Entries tagged with “Anthony Boyd

Executions

Mar 16, 2026

The New York Times Editorial Board Condemns Secrecy, Arbitrariness of U.S. Death Penalty

The New York Times edi­to­r­i­al board pub­lished an arti­cle on March 13, 2026, con­demn­ing use of the death penal­ty in the coun­try as secre­tive, arbi­trary, and unjust. Relying heav­i­ly on research and data main­tained by the Death Penalty Information Center, the board describes the events of 2025, with its sharp increase in exe­cu­tions, as a​“dark new peri­od” in the nation’s his­to­ry. The board attrib­ut­es much of the surge to Florida, which alone car­ried out 19 executions in…

Methods of Execution

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Dec 12, 2025

Should Medical Research Regulations and Informed Consent Principles Apply to States’ Use of Experimental Execution Methods?

New drugs and med­ical treat­ments under­go rig­or­ous test­ing to ensure they are safe and effec­tive for pub­lic use. Under fed­er­al and state reg­u­la­tions, this test­ing typ­i­cal­ly involves clin­i­cal tri­als with human sub­jects, who face sig­nif­i­cant health and safe­ty risks as the first peo­ple exposed to exper­i­men­tal treat­ments. That is why the law requires them to be ful­ly informed of the poten­tial effects and give their vol­un­tary con­sent to participate in…

Methods of Execution

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Botched Executions

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Nov 18, 2025

Facts About the Death Penalty – Is there a Humane” Execution Method?

Some elect­ed offi­cials and leg­is­la­tors have recent­ly pro­mot­ed some meth­ods of exe­cu­tion as more​“humane” than oth­ers. But every exe­cu­tion method ever used has been shown to car­ry the risk of error and mal­func­tion, with the result that the pris­on­er may expe­ri­ence pain and suf­fer­ing as they are exe­cut­ed. Exactly how much pain and suf­fer­ing the law per­mits is a con­sti­tu­tion­al ques­tion that has evolved with time and society’s beliefs. Methods once viewed as…

Methods of Execution

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Oct 27, 2025

Alabama Execution Witnesses Report Violent Thrashing” of Prisoner and More Than 225 Agonized Breaths” in Nitrogen Gas Execution

On October 23, 2025, Alabama exe­cut­ed Anthony Boyd, despite his unwa­ver­ing claim of inno­cence and a fiery dis­sent authored by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, renew­ing the seri­ous con­cerns that have been con­sis­tent­ly raised about the state’s use of nitro­gen gas. Justice Sotomayor, joined by Justices Kagan and Jackson, dis­sent­ed from the Court’s October 23, 2025, denial of a stay of exe­cu­tion, writ­ing that Alabama’s use of nitro­gen gas​“vio­lates the Constitution…

Methods of Execution

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Oct 21, 2025

Despite Serious Concerns about Trial’s Fairness and Anthony Boyd’s Innocence, Alabama Plans to Execute Him Using Nitrogen Gas

Anthony Boyd is sched­uled to be exe­cut­ed in Alabama on October 23, 2025, for his role in the 1993 kid­nap­ping and mur­der of Gregory​“New York” Huguley. Mr. Boyd was con­vict­ed based sole­ly on eye­wit­ness tes­ti­mo­ny with no phys­i­cal evi­dence link­ing him to the crime, and he has main­tained his inno­cence. Alabama will exe­cute Mr. Boyd using nitro­gen gas, the sev­enth time state has used this con­tro­ver­sial method since January 2024, when the state exe­cut­ed Kenneth Smith in…