Entries by Hayley Bedard
News
Jan 24, 2025
State Spotlight: Texas Death Penalty Declining in Use — 2024 in Review
According to the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty’s annual Year in Review, Texas’ death row continued to shrink in 2024, reflecting prosecutors’ increasing reluctance to bring new capital cases and juries’ growing reluctance to sentence individuals to death. Texas juries imposed just six new death sentences in 2024, marking the tenth consecutive year of single-digit death sentences. Five of those six involved defendants of color, following…
Read MoreNews
Jan 23, 2025
Arizona’s Handling of Lethal Injection Drugs Raises Transparency and Viability Concerns
According to investigative reporting from the AZ Mirror, the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation, & Reentry (ADCRR) is storing the state’s supply of pentobarbital salt, the active ingredient used in a compounded form in lethal injection executions, in eight unmarked glass containers in a prison refrigerator, raising doubts about the drugs’ authenticity and efficacy. ADCRR has refused to reveal how long it has been in possession of these…
Read MoreNews
Dec 20, 2024
Texas Attorney General’s Office Refuses to Cooperate with Committee Subpoena for Robert Roberson, Blocking His Testimony for the 2nd Time
On December 17, 2024, a bipartisan group of Texas legislators in the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence issued a new subpoena for death-sentenced Robert Roberson to testify in person on December 20 about the state’s junk science law, under which he failed to receive relief. Gretchen Sween, attorney for Mr. Roberson, said that he was“eager to testify and grateful for the chance to be heard.” But just two days after the issuance of the subpoena, and a day ahead of Mr.
Read MoreNews
Dec 02, 2024
Arizona Attorney General Announces State Ready to Resume Executions as Governor Hobbs Abruptly Ends Independent Review of Execution Protocols
On November 26, 2024, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced her office will resume seeking execution warrants. AG Mayes’ announcement comes after Governor Katie Hobbs ended the state’s independent review of its execution protocol and processes, dismissing retired federal magistrate David Duncan before he had completed his review. In a letter to Judge Duncan, Gov. Hobbs said his actions during the review went beyond his mandate. The review was launched in 2023, as newly elected Gov.
Read MoreNews
Nov 18, 2024
NEW POLL: Overall Support for the Death Penalty Remains at Five-Decade Low as Opposition to the Death Penalty Grows Among Younger Generations
According to October 2024 polling produced by Gallup, support for capital punishment remains at a five-decade low in the United States. Overall, Gallup found 53% of Americans in favor of the death penalty, but that number masks considerable differences between older and younger Americans. More than half of young adults aged 18 to 43 now oppose the death penalty. Among those expressing a political affiliation, support for the death penalty fell markedly in all groups and in all generations,…
Read MoreNews
Nov 08, 2024
The Role of Trauma and Mitigation in Capital Punishment
In the early 1990s, the case of Erik and Lyle Menendez captivated the American public, not only because of the brutality of their crime but also because of the defense they presented. The brothers, age 18 and 21 at the time of the crime, were charged with first-degree murder with special circumstances for killing their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez. These special circumstances made the crime a death-eligible offense. Prosecutors alleged they were privileged young men acting out of greed,…
Read MoreNews
Nov 01, 2024
Prisoners With Executions Dates in South Carolina and Idaho File Requests for Clemency
Attorneys for South Carolina death row prisoner Richard Moore (pictured) filed a clemency petition with Governor Henry McMaster, asking him to commute his sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Mr. Moore has garnered support from a wide range of individuals, including the former director of South Carolina Department of Corrections Jon Ozmint. In a letter to Gov. McMaster, Mr. Ozmint writes about how Mr. Moore’s “story of redemption” and good behavior will allow him to…
Read MoreNews
Oct 16, 2024
Judge Denies Request to Vacate Oct. 17th Execution Date for Robert Roberson: He Now Awaits Clemency Decision from Gov. Abbott
Update: The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles denied clemency for Robert Roberson on October 16,…
Read MoreNews
Oct 08, 2024
United States Supreme Court Will Consider Significance of Prosecutor’s Confession of Error in Glossip v. Oklahoma
On October 9, 2024, the United States Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Glossip v. Oklahoma, when the Court will consider multiple questions related to Richard Glossip’s conviction and death sentence. This is Mr. Glossip’s second trip to the Supreme Court; the first occurred in 2015 in connection with his method of execution challenge. Mr. Glossip has always maintained his innocence of the 1997 “murder for hire” crime that sent him to death row. In the intervening years, he has…
Read MoreNews
Sep 27, 2024
United States Reaches 1600 Executions, Demonstrating Disconnect Between Elected Officials and Declining Public Support
The United States has reached a milestone in the administration of capital punishment this week. All four scheduled executions in Texas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Alabama took place, marking the 1600th execution in the modern era of the death penalty in the U.S., despite public opinion polls showing growing concerns about the fairness and accuracy of the death penalty and declining support…
Read More