Sir Ludovic Kennedy has died at the age of 89. Kennedy was a journalist, broadcaster and long standing campaigner against miscarriages of justice and the death penalty and for euthanasia. [more inside]
posted by Electric Dragon on Oct 20, 2009 - 14 comments

Nearly 100 years had passed since nationally syndicated radio host Tom Joyner's "great-uncles, Thomas Griffin and Meeks Griffin were wrongfully executed in South Carolina. On Wednesday, a board voted 7-0 to pardon both men, clearing their names in the 1913 killing of a veteran of the Confederate Army. ...It marks the first time in history that South Carolina has issued a posthumous pardon in a capital murder case." [more inside]
posted by darkstar on Oct 15, 2009 - 8 comments

Charles Hood, sentenced to death for a double murder committed in 1989, is currently fighting for his conviction to be overturned and subsequent death sentenced to be stayed. Why? Because the lead prosecutor and judge were having an alleged affair at the time of the trial. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, no strangers to controversy regarding the possible misuse of the death penalty, declined to hear the petition lodged by Hood's lawyers regarding the fairness of the trial saying the defense should have brought the issue up at trial despite the lack of evidence towards the allegations until recently. [more inside]
posted by Talez on Sep 21, 2009 - 42 comments

Expert tells Texas state-sanctioned review that they killed an innocent man. If the commission reaches the same conclusion, it could lead to the first-ever declaration by an official state body that an inmate was wrongly executed. Cameron Todd Willingham was accused of killing his three children in a house fire. There have been doubts about the case for years, thoroughly outlined in this 2004 Chicago Tribune article and this 2005 NPR interview (summarized in this Daily Kos diary). [more inside]
posted by desjardins on Aug 25, 2009 - 92 comments

Dennis Skillicorn was sentenced to die in 1996 for the murder of businessman/good Samaritan Richard Drummond and two other deaths in connection with a 1994 crime spree. Yesterday morning, local news outlet Missourinet, with a slight time delay, tweeted his execution. Elyria, Ohio's Chronicle Telegram is discussing plans to tweet an upcoming execution, but they are not sure if they should.
posted by cashman on May 21, 2009 - 42 comments

For nearly 20 years, Chicago has known about police torture of suspects. Torture at the city's notorious Area 2, under Commander Jon Burge, resulted in numerous false confessions in the 1980s, including the men who became known as the Death Row 10. The Death Row 10 case was among the reasons former Gov. George Ryan's called a moratorium on capital punishment in Illinois in 2000 and pardoned four in 2003. Burge, fired in 1993, retired to Florida on his police pension, where he seemed to escape any measure of justice. Until today. [more inside]
posted by scody on Oct 21, 2008 - 45 comments

The Supreme Court today issued a one line statement refusing to hear Troy Davis' appeal. Troy Davis was convicted of the 1989 murder of a police officer in Savannah, GA, and sentenced to death solely on eyewitness testimony. No murder weapon or any physical evidence linked him to the crime. Since the conviction, seven of the nine witnesses have recanted or changed their stories, and one of the two who haven't changed their stories is the other suspect in the case. Things were looking good for Davis when the Supreme Court issued a stay two hours before his execution last month. Justice may really be dead in this country.
posted by x_3mta3 on Oct 14, 2008 - 60 comments

Executed Today offers "each day the story of an historical execution that took place on this date, and the story behind it."
posted by Knappster on Aug 12, 2008 - 19 comments

On March 25, the Supreme Court held (pdf) that rulings by the International Court of Justice are essentially not binding upon state courts. This paves the way for Texas to execute one Jose Ernesto Medellin for the rape and murder of two teenage girls. [more inside]
posted by valkyryn on Mar 31, 2008 - 59 comments

Mr. Show skits that became reality . (Warning: mature language)
posted by boost ventilator on Feb 6, 2008 - 43 comments

Afghan journalist found guilty of blasphemy by Sharia court and sentenced to death. The decision has been upheld by the Afghan Senate.
posted by butterstick on Feb 2, 2008 - 46 comments

New Jersey abolishes the death penalty. Just one step in a long nationwide move away from capital punishment. Now, New Jersey hasn't actually executed anyone since it first instated its death penalty - but this move is hardly symbolic, as the state has spent about a quarter billion dollars on its death penalty, revealing a counterintuitive fact: the death penalty is far more expensive than life without parole.
posted by parmanparman on Dec 13, 2007 - 81 comments

