Publications & Testimony
Items: 101 — 110
Jul 17, 2024
United States Supreme Court Issues Rare Last-Minute Stay for Ruben Gutierrez
The state of Texas was scheduled to execute Ruben Gutierrez (pictured) on July 16, 2024; however, the United States Supreme Court issued a rare, last-minute stay of execution just 20 minutes before he was scheduled to be executed by lethal injection. This is the first stay of execution granted by the Supreme Court since it issued a stay for Richard Glossip in 2023. In a petition filed with the Supreme Court, attorneys for Mr. Gutierrez asked the Court to intervene because Texas has denied…
Read MoreJul 16, 2024
Alabama and Texas are Set to Execute Prisoners This Week, Despite Serious Constitutional Questions in their Cases
On Thursday, July 18, 2024, the state of Alabama is scheduled to execute Keith Gavin (pictured left) by lethal injection, despite court findings that his trial counsel was ineffective. Mr. Gavin was convicted and sentenced to death in 1999 for the shooting death of a delivery driver. A non-unanimous jury voted 10 – 2 in favor of the death penalty for Mr. Gavin, and the trial court accepted the jury’s sentencing outcome. During the penalty phase of trial, Mr. Gavin’s defense team did not present…
Read MoreJul 15, 2024
Disability Pride Month Series: “National Treasure” Professor James W. Ellis
This July, in honor of Disability Pride Month, the Death Penalty Information Center is posting a weekly feature highlighting issues related to the death penalty and disability and profiles of individuals who have played key roles in changing the laws to protect prisoners with…
Read MoreJul 12, 2024
Articles of Interest: Op-ed says new Tennessee law that expands the death penalty to child rape “creates more problems than it solves.”
A July 7, 2024 op-ed in the Tennessean argues that the recent enaction of SB 1834, which makes the rape of a child punishable by death, “does more harm than good.” Sarah McGee (pictured), coordinator for Tennesseans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, explains that during her work as a victim-witness coordinator for Davidson County District Attorney’s Office, probation officer, and assistant public defender, she “learned that when child service providers and experts, the people…
Read MoreJul 11, 2024
NPR Investigation Reveals Supplier of Texas Execution Drugs Has Multiple Drug Enforcement Agency Violations; Questions Remain Regarding Drug Acquisition in Other States
A July 10, 2024, National Public Radio (NPR) investigation has revealed that Rite Away, a small chain of pharmacies located around San Antonio and Austin, Texas, compounded and provided pentobarbital for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) between 2019 and late 2023 to carry out lethal injection executions. During the same time period, records at the Texas Board of Pharmacy and federal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) indicate the pharmacy was cited for multiple safety and…
Read MoreJul 10, 2024
Worldwide Wednesday International Roundup: China, Democratic Republic of the Congo, India, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Tanzania
On June 21, 2024, China announced that courts, prosecutors, public, and state bodies should use the death penalty against Taiwan separatists. The state-run Xinhua news agency reported that the new guidelines recommend “severely punish[ing] Taiwan independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession crimes in accordance with the law, and resolutely defend national sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity.” Critics say that the vagueness of the legal language in the new…
Read MoreJul 09, 2024
Disability Pride Month Series: Serious Mental Illness Exemptions and Legislation
This July, in honor of Disability Pride Month, the Death Penalty Information Center is posting a weekly feature highlighting issues related to the death penalty and disability, as well as individuals who have played key roles in changing the laws to protect prisoners with…
Read MoreJul 08, 2024
Significant Developments in Cases of Innocent Prisoners on Death Row
On Wednesday, July 3rd, the 200th death row exoneration was announced. But an unknown number of prisoners with compelling innocence claims remain on death row, unable to secure relief either because they lack access to competent legal representation for their appeals, are barred from accessing the courts because of procedural legal barriers, or due to the incalcitrance of elected officials. For some of these prisoners, execution dates have been set. Significant developments have occurred…
Read MoreJul 03, 2024
The 200th Exoneration Underscores Critical Flaws in the U.S. Criminal Legal System; Other Innocent Prisoners Remain on Death Row
Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Furman v. Georgia (1972), 200 death-sentenced men and women across 30 states have been exonerated. Analysis from the Death Penalty Information Center reveals these individuals have collectively spent 2,621 years in harsh prison conditions for crimes they did not commit. On average, death row exonerees spent 13 years under the sentence of death before their exonerations, with some individuals spending more than 40 years fighting to prove…
Read MoreJul 02, 2024
Federal Execution-Drug Supplier Says It Will No Longer Produce Pentobarbital for Executions
Connecticut-based company Absolute Standards, which was identified as the source of lethal injection drugs used in 13 federal executions in 2020 and 2021, has said it will no longer produce the drug used in executions — pentobarbital. In a letter to two Connecticut lawmakers, John Criscio, president of Absolute Standards, said the company ceased producing pentobarbital in December 2020, and has “no intention to resume any production or sale of pentobarbital.” Mr. Criscio’s letter explains that…
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