Entries tagged with “Willie B. Smith III”

Oct 21, 2021

Alabama Executes Intellectually Disabled Death-Row Prisoner

Alabama has exe­cut­ed an intel­lec­tu­al­ly dis­abled death-row pris­on­er who was sen­tenced to death by his tri­al judge despite a non-unan­i­mous sen­tenc­ing rec­om­men­da­tion by his jury. Willie B. Smith III was exe­cut­ed by t…

Jan 10, 2022

Alabama Federal Court Issues Injunction Against Executing Matthew Reeves by Any Method but Nitrogen Hypoxia

An Alabama fed­er­al judge has issued an order halt­ing the sched­uled January 27, 2022 exe­cu­tion of Matthew Reeves (pic­tured). On January 7, Judge R. Austin Huffaker of the U.S. District Court for the Middl…

Dec 04, 2020

DPIC Analysis — Intellectually Disabled Defendants of Color, Foreign Nationals Disproportionately Subject to the Death Penalty

Defendants of col­or and for­eign nation­als who are intel­lec­tu­al­ly dis­abled are dis­pro­por­tion­ate­ly like­ly to be sen­tenced to death, a Death Penalty Information Center analy­sis of cas­es involv­ing intel­lec­tu­al­ly dis­abled defen­dants suggests. …

Feb 22, 2021

DPIC Analysis: U.S. Enters Longest Period in 40 Years Without Any State Carrying Out an Execution

The United States has entered the longest peri­od in 40 years with­out any state car­ry­ing out an exe­cu­tion, an analy­sis of data in the Death Penalty Information Center 

Oct 19, 2021

Intellectually Disabled Alabama Death-Row Prisoner Appeals Denial of Stay of Execution, Arguing Designation of Lethal Injection Violated Americans With Disabilities Act

An intel­lec­tu­al­ly dis­abled Alabama death-row pris­on­er has appealed a fed­er­al dis­trict court rul­ing that clears the way for his exe­cu­tion on October 21, 2021. On October 17, a fed­er­al dis­trict court judge denied for a secon…

Feb 10, 2021

Supreme Court Lets Stand Federal Appeals Court Injunction Halting Alabama Execution on Claim of Religious Discrimination

Four hours after Alabama was sched­uled to exe­cute death-row pris­on­er Willie B. Smith III on February 11, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court let stand a fed­er­al appeals court injunc­tion bar­ring the exe­cu­tion from going f…

Apr 26, 2021

Texas Revises Execution Protocol to Permit Spiritual Advisers in Death Chamber

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) has amend­ed its exe­cu­tion pro­to­col to per­mit a con­demned pris­on­er to be accom­pa­nied in the exe­cu­tion cham­ber by a spir­i­tu­al advis­er of his or her own choos­ing. The protocol …

Sep 09, 2021

U.S. Supreme Court Stays Texas Execution, Agrees to Review Contours of the Right to Religious Exercise in the Execution Chamber

In an after-hours order issued on September 8, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court halt­ed Texas’s planned exe­cu­tion of John Henry Ramirez and agreed to review his claim that the state’s refusal to allow his pas­tor to ​“la…

Jul 08, 2020