Race
,United States Supreme Court
,Aug 30, 2017
Fifty years ago today, Thurgood Marshall (pictured) was confirmed as the nation’s first African-American Supreme Court Justice. Marshall’s legacy is indelibly linked to his historic victory in 1954 as counsel in
Lethal Injection
,Jul 27, 2023
On July 21, 2023, Alabama death row prisoner James Barber was executed two hours after the U.S. Supreme Court denied his motion for a stay in a 6 – 3 decision. This marks the state’s first execution since a series of three botched executions in 2022…
United States Supreme Court
,Executions Overview
,Mar 08, 2017
On March 7, the United States Supreme Court denied a stay of execution for Texas death-row prisoner Rolando Ruiz, declining to consider his claim that the more than 20 years he had been incarcerat…
Arbitrariness
,United States Supreme Court
,Dec 13, 2016
In the span of one week, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review petitions from six death row prisoners, denying them relief in their cases. The petitioners raised issues related to DNA procedures, conflict of counsel, a disputed guilty plea, ju…
Arbitrariness
,United States Supreme Court
,Jul 02, 2018
As its 2017 – 2018 term came to a close, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review two Mississippi cases that presented significant challenges to capital punishment as implemented in that state and across the country. Over the
Representation
,United States Supreme Court
,Jun 04, 2018
Over a strong dissent by Justice Sonia Sotomayor (pictured), the United States Supreme Court on June 4 declined to review the case of Texas condemned prisoner
Costs
,Deterrence
,New Voices
,Apr 29, 2014
Three former Chief Justices of the Oregon Supreme Court have recently called for an end to the death penalty in their state. Retired Chief Justice Wallace P. Carson, Jr. (l.), was the most recent Justice to call f…
New Voices
,Dec 27, 2011
The Chief Justice of California ‘s Supreme Court, Tani Cantil-Sakauye, recently called for a re-evaluation of the state’s death penalty system, saying the system is not working and “not effective.” In her first public comments on …
New Voices
,Mar 05, 2012
A recent op-ed written by retired Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Pascal F. Calogero Jr. highlights the state’s history of violating the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Brady v. Maryland. According t…
Recent Legislative Activity
,New Voices
,Jun 23, 2010
Joseph P. Nadeau, who served on New Hampshire’s Supreme Court for six years and as a judge for 37 years, recently testified before the state’s death penalty commission about his opposition to the practice. In an o…
Arbitrariness
,New Voices
,Jan 28, 2013
Ohio Supreme Court Justice William O’Neill recently voted to strike down the death penalty, when he dissented in an order setting an execution date for Jeffrey Wogenstahl. Justice O’Neill wrote, “I would hold that capital punishme…
United States Supreme Court
,New Voices
,Feb 23, 2016
Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens (pictured), in remarks to a capital case seminar hosted by California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, criticized the death penalty as a “wasteful enterprise” and urged voters, legislators, and t…
