Entries tagged with “Aging on death row”

Research

Aug 25, 2022

Idaho Supreme Court Rules Governor Has Authority to Reject Clemency Recommendation, Reinstates Death Penalty for Gerald Pizzuto

The Idaho Supreme Court has ruled that the state’s con­sti­tu­tion per­mits a gov­er­nor to reject clemen­cy rec­om­men­da­tions made by the Commission of Pardons and Parole, revers­ing a low­er court’s deci­sion that had blocked the state from exe­cut­ing ter­mi­nal­ly ill pris­on­er Gerald Pizzuto (pic­tured). The rul­ing may allow Idaho to car­ry out its first exe­cu­tion in more than a…

Executions

Time on Death Row

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Apr 22, 2022

One Execution, One Reprieve: Scheduled Executions of Oldest Death-Row Prisoners in Texas and Tennessee Illustrate Aging of Death Row

In a coin­ci­dence that brought atten­tion to the aging of death row across the United States, the old­est death-row pris­on­ers in Tennessee and Texas faced exe­cu­tion in their respec­tive states on April 21, 2022. After the U.S. Supreme Court denied stays of exe­cu­tion for both pris­on­ers, their cas­es took different…

Issues

Upcoming Executions

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May 21, 2021

Court Halts Execution of Terminally Ill Idaho Death-Row Prisoner

An Idaho tri­al court has stayed the sched­uled June 2, 2021 exe­cu­tion of Gerald Pizzuto, Jr. (pic­tured), halt­ing state pros­e­cu­tors’ efforts to put the hos­pice-bound ter­mi­nal­ly ill pris­on­er to death before his stage‑4 can­cer can take his life and state offi­cials can con­sid­er his petition for…

Death Row

Death Row Overview

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Apr 21, 2020

Case of 79-Year-Old Ohio Death-Row Prisoner With Dementia Highlights Legal Issues Exacerbated by the Aging of Death Row

Seventy-nine-year-old James Frazier (pic­tured) is Ohio​’s old­est death-row pris­on­er. He has demen­tia, he can­not walk, and he requires the assis­tance of aides to com­plete dai­ly tasks. Because of his spe­cial med­ical needs, he is incar­cer­at­ed at the Franklin Medical Center, rather than on Ohio’s death row at the Chillicothe Correctional Institution. Ohio is sched­uled to exe­cute him on October 20,…

Issues

Federal Death Penalty

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Dec 04, 2019

Lawyers for Federal Death-Row Prisoner Say Schizophrenia, Brain Injuries, and Dementia Have Left Him Incompetent to Be Executed

Lawyers for fed­er­al death-row pris­on­er Wesley Purkey, who is sched­uled to be exe­cut­ed on December 13, 2019, say he is incom­pe­tent to be exe­cut­ed because he has Alzheimer’s dis­ease, schiz­o­phre­nia, and trau­mat­ic brain injuries that ​“ren­der him unable to ratio­nal­ly under­stand the rea­son the United States seeks to execute…

Issues

Executions Overview

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Mar 01, 2019

Supreme Court Decides that Executing a Person With Dementia Could Be Unconstitutional

The United States Supreme Court has reversed a deci­sion of the Alabama state courts that would have per­mit­ted the exe­cu­tion of Vernon Madison (pic­tured), a death-row pris­on­er whose severe demen­tia has left him with no mem­o­ry of the crime for which he was sen­tenced to death and com­pro­mised his under­stand­ing of why he was to be…