High-resolution images of Death Row at San Quentin State Prison, California.
posted by fandango_matt on Nov 12, 2007 - 54 comments

Iranian man stoned to death for adultery after serving 11-year prison sentence. Unsuccessful, unofficial investigation here. Amnesty International pleads for life of his partner.
posted by shivohum on Jul 20, 2007 - 44 comments

A very big day for the Supreme Court. In Morse v. Fredrick, the Court ruled that a school could suspend a child for holding up a "Bong HiTs for Jesus" banner. (Previous post here). In Hein v. Freedom from Religion, the Court held that taxpayers lacked standing to challenged Faith Based Initiatives (previous discussions). In Wilke v. Robbins, the Court held that land owners do not have Bivens claims if the federal government harasses landowners for easements. In FEC v. Wisconsin Right to Life, the Court held that the portion of the campaign finance law which had blackout periods before elections on issue advocacy advertising was an unconstitutional restriction of speech (other). This Thursday, the Justices will deliver their last opinions of the term, including a death penalty case and the school assignment cases. (Opinions are .pdfs)
posted by dios on Jun 25, 2007 - 224 comments

This year, Maryland has been on a path to become the first state to abolish capital punishment, and a bill to repeal the death penalty will be voted on in committee within days. Exonerated death row inmates have been campaigning fervently in support of the bill (including Kirk Bloodsworth, a Marylander who was the first death row inmate ever to be proven innocent by DNA)--and the exonerated are joined by a gamut of other voices that one might not normally expect in the debate. Murder victim family members are vocally supporting abolition. Law enforcement officials, including prosecutors, wardens and police chiefs, are vocally supporting abolition. The Baltimore city council – which presides over the lion’s share of Maryland’s violent crime -- is unanimously in support of abolition. Even Maryland's governor, Martin O’Malley, has taken a bold stance in support of abolishing executions, going so far as to publish an op-ed, "Why I Oppose the Death Penalty," in the Washington Post on the day of the abolition bill’s hearings in Annapolis. And, last but not least, the public is more than 60% in support of replacing the death penalty with life without parole.

So why are so many legislators still supporting death penalty?
Even if the bill doesn’t pass in this session, it seems like Governor O’Malley has nothing to worry about for having come out ahead of the legislature on this issue. It’s the legislatures—in Maryland and elsewhere—that are falling behind, as the entire country backs steadily away from capital punishment.
posted by snortlebort on Mar 15, 2007 - 91 comments

Saddam's farewell letter.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane on Dec 27, 2006 - 46 comments

Krishna Maharaj is a British businessman who was convicted of the 1986 murder of a Jamaican father and son in a hotel room in Miami, Florida. He was given the death penalty, but this was commuted to a life sentence in 2002 due to irregularities in his trial. Well, "irregularities" is an understatement: none of Maharaj's seven alibi witnesses were called to the stand. Maharaj is widely understood to be innocent, and another prime suspect has been identified. In 2001, 300 British politicians wrote to Jeb Bush, requesting a retrial. Considering this possibility in 2004, the Florida judge said that “newly discovered evidence which goes only to guilt or innocence is insufficient to warrant relief" and denied the motion. The US Supreme Court refused to take the case. Krishna Maharaj must now rely on the mercy of Jeb Bush.
BBC Newsnight with 2-part video documentary
2004 FAQ
Campaign website
posted by thirteenkiller on Oct 18, 2006 - 58 comments

The Case of Cory Maye. A cop is dead, an innocent man may be on death row, and drug warriors keep knocking down doors.
posted by Sticherbeast on Sep 22, 2006 - 26 comments

This is Darrow,
Inadequately scrawled, with his young, old heart,
And his drawl, and his infinite paradox
And his sadness, and kindness,
And his artist sense that drives him to shape his life
To something harmonious, even against the schemes of God. [MI]
posted by amro on Mar 30, 2006 - 7 comments

Alito's First Vote. In his first significant act on the Supreme Court, Justice Alito splits with his conservative colleagues, and votes to refuse to let Missouri execute a death-row inmate contesting lethal injection. You can read the (very short) order on page four of yesterday's order sheet [pdf]. More commentary at SCOTUSblog, and discussion of Alito's approach to the death penalty is available at Sentencing Law & Policy.
posted by monju_bosatsu on Feb 2, 2006 - 38 comments

