Publications & Testimony

On October 5, 2023, the Oklahoma House Judiciary Criminal Committee met to discuss ongoing concerns regarding the state’s capital punishment system and the possibility of recommending a moratorium on executions. Republican Representative Kevin McDugle (pictured) called for the meeting and is a longtime supporter of the death penalty. He spoke of his increasing concern regarding the possibility of executing an innocent person, particularly citing the case of Richard Glossip, who has long…

October 10, 2023 marked the 21^st World Day Against the Death Penalty. Regarding this year’s theme, “The Death Penalty, an Irreversible Torture,” Raphaël Chenuil Hazan, executive director of France-based abolitionist group EPCM, said “Today, we no longer need to demonstrate to anyone that the death penalty is a sophisticated form of torture, both in the phase of sentencing or investigation (where physical and psychological torture is often used to obtain confessions), where the elements of a…

On October 2, 2023, the Supreme Court issued an order granting certiorari to Manuel Ovante Jr., vacating the judgment, and remanding the case for further consideration in light of its ruling in Cruz v. Arizona. The petitioners raised the same claim as in Cruz (see DPIC’s summary), that when their prosecutors raised the issue of their future dangerousness during sentencing hearings, they had a due process right to inform jurors that they would not be parole eligible if they were sentenced to…

In a capital case from Texas, the Supreme Court ruled (6 – 3) in favor of Rodney Reed’s challenge to a Fifth Circuit decision that blocked access to DNA testing based on Texas’ statute of limitations. Mr. Reed sought DNA testing of crime-scene evidence that he argued could support his innocence claim. The trial court denied the motion for DNA testing in 2014, and Mr. Reed appealed the ruling to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (TCCA). The TCCA remanded the case to the trial court and…

On October 10, 2023, the Embassy of France in Washington, D.C. will host opening night of ‘C’est la vie? Restoring Awareness on Capital Punishment through Art,’ in conjunction with several other members of the European Union. The event “will feature the work of death row inmates, and some of whose sentences have been overturned, and a discussion on the influence that art has had on their lives.” With the European Union Delegation, Witness to Innocence, and Ensemble Contre la Peine de Mort, the…

A recent article by Associated Press journalist Michael Tarm reports new details about the thirteen federal executions that took place in 2019 – 2020, including last-minute clemency appeals for death-sentenced prisoners like Brandon Bernard. Mr. Tarm witnessed ten of the executions and spoke with a number of individuals who were involved in the process for his story. As a result of these interviews, he says that the fuller picture that has emerged shows that “officials cut corners and relied on…

In July 2023, the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) released its report and position statement on mental health and the death penalty. The issues addressed in the report include: the imposition of the death penalty on prisoners with mental illness or developmental and intellectual disabilities, the overrepresentation of death-sentenced prisoners who have been socioeconomically marginalized, and the role of psychiatrists in death penalty cases. In alignment with the principles established in…

On September 26, 2023, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced that he would not seek the death penalty in the case of slain Sheriff’s Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer. “If I thought that the death penalty was going to stop people from committing brutal murders, I would seek it. But we know that it won’t,” said Gascón at a news conference, “The reality is that the death penalty doesn’t serve as a deterrent, and the death penalty does not bring people back. …What I can assure you…

A recent analysis by Bloomberg Law concluded that death-sentenced prisoners have fewer avenues to relief at the Supreme Court than ever before. Bloomberg identified 270 emergency requests to stay executions since 2013 and found that the Court agreed to block an execution just 11 times. Since 2020, when the Court shifted to a 6 – 3 conservative majority following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the appointment of Justice Amy Coney Barrett, the Court has granted just two stays of…

On October 2, the first day of its new term, the Supreme Court denied review in two high-profile death penalty cases: Toforest Johnson and Robert Roberson. Both men have long maintained their innocence and have garnered broad bipartisan support for their innocence claims. In Alabama, Mr. Johnson’s conviction was largely based on an “earwitness” who received a monetary award after her testimony, a fact that was not revealed until seventeen years later. Mr. Johnson was convicted of the 1995…