Representation
The Human Cost of Missed Deadlines
“While finality in judicial proceedings is important to the function of the judicial branch, that interest can never overwhelm the imperative that the death penalty not be wrongly imposed.” – Florida Supreme Court Justice Jorge Labarga
In a capital case, a missed deadline can make the difference between life and death. Professor Eric M. Freedman and Paul Sessa of Hofstra Law found sixty cases from 1996 – 2024 in which courts dismissed all or substantially all of the prisoner’s claims without any review on the merits, solely because the claims were not filed in time. Twenty-eight of those prisoners have been executed. This list features cases in which lawyers missed deadlines by just a few days and clerks lost filed paperwork, but the court punished the prisoner for those failures. Many of the prisoners raised actual innocence claims that the court never considered. A few later had their sentences reduced, showing there was merit to their claims all along.
Gregory Scott Johnson had until June 28, 1998, a Monday, to file his appeal. His lawyer mailed the petition to the court on Friday, June 25. But the court did not receive the petition until Tuesday, June 29—one day late. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals acknowledged that Mr. Johnson’s lawyer “bungled the job” and should have known that appeals are only considered filed once received by the court. But the Seventh Circuit ruled against Mr. Johnson:
“No one interfered with Johnson’s ability to pursue collateral relief in a timely fashion. He wants us to treat his own lawyer as the source of interference, but lawyers are agents. Their acts (good and bad) are attributed to the clients they represent. […] So it is as if Johnson himself had made the decisions that led to the delay.”
The state of Indiana executed Mr. Johnson nine months later.
The Death Penalty Information Center will update this list on an ongoing basis. Please contact Leah Roemer at lroemer@deathpenaltyinfo.org with suggestions for additions, or if unable to access a decision linked here.
To learn more about Professor Freedman’s research, see Eric M. Freedman, No Need to Wait: Congress Has the Power Under Section Five of the Fourteenth Amendment to Abolish the Death Penalty in the States, 32 Wm. & Mary Bill Rts. J. 1049 (2024).
| Prisoner Name | Citation | Status | State | Race |
| Arthur, Thomas Douglas | Arthur v. Allen, 452 F.3d 1234 (11th Cir. 2006) | Executed (5/26/2017) | Alabama | White |
| Banks, Chadwick | Banks v. Crosby, 2005 WL 5899837 (N.D. Fla. 2005) | Executed (11/13/2014) | Florida | Black |
| Bell, Michael S. | Bell v. Fla. Atty. Gen., 461 Fed.Appx. 843 (11th Cir. 2012) | Active Death Sentence | Florida | Black |
| Cantu, Ivan | Ex parte Cantu, 2024 WL 807335 (Tex. Ct. Crim. App. 2024) | Executed (2/23/2024) | Texas | Latinx |
| Cantu-Tzin, Andrew | Cantu-Tzin v. Johnson, 162 F.3d 295 (5th Cir. 1998) | Executed (2/16/1999) | Texas | Latinx |
| Chavez, Juan Carlos | Chavez v. Sec’y Fla. Dep’t of Corr., 647 F.3d 295 (11th Cir. 2011) | Executed (2/12/2014) | Florida | Latinx |
| Christeson, Mark | Christeson v. Griffith, 860 F.3d 585 (8th Cir. 2017) | Executed (1/31/2017) | Missouri | White |
