Entries tagged with “Aging on death row”

Facts & Research

Clemency

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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…

Policy Issues

Prosecutorial Accountability

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Clemency

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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,…

Policy Issues

Mental Illness

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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…

Policy Issues

Mental Illness

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United States Supreme Court

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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…