Entries by Hayley Bedard

On June 15, 2026, the United States Supreme Court declined to consider the appeal of Texas death-sentenced prisoner Charles Flores, whose death sentence was obtained through the use of a hypnotized prosecution witness. Mr. Flores has spent more than 25 years on death row for a murder he maintains he did not commit. His conviction relied on the testimony of a neighbor who identified him — for the first time, at trial — only after being hypnotized by police. Mr. Flores argued in his petition that his…

The percentage of Americans who find the death penalty morally unacceptable has risen to 39%, while the percentage who find it acceptable has fallen to a record low, according to a new poll released by Gallup on June 9, 2026. A slight majority (52%) of respondents to Gallup’s annual Values and Beliefs poll said that they still consider the death penalty morally acceptable, down from the previous record-low of 54% in the organization’s 2020 survey. Support has fallen drastically in the last two…

In the May 2026 episode of 12:01 The Death Penalty in Context, DPI Managing Director Anne Holsinger speaks with Dr. Naomi Yavneh Klos (pictured), Dean of the Honors College at the University of New Mexico, and a prominent scholar of the Holocaust. Dr. Yavneh Klos is a founding member of the Jews Against Gassing Coalition, a New-Orleans area group formed to oppose the use of nitrogen gas as a method of execution in Louisiana. She joins DPI’s podcast during Jewish American Heritage Month to…

Tennessee’s attempt to execute Tony Carruthers on May 21, 2026, failed after execution team members could not establish an intravenous line after more than an hour of attempts, prompting Governor Bill Lee to grant a one-year reprieve. In a written statement, the Tennessee Department of Corrections said medical personnel had quickly established a primary IV line but were unable to establish a backup line as required by the state’s execution protocol. Efforts to insert a central line also failed…

On May 14, 2026, an Oklahoma judge granted bail for former death-sentenced prisoner Richard Glossip nearly three decades after his arrest and initial conviction. He was released hours later. In her order, Oklahoma County District Judge Natalie Mai set Mr. Glossip’s bail at $500,000, and set conditions for monitoring and behavior if he posted bail ahead of his retrial. Mr. Glossip was released after posting bail and told reporters outside the jail that he is “just really happy” and thankful for…