Publications & Testimony
Items: 431 — 440
Mar 07, 2023
California Sought the Death Penalty – 38 Years Later, the Defendant is Exonerated
In a case that demonstrates the risks inherent in the death penalty, Maurice Hastings was found “factually innocent” in Los Angeles of the crime that could have sent him to death row and eventual execution. On March 1, 2023, Judge William Ryan dismissed all charges and freed Hastings, who was serving a sentence of life without…
Read MoreMar 06, 2023
Arizona Chooses Former Federal Judge to Undertake Independent Review of the Death Penalty
On February 24, 2023, Governor Katie Hobbs [pictured] of Arizona announced the appointment of retired Judge David Duncan, a former federal magistrate, to lead Arizona’s Death Penalty Independent Review Committee, with all executions to be put on hold in the…
Read MoreMar 03, 2023
NEW VOICES: Former Warden Shares Traumatic Experience of Overseeing Executions
In a recent op-ed published in the Miami Herald, former Florida warden Ron McAndrew wrote about his experience with electrocutions and lethal injections in Florida and Texas. He witnessed botched executions and observed the psychological effects that carrying out the death penalty has on the correctional officers…
Read MoreMar 02, 2023
MENTAL ILLNESS: Excluding Those with Severe Mental Illness from the Death Penalty — A Menu of Legislative Options
In a forthcoming article in the Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice regarding limitations on the death penalty for those with diminished responsibility, Richard Bonnie summarizes the reasons why an exclusion for severe mental illness in capital cases is needed and examines key drafting issues that can be expected to arise in state…
Read MoreMar 01, 2023
RESEARCH: History of Lynchings Linked to Increased Death Sentencing for Black Defendants
Researchers based at the University of North Carolina found a strong statistical relationship between the level of racial resentment in a state and the number of death sentences handed down on Black people. In particular, racial resentment was a stronger predictor of Black death sentencing rates than conservative ideology, even when controlling for several factors such as homicide and violent crime rates. Writing in the Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics, the authors noted:…
Read MoreFeb 28, 2023
NEW RESOURCES: Interactive Display Illustrates Conditions on Death Row
A joint research project begun by two Texas universities illustrates the confinement conditions of death-row prisoners, including areas such as visitation, health care, attorney visits, recreation, food, and opportunities for work. The Capital Punishment & Social Rights Research Initiative has created an initial infographic describing the conditions in…
Read MoreFeb 27, 2023
Former Oklahoma Corrections Officials Criticize “Relentless Pace of Executions”
In a letter to Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, dated January 13, 2023, nine former Oklahoma Department of Corrections (ODOC) officials called attention to the trauma experienced by prison staff from repeated executions. The “relentless pace of executions means the prison never really returns to normal operations after the emotional and logistical upheaval of an execution,” explained the officials. “Indeed, reports from the Oklahoma State Penitentiary describe near-constant mock…
Read MoreFeb 24, 2023
MENTAL ILLNESS: President of the Tennessee Psychiatric Association Urges Halt to Death Penalty for Mentally Ill Defendants
In an op-ed in The Tennessean, Dr. Keith Caruso, President of the Tennessee Psychiatric Association, shared the reasons behind the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) opposition to capital punishment for those with severe mental…
Read MoreFeb 23, 2023
U.S. Supreme Court Reverses Arizona Ruling That Barred Death Row Appeal
In a 5 – 4 decision in Cruz v. Arizona on February 22, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court held that John Cruz should have been able to inform his sentencing jury that if he were spared a death sentence, he never would have been eligible for parole. The Court said that its holding was in direct line with its previous decisions in Simmons v. South Carolina and Lynch v. Arizona, which established this right and its specific applicability to Arizona. This ruling not only allows…
Read MoreFeb 22, 2023
Former Maryland Death Row Prisoner Exonerated After 40 Years
John Huffington (pictured) has been exonerated of all the charges that sent him to death row over 40 years after his initial wrongful conviction. On January 13, 2023, outgoing Maryland Governor Larry Hogan granted a full pardon to Huffington, stating that evidence conclusively showed that his “convictions were in…
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