A Conversation with Stanley Tookie Williams - Amy Goodman had a conversation with Stanley Williams days before he was executed using lethal injection at San Quentin's death chamber. It was good to listen to the audio and following along with the transcript. In listening I kept in mind Williams' violent past, his long incarceration, and his "redemption". I learned something from this. And it was redemption which Ahnold said [PDF] was the reason for no slack. In the end it was Conan the Barbarian who singularly determined Tookie's fate.
posted by rmmcclay on Dec 14, 2005 - 99 comments

Tomorrow Stan "Tookie" Williams founder of the Crips gang is scheduled to die. Many feel that Tookie has turned has life around, he's written books about his life, and has had his story made into a movie and even been nominated for the Nobel Prize Some say he deserves clemency others do not this morning Tookie was denied an appeal to the California Supreme Court and is waiting on a federal appeal. Which begs the question Should Tookie Die?
posted by bitdamaged on Dec 12, 2005 - 474 comments

At dawn on Friday Singapore time, young Australian Nguyen Tuong Van will be hanged by the State executioner, Darshan Singh. His sentencing has raised an extensive debate in Australia on the death penalty, on our regional relationships and the compassion of our fearless Rodent. Like virtually all advanced nations, Australia has generally held a principled stance against the death penalty, though filtered by realpolitik. Yet again, New Zealand is a bit more principled than us, of course. We would of course never protest to the US about its extensive use of the ultimate State sanction.
posted by wilful on Nov 29, 2005 - 100 comments

"I have been framed in a capital murder case." Ruben Cantu was executed in Texas in 1993 after being convicted of a 1984 San Antonio murder. A Houston Chronicle investigation suggests he was innocent. His co-defendant and the only eyewitness now say he was innocent and the judge, prosecutor, head juror and defense attorney acknowlege the case was built on omissions and lies. [more inside]
posted by kirkaracha on Nov 24, 2005 - 30 comments

Man Sentenced to Death in Alabama. but not just any old death sentence. This is the fellow who killed two cops and a police dispatcher, then blamed his actions on Grand Theft Auto, which is a popular video game. Alabama, the state whose residents fought so hard to keep the 10 commandments on display in a courthouse. Maybe they should have been allowed to display that monument, to remind them that murder is a crime - no matter how you dress it up.
posted by the theory of revolution on Oct 7, 2005 - 66 comments

Death for embezzling? The former chief of the state run Bank of China, Liu Jinbao, was given a suspended death sentence for embezzling 7.72M yuan (approximately 1M USD). His assets have been seized, and it is expected that his sentence will be commuted to life in prison. As China actively seeks to lure foreign investments, including banks, this is meant to send a strong signal about corruption in the financial sector.
posted by SirOmega on Aug 13, 2005 - 18 comments

Man on death row wants to donate liver to dying sister. I think this opens up many questions and mucks up the waters if you are both pro life(viva Terri), and also support the death penalty. (first fpp)
posted by MrMulan on May 16, 2005 - 115 comments

Woman stoned to death for adultery ... ... in Afghanistan.
posted by magullo on Apr 26, 2005 - 63 comments

The Lancet publishes a research letter that finds inadequate anaesthesia is used in executions by lethal injection
posted by magullo on Apr 15, 2005 - 40 comments

The Supreme Court just ruled in a 5-4 decision that the Juvenile Death Penalty was unconstitutional. First, it was the mentally ill, now teenagers. Are we getting close to abolishing the death penalty altogether
posted by AaRdVarK on Mar 1, 2005 - 146 comments

The Last Request: Selected Last Meals of Texas Death Row Inmates. [flash] [+]
posted by monju_bosatsu on Dec 11, 2004 - 23 comments

While you were re-electing a president:
Senator-elect Jim DeMint: Thinks that unwed pregnant women and gays are unfit to be schoolteachers.
Senator-elect Tom Coburn: Wants the death penalty for abortion doctors.
Senator-elect John Thune: Mr. School Prayer Amendment.
Voters in 11 states voted to ban same-sex marriage. The lowest margin was 57%-43%. The highest (Mississippi) was 86%-14%. Kentucky's also bans civil unions. That one was 75%-25%.
The Senate will likely be split 55-45 in favor of Republicans, creeping closer to a filibuster-proof supermajority. Meanwhile, 89% of these guys are older than 65.
Enjoy your tax cut, America. You're going to need it.
posted by PrinceValium on Nov 3, 2004 - 73 comments

There are some questions that social scientists should be able to answer. Either executing people cuts the homicide rate or it does not. A fascinating look into statistics and the death penalty.
posted by LimePi on Sep 29, 2004 - 32 comments

