Entries tagged with “Jerry Givens”
Executions
Aug 24, 2026
Article of Interest: Law Review Article Considers the Human Cost of Execution Work
In her forthcoming article in the U.C. Irvine Law Review, Professor Alexandra L. Klein argues that the effect of executions on the people who carry them out has been largely overlooked in both legal scholarship and constitutional doctrine. If the state chooses to execute someone, she writes, someone must perform the killing, and the psychological consequences deserve a central place in conversations about cruelty under the Eighth Amendment. The author argues that evidence of harm to execution…
Conditions on Death Row
,Dec 05, 2024
Hidden Casualties: Executions Harm Mental Health of Prison Staff
In March, Oklahoma officials asked the state’s high court to increase the time between executions from 60 to 90 days, citing the “lasting trauma” and “psychological toll” of executions on corrections officers. But Judge Gary Lumpkin dismissed these concerns, telling officials that prison staff needed to “suck it up” and “man up.” A few weeks later, Brian Dorsey was executed in Missouri after the governor ignored the pleas of an unprecedented 72 corrections officers to grant him clemency. “We…
Research
Feb 05, 2021
Virginia Legislature Votes to Abolish the Death Penalty
With two historic votes, the Virginia General Assembly has moved the commonwealth to the cusp of becoming the first Southern state to abolish capital punishment, approving separate bills that would end the state’s death penalty and resentence the two men on death row to life without parole. On February 3, 2021, the Virginia State Senate voted along party lines, 21 – 17, in favor of abolishing capital punishment. Two days later, three Republicans joined all but one Democrat in the Virginia House…
Research
Feb 04, 2021
Virginia Senate Passes Bill to Abolish the Death Penalty
The Virginia Senate moved the commonwealth one step closer to becoming the first Southern state to abolish capital punishment, voting 21 – 17 on February 3, 2021 to approve a bill that would end the state’s death penalty and resentence the two men on death row to life without parole. The party-line vote clears a major hurdle in the commonwealth’s historic effort at abolition. The bill could see a vote in the House of Delegates as soon as February 5, after a companion measure passed the House…
Research
New Voices
,Apr 20, 2020
Jerry Givens, Former Executioner Who Became Outspoken Critic of Death Penalty, Dies at 67
Jerry Givens (pictured), who performed 62 executions during his time as a Virginia corrections officer, but later became an activist against the death penalty, died April 13, 2020 of COVID-19. He was 67 years old. During his 17 years (1982 – 1999) as a member of Virginia’s execution team, the commonwealth performed more executions than any other state except Texas. Though he swore an oath not to tell even his family about his role as executioner until he left his corrections position, Givens…
Executions
Upcoming Executions
,Mar 17, 2020
Texas Court Issues 60-Day Stay of Execution for John Hummel in Response to Coronavirus Crisis
Responding to escalating health concerns caused by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (TCCA) has temporarily halted the execution of John Hummel. In an order issued on March 16, 2020, the TCCA stayed Hummel’s execution, which had been scheduled for March 18, for 60 days, saying the delay was necessary “in light of the current health crisis and the enormous resources needed to address that emergency.” Hummel’s attorney had asked for the stay, arguing that the…
Issues
New Voices
,Apr 25, 2018
Powerful New Documentaries Explore Death-Penalty Issues
Three powerful new documentaries that explore the modern death penalty in the United States are set to premiere this April. Oscar-winning actress Viola Davis and Julius Tennon are executive producers of The Last Defense, a new documentary series premiering for the first time at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival on April 27. The seven-episode documentary series exposes flaws in the U.S. justice system through the personal narratives of death row prisoners Darlie Routier and Julius Jones, both whom…
Research
New Voices
,Mar 31, 2017
Corrections Officials Warn Arkansas Leaders About Psychological Trauma From Unprecedented Execution Schedule
As Arkansas moves toward attempting to conduct an unprecedented eight executions in eleven days, former corrections officials from across the country are warning Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson of the psychological toll the compressed execution schedule could take on prison personnel. Dr. Allen Ault (pictured), former warden and corrections commissioner in Georgia who oversaw five executions in that state, said “[t]he rapid schedule will put an extraordinary burden on the men and women…
Issues
New Voices
,Apr 24, 2015
NEW VOICES: Effects of the Death Penalty on Those Who Carry It Out
Four retired death-row prison officials — two wardens, a chaplain, and an execution supervisor — recently described the effect that carrying out executions has had on them. Frank Thompson (pictured), who served as a warden in Oregon and Arkansas, said he believed in capital punishment until he thought “about those flaws in the back of my mind that I knew existed with capital punishment. It’s being administered against the poor; it lacks proof that it deters anything.” He trained his staff to…
Issues
New Voices
,Jun 19, 2013
INTERNATIONAL: Leaders from Many Countries Address Fifth World Congress in Madrid
On June 12 – 15, political leaders and criminal justice experts from five continents gathered in Madrid, Spain, for the Fifth World Congress Against the Death Penalty. The World Congress was co-sponsored by Spain, France, Norway, and Switzerland, and included delegates from over 90 countries. The delegation from the United States included Jerry Givens, a former correctional officer in Virginia, who assisted with the execution of 62 inmates. Givens became an opponent of the death penalty after his…
Issues
New Voices
,Feb 14, 2013
NEW VOICES: Former Virginia Executioner Calls for End of Death Penalty
Jerry Givens spent 17 years as the correctional officer in charge of Virginia’s electrocutions. During his tenure, he carried out 62 executions. He now strongly opposes the death penalty. The thought that he might execute an innocent person was a major factor in Givens’ change of heart. “The only thing I can do is pray to God to forgive me if I did,” he said. “But I do know this — I will never do it again.” The pending execution of Earl Washington, Jr. had a significant impact on Givens.