Entries tagged with “Jurors”
Policy Issues
Innocence
,Apr 25, 2024
Articles of Interest: Juror Who Sentenced Toforest Johnson to Death Now Believes He Is Innocent
Monique Hicks, one of the twelve people who served on the Alabama jury that convicted Toforest Johnson and sentenced him to death, said in an op-ed published on April 22, 2024 that she now believes Mr. Johnson deserves a new trial. Ms. Hicks recounts the new evidence that has come to light in the case and writes, “My role in the wrongful conviction of an innocent man keeps me awake at…
Policy Issues
Juveniles
,Jun 06, 2023
Jurors Who Sentenced Michael Tisius to Death Express Regret
Four jurors and two alternates from the 2010 trial of Michael Tisius have said in affidavits that they would support clemency in his case. Mr. Tisius is scheduled to be executed in Missouri on June 6, 2023. In his clemency petition, and in interviews with the New York Times, the jurors said that mitigating evidence that was not presented at trial would have altered their sentencing decisions. (The image to the left is art created by Mr. Tisius and included in his clemency…
Policy Issues
Representation
,Jul 27, 2022
California State and Federal Courts Overturn Three Death Sentences
State and federal courts have overturned three California death sentences in a span of two weeks from late June to mid-July 2022. Death-row prisoners Richard Clark, Michael Bramit, and Andrew Lancaster were all granted relief on claims related to defense counsel’s inadequate performance or jury-related issues. Clark and Bramit will receive new penalty-phase…
Policy Issues
Innocence
,Prosecutorial Accountability
,Aug 30, 2021
Jurors who Voted to Convict Toforest Johnson Now Support New Trial
Three members of the jury who voted to convict and sentence Toforest Johnson (pictured, center) to death in his capital trial in Birmingham in 1998 are now urging Alabama’s courts to grant him a new trial. Having learned of significant prosecutorial misconduct during Johnson’s trial for the murder of a sheriff’s deputy, including the revelation that a key witness lied to collect reward money, Jay Crane, Matthew…