| Clark, Troy | Clark v. Davis, 850 F.3d 770 (5th Cir. 2017) | Executed (9/26/2018) | Texas | White |
| Clemons, Eugene Milton II | Clemons v. Comm’r, Alabama Dep’t of Corr., 967 F.3d 1231 (11th Cir. 2020) | Active Death Sentence | Alabama | Black |
| Coulter, Roger Lewis | Coulter v. Kelley, 871 F.3d 612 (8th Cir. 2017) | Died on Death Row | Arkansas | White |
| Cousin, Shareef | Cousin v. Lensing, 310 F.3d 843 (5th Cir. 2002) | Exonerated | Louisiana | Black |
| Damren, Floyd | Damren v. Florida, 776 F.3d 816 (11th Cir. 2015) | Active Death Sentence | Florida | White |
| Doyle, Anthony Lavon | Doyle v. Filson, 2018 WL 2337293 (D. Nev. 2018) | Active Death Sentence | Nevada | Black |
| Ford, James D. | Ford v. Sec’y, Dep’t of Corr., 2009 WL 3028886 (M.D. Fla. 2009) | Active Death Sentence | Florida | White |
| Garcia, Richard Reynaldo | Garcia v. Shanks, 351 F.3d 468 (10th Cir. 2003) | Sentence Commuted | New Mexico | Latinx |
| Garner, William | In re Garner, 612 F.3d 533 (6th Cir. 2010) | Executed (7/13/2010) | Ohio | Black |
| Gonzales, Ernest Valencia | Gonzales v. Ryan, 2014 WL 4476588 (D. Ariz. 2014) | Active Death Sentence | Arizona | Latinx |
| Goodman, Spencer C. | Goodman v. Johnson, No. 99-20452 (5th Cir. 1999) | Executed (1/18/2000) | Texas | White |
| Gorby, Olen Clay | Gorby v. McNeil, 530 F.3d 1363 (11th Cir. 2008) | Died on Death Row | Florida | White |
| Gordon, Robert R. | Gordon v. Sec’y, Dep’t of Corr., 479 F.3d 1299 (11th Cir. 2007) | Active Death Sentence | Florida | Black |
| Hamilton, Richard Eugene | Hamilton v. Sec’y, 410 F. App’x 216 (11th Cir. 2010) | Died on Death Row | Florida | White |
| Howell, Paul Augustus | Howell v. Crosby, 415 F.3d 1250 (11th Cir. 2005) | Executed (2/26/2014) | Florida | Black |
| Hutcherson, Larry Eugene | Hutcherson v. Culliver, 2005 WL 3348856 (S.D. Ala. 2005) | Executed (10/26/2006) | Alabama | White |
| Hutchinson, Jeffrey | Hutchinson v. Florida, 677 F.3d 1097 (11th Cir. 2012) | Active Death Sentence | Florida | White |
| Isom, Kevin Charles | Isom v. Neal, 574 F. Supp. 3d 598 (N.D. Ind. 2021) | Active Death Sentence | Indiana | Black |
| Johnson, Derrick Lamone | In re Johnson, 325 F. App’x 337 (5th Cir. 2009) | Executed (4/30/2009) | Texas | Black |
| Johnson, Gregory Scott | Johnson v. McBride, 381 F.3d 587 (7th Cir. 2004) | Executed (5/25/2005) | Indiana | White |
| Johnson, Johnny Ray | Johnson v. Quarterman, 483 F.3d 278 (5th Cir. 2007) | Executed (2/12/2009) | Texas | Black |
| Johnson, Ronnie | Johnson v. Florida, 513 F.3d 1328 (11th Cir. 2008) | Active Death Sentence | Florida | Black |
| Kreutzer, Paul W. | Kreutzer v. Bowersox, 231 F.3d 460 (8th Cir. 2000) | Executed (4/10/2002) | Missouri | White |
| Kuenzel, William Ernest | Kuenzel v. Comm’r, Alabama Dep’t of Corr., 690 F.3d 1311 (11th Cir. 2012) | Died on Death Row | Alabama | White |
| Lawrence, Gary | Lawrence v. Florida, 549 U.S. 327 (2007) | Active Death Sentence | Florida | White |
| Lewis, David Lee | In re Lewis, 484 F.3d 793 (5th Cir. 2007) | Resentenced to Life or Less | Texas | White |
| Lookingbill, Robert Andrew | Lookingbill v. Cockrell, 293 F.3d 256 (5th Cir. 2002) | Executed (1/22/2003) | Texas | White |
