Entries tagged with “Brain Damage”

Policy Issues

Human Rights

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Mental Illness

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Clemency

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Upcoming Executions

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May 19, 2023

Missouri Clemency Petition Highlights Prisoner’s Extraordinary Artwork

UPDATE 2: On June 2, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit lift­ed the stay that had been imposed by the U.S. District Court, say­ing that the low­er court did not have juris­dic­tion to order the…

Policy Issues

Mental Illness

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Clemency

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Oct 17, 2022

Oklahoma Denies Clemency to Death-Row Prisoner Richard Fairchild Who Suffers from Brain Damage, Hallucinations, and Delusions

In a 4 – 1 vote, the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board denied clemen­cy to Richard Fairchild, the third of 25 peo­ple the state sched­uled for exe­cu­tion between August 2022 and December 2024. Fairchild’s attor­neys argued that he was rep­re­sent­ed at tri­al by incom­pe­tent coun­sel who nev­er pre­sent­ed evi­dence of Fairchild’s severe child­hood abuse and of his repeat­ed trau­mat­ic brain injuries. Fairchild’s clemen­cy peti­tion also detailed the debil­i­tat­ing effects of his…

Policy Issues

Intellectual Disability

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Mental Illness

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Public Opinion

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Feb 03, 2022

New Poll: Voters Overwhelmingly Oppose Las Vegas DA Seeking the Death Penalty Against Vulnerable and Impaired Persons

Likely vot­ers in Clark County, Nevada over­whelm­ing­ly oppose the use of cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment against broad cat­e­gories of vul­ner­a­ble and impaired per­sons whom coun­ty pros­e­cu­tors have been try­ing to exe­cute, a new poll released by Vegas Watch on January 27, 2022…

Policy Issues

Youth

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Representation

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Upcoming Executions

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Federal Death Penalty

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Sep 18, 2020

Psychologist Raises Concerns About Upcoming Federal Execution for Crimes Committed as a Teenager

The fed­er­al gov­ern­ment intends to exe­cute Christopher Vialva (pic­tured) on September 24, 2020, the first time in near­ly 70 years it will have put any teenage offend­er to death. But accord­ing to a promi­nent cog­ni­tive neu­ropsy­chol­o­gist, the deci­sion to exe­cute Vialva is out of step with what sci­ence now knows about the work­ings of the adolescent…

Policy Issues

Mental Illness

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Oct 22, 2019

After U.S. Supreme Court Orders Further Review, Federal Appeals Court Overturns Death Sentences of Two Brain Damaged Prisoners

A fed­er­al appeals court has over­turned the death sen­tences imposed on two brain dam­aged death-row pris­on­ers in cas­es sep­a­rate­ly sent back for fur­ther review by the U.S. Supreme Court. On October 15, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ordered a new sen­tenc­ing hear­ing for Alabama death-row pris­on­er James McWilliams. Two days lat­er, anoth­er three-judge pan­el of the 11th Circuit…