Entries tagged with “Brett Kavanaugh”
Jun 01, 2026
Supreme Court Roundup: Decisions Allow Jury Discrimination Claim to Proceed and Keep Protections for Intellectually Disabled in Place
In recent weeks, the U.S. Supreme Court issued decisions regarding two key types of claims that often appear in capital cases: prosecutorial misconduct and intellectual disability. A bipartisan group of conservative and liberal justices carried each decision. The Court ruled in favor of Mississippi prisoner Terry Pitchford, allowing his jury discrimination claim to proceed, as well as Florida prisoner Gary Whitton, based on a lower court error in…
Upcoming Executions
,May 08, 2025
New Analysis: Capital Cases Overturned At Least Four Times Illustrate How Pervasive Prosecutorial Misconduct Contributes to High Cost of Death Penalty
The single most common outcome for a death sentence in the modern era is for it to be reversed on appeal due to a constitutional violation. Most people whose sentences are reversed get resentenced to life in prison or less, but some prosecutors persist in seeking new death sentences even after multiple reversals. A Death Penalty Information Center analysis of the 14 people sentenced to death four or more times for the same crime finds that prosecutorial…
Research
Apr 24, 2024
Supreme Court Roundup: Justices Hear Oral Arguments on Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Cruel and Unusual Punishment; Defend Positions on Stays
##### *Justices Debate How Courts Should Assess Aggravating and Mitigating Factors in Capital Cases on Appeal* On April 17, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in *Thornell v. Jones*, a case implicating the test for ineffective assistance of counsel — and the first and only oral argument in a death penalty case scheduled this term. Arizona appealed the Ninth Circuit’s decision vacating the death sentence of Danny Lee Jones, which found that Mr. Jones was prejudiced by his…