Publications & Testimony
Items: 41 — 50
Jan 15, 2025
Idaho Reckons with High Costs of the Death Penalty
A recent op-ed in the Idaho Statesman highlights a number of difficulties that are a result of historic underspending on capital defense as the state prepares for its first execution since 2012. Idaho’s public defense system is transitioning to statewide oversight as part of an effort to address longstanding inequities in county-funded legal representation. With the consolidation of the public defender system came pay increases for most of Idaho’s…
Read MoreJan 14, 2025
New Analysis: Marion Bowman’s Scheduled Execution in South Carolina Raises Concerns About Youth Culpability, Fits Pattern of Disproportionate Executions of Young Black Men
When Marion Bowman was arrested at age 20 for the murder of Kandee Martin, society did not consider him mature enough to drink alcohol, rent a car, or enter a casino. Yet he was deemed old enough to be sentenced to death. Now 44, he has spent over half his life on South Carolina’s death row and is scheduled for execution on January 31. “Retribution is not proportional if the law’s most severe penalty is imposed on one whose culpability or blameworthiness is diminished, to a substantial degree…
Read MoreJan 13, 2025
Connecticut Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Prohibit the Production and Manufacturing of Lethal Injection Drugs and Other Materials for Executions
On January 10, 2025, three Connecticut lawmakers introduced a bill that would make it illegal to manufacture and sell any drugs or medical devices in the state meant to carry out the death penalty. In 2024, Connecticut-based company Absolute Standards was identified as the source of lethal injection drugs used in 13 federal executions in 2020 and 2021. In a letter to the bill’s sponsors, John Criscio, President of Absolute Standards, said the company ceased production…
Read MoreJan 09, 2025
Worldwide Monthly Roundup: Abolition in Zimbabwe, Global Moratorium Gains Support; Known Executions Rise in Limited Number of Countries
Progress towards global abolition of the death penalty continues with Zimbabwe’s end-2024 decision to nearly eliminate the practice, only preserving the right to impose death when the country is under a declared public emergency. Zimbabwe’s last execution…
Read MoreJan 07, 2025
Aaron Gunches Asks for February Execution Date, Raising New Concerns About Arizona’s Lethal Injection Protocol and the Execution of “Volunteers”
No jury has ever learned about Aaron Gunches’ life history and experiences, nothing about his childhood, mental and physical health, or trauma — the mitigation evidence that the Supreme Court has said is essential to a constitutional death sentence. Arizona courts judged Mr. Gunches competent to represent himself in two separate trials for the murder of his ex-girlfriend’s husband, and he presented no defense in either proceeding. Jurors twice sentenced him…
Read MoreJan 06, 2025
Military Appeals Court Rules 9/11 Defendants Can Plead to Avoid Death Sentences
On December 30, 2024, a military appeals court upheld a lower court ruling rejecting Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s attempt to throw out plea deals reached for three men charged in the September 11 terrorism attacks. The court affirmed Judge Colonel Matthew N. McCall’s ruling in November 2024 that the plea agreements reached in July 2024 are valid. Col. McCall stated at the time that he would proceed with the…
Read MoreJan 03, 2025
Tennessee to Resume Executions with Single-Drug Lethal Injection Protocol
On December 27, 2024, the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) completed a multi-year lethal injection protocol review and announced that instead of the previous three-drug cocktail, lethal injection executions will use a single-drug barbituate, pentobarbital. Ohio was the first state to use pentobarbital, in the March 2011 execution of Johnnie Roy Baston. State officials now use single drug protocols in 14 states, including Tennessee, as well as in…
Read MoreJan 02, 2025
In Wake of President Biden’s Federal Commutations, North Carolina Governor Cooper Grants Clemency to 15 Death-Sentenced Prisoners, the Largest Grant of Capital Clemency in State History
Governor…
Read MoreDec 20, 2024
Texas Attorney General’s Office Refuses to Cooperate with Committee Subpoena for Robert Roberson, Blocking His Testimony for the 2nd Time
Robert Roberson with daughter Nikki. Courtesy of the…
Read MoreDec 19, 2024
DPI Year End Report 2024: Death Sentences and Executions Remain Near Historic Lows Amid Growing Concerns about Fairness and Innocence
This year marked the tenth consecutive year during which fewer than 30 people were executed (25) and fewer than 50 people were sentenced to death (26), while high profile cases of death-sentenced people attracted significant attention and new, unexpected supporters. In most U.S. states, the death penalty is a relic of another era. According to DPI’s 2024 Year End Report, just four states (Alabama, Texas, Missouri, and Oklahoma) were responsible for more than…
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