Publications & Testimony

In a decision that exposed the deep divide between the United States and its European allies on capital punishment issues, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom unanimously ruled that the British government unlawfully provided information to the United States about two suspected Islamic State members without first obtaining assurances that the information would not be used to impose or carry out the death penalty. The landmark ruling, issued March 25, 2020 in the case of Elgizouli v.

NEWS (3/​26/​20): Kentucky — The Kentucky Supreme Court has issued decisions in two cases presenting significant issues concerning the applicability of the death penalty against defendants with intellectual disability or under the age of 21. In White v. Commonwealth, the court ruled that Larry White — who may be ineligible for the death penalty because of intellectual disability — may not waive a pending appeal claim of intellectually disability that is supported by evidence creating ​“reasonable…

NEWS (3/​25/​20): Guantánamo Bay — In an action that adds further uncertainty to the already tumultuous proceedings in the Guantánamo Sept. 11 death-penalty trial, the military commission judge presiding over the case has announced that he will be retiring from military service. Air Force Col. W. Shane Cohen notified the military commissions through a memorandum dated March 17, 2020 that he would be retiring from active duty effective July 1, 2020. He said April 24 would be his last day of…

NEWS (3/​26/​20): Pennsylvania — The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has upheld a trial court ruling granting a new sentencing hearing to death-row prisoner William Housman, agreeing that Housman’s defense counsel had failed to investigate and present mitigating evidence that might have persuaded his jury to spare his life. Housman and his co-defendant Beth Markman had been sentenced to death by a Cumberland County jury in 2001 for the murder of an 18-year-old Harrisburg area college student.

Georgia death-row prisoner Billy Daniel Raulerson, Jr. (pictured) is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down a state law that, he argues, is permitting Georgia to unconstitutionally execute individuals with Intellectual Disability. On March 27, 2020, the Court is scheduled to consider whether to hear the case of Raulerson v. Warden and to review the constitutionality of Georgia’s evidentiary requirement that capital defendants prove they are intellectually disabled ​“beyond a reasonable…

NEWS (3/​25/​20): Pennsylvania — Citing lack of jurisdiction, the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas has vacated an emergency order it issued on Saturday that had directed the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (PaDOC) to transport Walter Ogrod from death row to an independent hospital to obtain immediate testing and treatment for symptoms of the COVID-19 coronavirus. Ogrod, who prosecutors concede is ​“likely innocent” and is entitled to a new trial, had symptoms of coronavirus infection…

On March 23, 2020, Colorado became the 22^nd U.S. state to abolish the death penalty, as Governor Jared Polis (pictured) signed legislation repealing the state’s capital punishment statute and commuted the sentences of the state’s three death-row prisoners to life without possibility of parole. The state was the tenth to legislatively or judicially abolish capital punishment in the past fifteen years. Colorado’s abolition of capital punishment exemplifies a nationwide trend away from the death…

A Birmingham judge has denied a new trial to Alabama death-row prisoner Toforest Johnson (pictured, center), saying he had not proven his claim that his conviction and death sentence for the killing of a sheriff’s deputy in 1995 were the product of prosecutorial misconduct. Johnson was convicted in 1999 of murdering Jefferson County Sheriff’s Deputy William G. Hardy. Over the course of four different court proceedings, the state presented at least five different accounts of who committed the…

NEWS (3/​23/​20): U.S. Supreme Court — The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against a Kansas death-row prisoner who had argued his conviction violated due process because he had not been permitted to present an insanity defense. In a 6 – 3 decision authored by Justice Elena Kagan, the Court upheld the conviction of James Kahler for murdering his estranged wife, two teenage daughters, and a fourth family member in 2009, while in a state of severe depression from the breakdown of his marriage. The Court…

NEWS (3/​21/​20): Pennsylvania — In a rare Saturday ruling, the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas has granted an emergency motion filed on behalf of Pennsylvania death-row prisoner Walter Ogrod seeking his removal from state prison to obtain immediate testing and treatment for symptoms of the COVID-19 coronavirus. Ogrod, who prosecutors concede is ​“likely innocent,” had been experiencing symptoms of the coronavirus, including a dry cough and a 106°F fever. The prison infirmary had been treating…