Publications & Testimony
Items: 41 — 50
Oct 07, 2024
Delaware Officially Removes Death Penalty from State Statutes Eight Years After State Supreme Court Finds It Unconstitutional
On September 26, 2024, Governor John Carney (D) signed House Bill 70, which officially repeals the death penalty from the state’s law. Although Delaware’s Supreme Court found its death penalty statute to be unconstitutional in 2016, invalidating it for future use and effectively abolishing capital punishment, the passage of HB 70 amends Title 11 of the state’s code to remove the death penalty and replace it with life without parole as the most severe punishment for first-degree murder for…
Read MoreOct 04, 2024
A Chance at Life, Withdrawn: When Politics Interferes with Plea Deals
American prosecutors have immense power and relatively unchecked discretion in capital cases. But in several recent cases, death-sentenced prisoners reached agreements with prosecutors that would have saved them from execution, only to learn that another official had interfered to block the agreement. Critics have argued that these decisions sow public distrust in the legal process and raise concerns that government officials may be exploiting death penalty cases for political…
Read MoreOct 03, 2024
Hispanic Heritage Month: Travis County, Texas District Attorney José Garza
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15-Oct. 15), DPI is posting a weekly feature on Hispanic or Latino/a people who have had a significant impact on the death penalty in the U.S. This post highlights José Garza, District Attorney of Travis County,…
Read MoreOct 02, 2024
Worldwide Wednesday International Roundup: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, United States, and Vietnam
On September 13, 2024, 37 people, including three Americans, who were “charged with terrorism, murder, criminal association and illegal possession of weapons, among other charges” for their participation in an attempted coup in May were convicted and sentenced to death by a military court. Richard Bondo, lawyer for the three Americans, filed an appeal on Tuesday, September 17, 2024. Mr. Bondo argues that since the DRC is a member of the Treaty of Rome, the reinstatement of the death penalty…
Read MoreOct 01, 2024
Citing Misconduct, Japanese Court Formally Exonerates Iwao Hakamada of 1966 Murder After 46 Years on Death Row
On September 26, 2024, a Japanese court formally acquitted 88-year-old Iwao Hakamada (pictured), who was wrongfully sentenced to death in 1968 for the murder of his former boss and family in Shizuoka, Japan. After 46 years on death row, and another decade of litigation, Judge Kunii Tsuneishi of the Shizuoka District Court ruled that blood-stained clothing used to convict Mr. Hakamada was fabricated long after the murders. “The court cannot accept the fact that the blood stain would remain…
Read MoreSep 30, 2024
Rulings for Two Death-Sentenced Prisoners Recognize Devastating Harm Caused by Solitary Confinement
Scientists and other experts are unanimous in their conclusion that indefinite or prolonged solitary confinement causes serious harm, and the United Nations says it amounts to torture — yet most death-sentenced people in America are confined to these extreme conditions of isolation and deprivation for years. As of 2020, a dozen states routinely kept death-sentenced prisoners in single cells for at least twenty-two hours a day with little-to-no human contact. Two recent developments in capital…
Read MoreSep 27, 2024
United States Reaches 1600 Executions, Demonstrating Disconnect Between Elected Officials and Declining Public Support
The United States has reached a milestone in the administration of capital punishment this week. All four scheduled executions in Texas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Alabama took place, marking the 1600th execution in the modern era of the death penalty in the U.S., despite public opinion polls showing growing concerns about the fairness and accuracy of the death penalty and declining support for its…
Read MoreSep 26, 2024
Oklahoma, Alabama Executions Raise Concerns About Clemency Process and Execution Methods
Executions in Oklahoma and Alabama, scheduled just hours apart on September 26, highlight issues of proportional sentencing and experimental methods of execution. Emmanuel Littlejohn, who was executed at 10:17am CT, had received a recommendation of clemency from Oklahoma’s Pardon and Parole Board because of conflicting evidence about whether he or a co-defendant actually killed the victim. Alan Miller, scheduled to be executed in the evening of September 26, survived a botched lethal…
Read MoreSep 24, 2024
Missouri Supreme Court and Governor Reject Innocence Claims and Refuse to Pause Execution for Marcellus Williams
On September 23, 2024, the Missouri Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the joint motion by Marcellus Williams’ legal team and St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney (PA) Wesley Bell to overturn a lower court’s decision rejecting Mr. Williams’ appeal. Later the same day, the state supreme court unanimously denied the motion, stating that there was “no credible evidence of actual innocence or any showing of a constitutional error undermining confidence in the original judgment.” Also the same…
Read MoreSep 20, 2024
Dismissing Codefendant’s Last-Minute Admission that Khalil Allah Was Not Present at the Crime Scene, South Carolina Supreme Court Clears Way for Today’s Execution
On September 19, 2024, attorneys for Khalil Allah, formerly known as Freddie Eugene Owens, filed an emergency motion for a stay of execution after receiving a signed affidavit from his codefendant in the 1997 shooting death of Irene Graves that Mr. Allah “was not present” during the crime. Just two days ahead of Mr. Allah’s scheduled execution, Steven Golden, who was also charged in Ms. Graves’ death, recanted his trial testimony and said that Mr. Allah “is not the person who shot Irene…
Read More