from April 2023, where AG Drummond, in a thread with Don Knight, counsel for Mr. Glossip, agreed to a plea deal that would have resulted in Mr. Glossip’s immediate release after more…
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Jul 15, 2025
Kentucky Governor Cites Constitutional Concerns with Execution Protocol and Drug Acquisition Issues in Refusal to Set Execution Date
In June 2025, Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman requested that Governor Andy Beshear set an execution date for death row prisoner Ralph Baze. In a late June 2025 reply, Gov. Beshear declined to do so because of an April 2025 Franklin County Circuit Court ruling that found part of Kentucky’s execution protocol unconstitutional. Gov. Beshear indicated that several steps must be taken by the Department of Corrections (DOC) to address the issues raised by the court…
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Jul 14, 2025
New Louisiana Legislation Will Limit Post-Conviction Appeals, Endangering Innocent Prisoners in an Attempt to Expedite Executions
Recent legislation signed by Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry drastically restricts the ability of prisoners to challenge their convictions, which those opposed to the law have argued could lead to the execution of innocent prisoners. HB 675, signed into law in June 2025, imposes strict time limits on post-conviction relief applications and introduces“abandonment” rules that cut off appeal options for prisoners who fail to meet the law’s strict deadlines. The…
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Jul 10, 2025
Federal Court Excoriates Prosecutors in Grant of Relief to Former Virginia Death-Sentenced Prisoner Who Has Always Maintained His Innocence
On July 7, 2025, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of former Virginia death-sentenced prisoner Justin Wolfe, vacating a lower court dismissal of his most recent habeas petition, and paving the way for a new hearing where Mr. Wolfe will have the opportunity to provide new evidence in support of his innocence. Mr. Wolfe was convicted and sentenced to death in 2002 for the 2001 murder-for-hire of his cannabis supplier in Northern Virginia. In his most…
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Jun 27, 2025
U.S. Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Texas Death Row Prisoner Seeking DNA Testing
On June 26, 2025, the United States Supreme Court issued a rare 6 – 3 ruling in favor of a Texas death row prisoner, Ruben Gutierrez, holding that he may proceed with his lawsuit challenging Texas’s post-conviction DNA statute on constitutional grounds. Mr. Gutierrez was convicted and sentenced to death in 1999 for the murder and robbery of an 85-year-old woman but has long maintained he did not know his codefendants would kill the victim. According to the decision,…
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Jun 23, 2025
In Unusual Move, Texas Attorney General Requests Execution Date for Robert Roberson Before a Court Has Heard New Evidence of His Actual Innocence
On June 16, 2025, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a motion in the Anderson County District Court requesting a new execution date for Robert Roberson, despite the fact that a motion from defense counsel with new evidence in support of Mr. Roberson’s actual innocence remains pending. As the Dallas Morning Editorial Board notes, it is“unusual” that “[AG] Paxton’s office is involved” in requesting the execution date. AG Paxton has actively sought Mr. Roberson’s…
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Jun 10, 2025
Oklahoma Attorney General Will Not Seek Death Penalty Against Richard Glossip in Retrial
On June 9, 2025, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond announced that his office will retry death row prisoner Richard Glossip but will not seek the death penalty. AG Drummond’s decision to retry Mr. Glossip follows the February 2025 United States Supreme Court ruling in Glossip v. Oklahoma, in which the high court threw out Mr. Glossip’s 2004 conviction and ordered a new trial because prosecutors allowed a key witness to lie in court and withheld crucial information…
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