Publications & Testimony

Bills to hide the identities of lethal-injection drug suppliers and execution team members from the public have passed both chambers of the South Carolina legislature. The bills face a reconciliation process before one can move to the governor’s desk for signature. Proponents of the law say it is necessary because revealing such information might make executions difficult or impossible. South Carolina has not carried out an execution in 12 years. Opponents say the public has the right to know…

In the latest episode of Discussions with DPIC, Anne Holsinger, Managing Director of DPIC, interviews Ron McAndrew (pictured), a former Florida Prison Warden who witnessed executions using electrocution and lethal injection in Florida and Texas. He offers reflections on the negative impact that executions have on the families of both the victim and the condemned, the correctional officers, and on himself. Mr. McAndrew discusses his responsibilities as a warden and his involvement in carrying…

On April 26, the Oklahoma Board of Pardons and Paroles declined to recommend clemency for death-row prisoner Richard Glossip (pictured), who is scheduled to be executed on May 18, 2023. The board’s 2 – 2 vote constituted a denial of clemency since the governor cannot grant clemency without the board’s recommendation. Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond sent a letter to the board urging them to grant clemency for Glossip. “I am not aware of an Oklahoma Attorney General ever supporting a…

The board of Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer published an editorial supporting the passage of Senate Bill 101 that would abolish the death penalty in Ohio. “[T]he time is right,” states the piece, “for the General Assembly to come together to end capital punishment in Ohio. Its inequities are manifest, its barbarism is clear — and its time has passed.” According to the editorial, Senate Bill 101 currently has bipartisan support among “more than a third of the state Senate. …[and] runs the…

A forthcoming article in the Denver Law Review discusses two theories of homicide law, the felony murder rule and accomplice liability, that create group liability for the actions of an individual. The article, written by Professors G. Ben Cohen (pictured), Justin D. Levinson, and Koichi Hioki states that “Research suggests that the administration of accomplice liability [and] felony murder doctrines disproportionately impact Black and minority defendants,” causing minority defendants to be…

On April 20, 2023, Governor Jay Inslee signed legislation removing the death penalty from the state’s laws. With that action, all three branches of the state’s government have taken steps to end capital punishment in Washington: Gov. Inslee had declared a moratorium on executions in 2014, the state Supreme Court found the statute unconstitutional in 2018, and the legislature has now stricken it from the criminal code. Inslee said the new legislation confirms the concerns that were raised about…

On April 20, 2023, Texas legislators initially approved House Bill (HB) 1736 to limit the application of the death penalty in cases where a defendant commits a felony that was accompanied by a murder carried out by someone other than the defendant. Many states have a “felony murder” rule, similar to Texas’ “Law of Parties,” which provides that if one person is found guilty of murder, the offender’s accomplices or co-conspirators may also be found guilty of murder, regardless of their intent to…

The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals ruled against Richard Glossip (pictured) on April 20, 2023, despite a motion from the state’s Attorney General asking the court to vacate Glossip’s conviction and remand the case to a lower court. Glossip is scheduled for execution on May 18 but has consistently maintained his innocence. In a statement reacting to the ruling, Glossip’s attorney, Don Knight, said, “Since the State now agrees that the only witness to allege that Mr. Glossip was involved in…

On April 19, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled (6 – 3) in Reed v. Goertz that a Texas death row prisoner could continue his pursuit of DNA testing that a lower court had blocked. The Court held that Rodney Reed’s (pictured) civil rights claim was filed in federal court in a timely way. The issue in Reed’s case involved when the clock began ticking on a two-year limit to file a federal claim once his state appeal was completed. Justice Kavanaugh, writing for the six-Justice majority, held that…

On April 17, 2023, lawyers for Toforest Johnson (pictured, center), who has spent 25 years on Alabama’s death row, filed a petition for a writ of certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court requesting a new trial. The petition was buttressed by support from the present District Attorney and from the original trial prosecutor in Johnson’s case. Johnson’s conviction rested on the testimony of a single witness who claimed to hear him confess over the phone and who was secretly paid a $5,000 reward. For…