Entries tagged with “Arthur Brown

Policy Issues

Human Rights

,

Religion

,

Aug 07, 2023

Religious Leaders Explain Why They Minister to Death-Sentenced Prisoners During Executions

Reverend Melissa Potts-Bowers, the spir­i­tu­al advi­sor to Michael Tisius, recent­ly described her expe­ri­ence min­is­ter­ing to him dur­ing his exe­cu­tion as quite hor­ri­fy­ing — as it’s intend­ed to be.” Mr. Tisius was exe­cut­ed by the state of Missouri on June 6,…

Policy Issues

Intellectual Disability

,

Mental Illness

,

Mar 08, 2023

Texas Withdraws Execution Date to Allow for Mental Competency Consideration

A Grayson County, Texas court has with­drawn the April 5, 2023 exe­cu­tion date for Andre Thomas (pic­tured), a seri­ous­ly men­tal­ly ill pris­on­er whose legal team request­ed more time to demon­strate that Thomas is incom­pe­tent to be exe­cut­ed. While incar­cer­at­ed, Thomas gouged out his own eyes and claimed divine direc­tion for his crimes. More than 100 reli­gious lead­ers, along with oth­er experts, had asked Gov. Greg Abbott to halt Thomas’…

Policy Issues

Intellectual Disability

,

Upcoming Executions

,

May 27, 2022

Controversy Over Texas Executions as Houston Judge Refuses to Issue Death Warrant and Attorney General Fights Nueces County D.A.’s Effort to Withdraw Another

The fates of two men sub­ject to poten­tial­ly immi­nent exe­cu­tion in Texas hang in the bal­ance, as the state’s attor­ney gen­er­al and one local pros­e­cu­tor chal­lenge the dis­cre­tion of oth­er key offi­cials not to move for­ward with exe­cu­tions. The con­tro­ver­sy over the exe­cu­tion dates high­lights emerg­ing ten­sions between pros­e­cu­tors about enforce­ment of death sen­tences and the pro­vi­sion of fair process before a pris­on­er is…