| Lugo, Daniel | Lugo v. Sec’y, Fla. Dep’t of Corr., 750 F.3d 1198 (11th Cir. 2014) | Grant of Relief (Retrial/Resentencing Pending) | Florida | White |
| Manning, Willie Jerome | Manning v. Epps, 688 F.3d 177 (5th Cir. 2012) | Active Death Sentence | Mississippi | Black |
| Mathis, Milton Wuzael | Mathis v. Thaler, 616 F.3d 461 (5th Cir. 2010) | Executed (6/21/2011) | Texas | Black |
| Melson, Robert Bryant | Melson v. Comm’r, Alabama Dep’t of Corr., 713 F.3d 1086 (11th Cir. 2013) | Executed (6/8/2017) | Alabama | Black |
| Miller, David Jr. | Miller v. Sec’y, Fla. Dep’t of Corr., 2021 WL 5395961 (M.D. Fla. 2021) | Active Death Sentence | Florida | Black |
| Myers, Robin Dion | Myers v. Allen, 420 F. App’x 924 (11th Cir. 2011) | Active Death Sentence | Alabama | Black |
| Prieto, Arnold | Prieto v. Dretke, 386 F. Supp. 2d 767 (W.D. Tex. 2005) | Executed (1/21/2015) | Texas | Latinx |
| Rojas, Leonard U. | Rojas v. Cockrell, 44 F. App’x 652 (5th Cir. 2002) | Executed (12/4/2002) | Texas | Latinx |
| Rouse, Kenneth B. | Rouse v. Lee, 339 F.3d 238 (4th Cir. 2003) | Active Death Sentence | North Carolina | Black |
| Sallie, William C. | Sallie v. Humphrey, 2016 WL 6897790 (M.D. Ga. 2016) | Executed (12/6/2016) | Georgia | White |
| San Martin, Pablo | San Martin v. McNeil, 633 F.3d 1257 (11th Cir. 2011) | Active Death Sentence | Florida | White |
| Shannon, Willie | Shannon v. Dretke, 177 F. App’x 431 (5th Cir. 2006) | Executed (11/8/2006) | Texas | Black |
| Sibley, George | Sibley v. Culliver, 377 F.3d 1196 (11th Cir. 2004) | Executed (8/4/2005) | Alabama | White |
| Siebert, Daniel | Allen v. Siebert, 552 U.S. 3 (2007) | Died on Death Row | Alabama | White |
| Smith, Ronald Bert Jr. | Smith v. Comm’r, Alabama Dep’t of Corr., 703 F.3d 1266 (11th Cir. 2012) | Executed (12/8/2016) | Alabama | White |
| Stouffer, Bigler Jobe Jr. | Stouffer v. Trammell, 566 F. App’x 750 (10th Cir. 2014) | Executed (12/9/2021) | Oklahoma | White |
| Sweet, William Earl | Sweet v. Sec’y, Dep’t of Corr., 467 F.3d 1311 (11th Cir. 2006) | Active Death Sentence | Florida | Black |
| Taylor, William Kenneth | Taylor v. Sec’y, Dep’t of Corr., 2023 WL 2078563 (M.D. Fla. 2023) | Active Death Sentence | Florida | White |
| Thompson, Gregory S. | Thompson v. Bell, 2006 WL 6609737 (E.D. Tenn. 2006) | Died on Death Row | Tennessee | Black |
| Thurmond, Keith S. | Thurmond v. Quarterman, 2008 WL 11444148 (S.D. Tex. 2008) | Executed (3/7/2012) | Texas | White |
| Trease, Robert | Trease v. Sec’y, Dep’t of Corr., 2011 WL 6318020 (M.D. Fla. 2011) | Active Death Sentence | Florida | White |
| Wainwright, Anthony | Wainwright v. Sec’y, Dep’t of Corr., 537 F.3d 1282 (11th Cir. 2007) | Active Death Sentence | Florida | White |
| Walton, Jason Dirk | Walton v. Sec’y, Fla. Dep’t of Corr., 661 F.3d 1308 (11th Cir. 2011) | Active Death Sentence | Florida | White |
| Washington, Vinson | Washington v. Horn, 2003 WL 22284566 (E.D. Pa. 2003) | Resentenced to Life or Less | Pennsylvania | Black |
| Woods, David Leon | Woods v. Buss, 234 F. App’x 409 (7th Cir. 2007) | Executed (5/4/2007) | Indiana | White |
| Zack, Michael | Zack v. Sec’y, Fla. Dep’t of Corr., 721 F. App’x 918 (11th Cir. 2018) | Executed (10/3/2023) | Florida | White |