Entries tagged with “Articles of Interest”
Apr 24, 2025
Two New Law Review Articles Highlight Cause and Effect of Brady Violations
One fundamental principle of fairness upon which our criminal justice system relies is the notion that prosecutors must disclose exculpatory, material evidence favorable to defendants. This Constitutional obligation, established in *Brady* *v. Maryland* (1963), represents a critical safeguard against wrongful convictions. Nevertheless, *Brady* violations remain disturbingly common, with devastating consequences for defendants who may spend years or…
Mar 31, 2025
Articles of Interest: Adverse Childhood Experiences, Their Effects on Mental Health, and the Connection to Legal System Involvement
This month marks the 20th anniversary of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in *Roper v. Simmons*. In a series of posts anticipating the April 2025 release of DPI’s report commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the *Roper* decision and its implications for emerging adults , we are exploring scientific and legal developments related to juveniles and emerging adults in the death penalty system. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) refer to potentially…
Mar 13, 2025
Articles of Interest: What Experts are Saying About Emerging Adult Behavioral Development Since Roper v. Simmons
Twenty years ago this month, the Supreme Court in its landmark decision *Roper v. Simmons* found capital punishment for individuals under 18 years of age unconstitutional under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments. In explaining their decision, the Court drew in part on“scientific and sociological” studies showing that a lack of maturity in youth can lead to“impetuous and ill-considered actions and decisions,” which supported the idea that this cohort were…
New Voices
,Feb 24, 2025
Article of Interest: Cato Institute Fellow Critiques Medical Ethics Double Standard Around Executions
In a February blog post, Cato Institute Senior Fellow Jeffrey A. Singer criticizes the use of medicalized lethal injection, highlighting the double standard under which procedures that medical professionals are ethically barred from carrying out are not only allowed, but required, of law enforcement personnel.“A doctor who intentionally performs cruel and medically unjustifiable procedures that cause pain and suffering could face criminal charges. If…
Feb 20, 2025
Article of Interest: New Equal Justice Initiative Report Shines a Spotlight on Historic Patterns of Jury Discrimination and the Role of Non-Diverse Juries in Wrongful Convictions
A new report from the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), Unreliable Verdicts: Racial Bias and Wrongful Convictions, explores the history of racial bias in jury selection in the United States, including the last 40 years of racially-discriminatory preemptory jury strikes, and highlights the growing body of research showing that jury bias is reduced and the deliberative process enhanced when juries are more diverse. Looking at the pool of documented death penalty…
Research
Sep 05, 2024
Research Roundup: Revisiting David Baldus’s Study to Examine Modern Day Use of the Death Penalty
DPI’s new series focuses on academic research and articles in the field of capital punishment. This month’s article is“Sacred Victims: Fifty Years of Data on Victim Race and Sex as Predictors of Execution,” in The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, co-authored by Professors Scott Phillips (Department of Sociology & Criminology), Justin Marceau, Sam Kamin, and a J.D. program alumna, Nicole King, from the Sturm College of Law at the…
Research
Jul 12, 2024
Articles of Interest: Op-ed says new Tennessee law that expands the death penalty to child rape “creates more problems than it solves.”
A July 7, 2024 op-ed in the Tennessean argues that the recent enaction of SB 1834, which makes the rape of a child punishable by death,“does more harm than good.” Sarah McGee (pictured), coordinator for Tennesseans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, explains that during her work as a victim-witness coordinator for Davidson County District Attorney’s Office, probation officer, and assistant public defender, she “learned that when child service providers and…
Research
New Voices
,Jun 25, 2024
Articles of Interest: A Look at the Difficulties Faced by Fathers on North Carolina’s Death Row
Modified photo of “Silhouette of man carrying child” by Ante Hamersmit on…
Issues
May 09, 2024
Articles of Interest: Los Angeles Times Editorial Board Says Systemic Racism in California Death Penalty Is Just One of Many Reasons for Abolition
Los Angeles Times editorial, May…
Issues
May 03, 2024
Articles of Interest: Former Pennsylvania Death Row Prisoner Jimmy Dennis Awarded Compensation After Years-Long Legal Battle
Paul Messing, attorney…
Research
New Voices
,May 02, 2024
Articles of Interest: Missouri and Oklahoma Corrections Officials Describe Psychological Toll of Performing Executions
Justin“JJ” Humphrey (pictured), former prison officer and current chair of the criminal justice and corrections committee in the Oklahoma…
Issues
Apr 25, 2024
Articles of Interest: Juror Who Sentenced Toforest Johnson to Death Now Believes He Is Innocent
Monique…
Executions
Apr 23, 2024
Articles of Interest: Reprieve Issues New Report on Botched Executions and Racial Disparities
A new report issued April 17, 2024 by the UK-based international human rights organization Reprieve found racial disparities in the occurrence of botched executions in the United States. As reported in The Guardian, Reprieve analyzed all lethal injection executions between 1976 and 2023. It chronicled 73 confirmed botched procedures and found that 8% of executions of Black people were botched (37 times out of 465 executions), compared with 4% for white people (28…