Entries tagged with “Jessica Sutton

Women

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May 04, 2026

Counsel for Brenda Andrew Asks for Rehearing in Tenth Circuit Based on Rampant Gender Bias”

On April 27, 2026, coun­sel for Oklahoma death-sen­­tenced pris­on­er Brenda Andrew, the only woman on the state’s death row, filed a peti­tion ask­ing the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit to recon­sid­er whether her con­sti­tu­tion­al right to a fair tri­al was vio­lat­ed by the prosecution’s use of​“ram­pant gen­der bias” dur­ing her tri­al. In January 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a *per curi­am* deci­sion, remand­ed the case for con­sid­er­a­tion of whether the state’s…

Women

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Jan 22, 2025

Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Only Woman on Oklahoma Death Row, Confirming Admission of Prejudicial, Gendered Evidence Can Violate Due Process Rights

At Brenda Andrew’s 2004 tri­al in Oklahoma for the mur­der of her hus­band, the pros­e­cu­tor called wit­ness­es to tes­ti­fy about her​“provoca­tive” cloth­ing and her pre­vi­ous sex­u­al rela­tion­ships, and ques­tioned​“whether a good moth­er would dress or behave” the way she had. Jurors heard Ms. Andrew called a​“hoochie” and a​“slut pup­py.” In his clos­ing argu­ment, the pros­e­cu­tor opened a suit­case and showed the jury Ms. Andrew’s under­wear, ask­ing,​“The grieving widow…

Issues

Conditions on Death Row

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Jun 27, 2024

Attorney Jessica Sutton on the Unique Challenges of LGBTQ+ Capital Defendants

In this month’s episode of Discussions with DPIC, Managing Director Anne Holsinger speaks with Jessica Sutton, prin­ci­pal attor­ney with Phillips Black, a non­prof­it pub­lic inter­est law firm focused cap­i­tal defense. Ms. Sutton has rep­re­sent­ed clients fac­ing the death penal­ty in more than a dozen juris­dic­tions across the U.S. and at all stages of pro­ceed­ings. In recog­ni­tion of Pride month, Ms. Sutton dis­cuss­es the unique chal­lenges LGBTQ+ peo­ple face in the…

Issues

Conditions on Death Row

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Jun 27, 2024

Discussions with DPIC Podcast: Attorney Jessica Sutton on the Unique Challenges of LGBTQ+ Capital Defendants

In this month’s episode of Discussions with DPIC, Managing Director Anne Holsinger speaks with Jessica Sutton, prin­ci­pal attor­ney with Phillips Black, a non­prof­it pub­lic inter­est law firm focused cap­i­tal defense. Ms. Sutton has rep­re­sent­ed clients fac­ing the death penal­ty in more than a dozen juris­dic­tions across the U.S. and at all stages of pro­ceed­ings. In recog­ni­tion of Pride month, Ms. Sutton dis­cuss­es the unique chal­lenges LGBTQ+ peo­ple face in the…