"The application for stay of execution of sentence of death presented to Justice Kennedy and by him referred to the Court is denied." Hours later, James Hubbard is injected with lethal chemicals and dies in Atmore, Alabama. Hubbard, convicted of a 1977 murder, was 74 years old, demented, and retarded. File this one under "it's not cruel and unusual if you don't know what's happening to you."
posted by PrinceValium on Aug 5, 2004 - 54 comments

Convicted killer wins stay. The 9th Circuit Court feels that justice would be better served by being more sure that Cooper is actually guilty of the 4 murders he was sentenced to die for (followed from here). Considering the amount of controversy over evidence handling in this case, I think that they're right.
posted by Dipsomaniac on Feb 9, 2004 - 9 comments

Four California activists were arrested Tuesday while protesting the case of Kevin Cooper, set to be executed in less than a week. Gov. Schwarzenegger denied a clemency hearing for Cooper (the first time such a hearing was denied since California re-instituted the death penalty in 1978), despite ample evidence shedding doubt not only on the fairness of Cooper's trial, but also his alleged guilt. Kevin Cooper is asking people to protest for his life.
posted by sudama on Feb 5, 2004 - 71 comments

Here are some ideas for Thanksgiving dinner, though not a circumstance I'd like to participate in. If ever there was a time to say Grace before dining, this certainly is one of those times. Pumpkin pie anyone?
posted by bluedaniel on Nov 27, 2003 - 10 comments

Massachusetts governor has new plan to get death penalty re-introduced. Romney claims that his science is so tight that guilt will be irrefutable. It's an interesting angle to take to change legislation. I do, however, wonder how science can irrefutably detect crooked cops.
posted by Mayor Curley on Sep 24, 2003 - 33 comments

Dead Man Eating is a weblog listing last meals of American prisoners put to death. Often humanizing the prisoners without belittling their crimes, it's a macabre, fascinating read no matter which side of the death penalty debate you're on.
posted by kickerofelves on Aug 2, 2003 - 36 comments

(NYT) The death row trifecta: juvenile, retarded and ... proved innocent by DNA testing
But unlike other trifectas, this one will not necessarily get you off the hook. Never mind that the real perpetrator has been identified (due to his prison yard bragging initially and through a DNA perfect match later). One of the great problems of the American criminal justice system is that once an innocent person is trapped in the system, it's extremely difficult to get him — or her — extricated.
posted by magullo on Jul 14, 2003 - 29 comments

The Exonerated
Want to see some great theater and learn a bit about our great system of justice and capital punishment? Then The Exonerated may be the show for you.

The other night I went to see The Exonerated, which has been playing Off Broadway since last fall and is also appearing in theaters around the country this year. Composed wholly from court records and interviews by playwrights Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen, this documentary drama recounts true tales of horror from the American criminal-justice system. The actors sit downstage and read their parts as the stories of six innocent citizens condemned to death row unfold. If this sounds like a worthy endeavor, it is; if it sounds dull or didactic, it isn’t.
posted by nofundy on Jul 3, 2003 - 2 comments

DNA frees 3 convicts after 17-year incarcerations --Barry Scheck and The Innocence Project have struck again. Thus far, they have used DNA to free 128 wrongly convicted people. Read Frontline's interview with Scheck. Learn about a sister organization, Northwestern's Center on Wrongful Convictions, which has freed nine Illinois men who were once sentenced to death. For those sentenced to time in the can, prison can be a rough place. How can we prevent innocent people from being put to death? Or fates worse than death?
posted by trharlan on Jun 12, 2003 - 39 comments

"Mr. Banks, a man with no prior criminal record, is most likely innocent of the charge that put him on death row. Fearing a tragic miscarriage of justice, three former federal judges (including William Sessions, a former director of the F.B.I.) have urged the U.S. Supreme Court to block Wednesday's execution.

"So far, no one seems to be listening." [via atrios]
posted by donkeyschlong on Mar 11, 2003 - 15 comments

republican governor commutes death row sentences
im sure this will upset the spiteful old bat from illinois whom i was forced to share a table with at a wedding recently - when asked about this issue and innocent men ending up on death row, she responded: "this is war, and sometimes innocents are killed in war"
posted by specialk420 on Jan 11, 2003 - 119 comments

A report commissioned by outgoing Maryland governor Parris Glendening has found interesting racial disparities in the death penalty: although it appears the race of the defendant is irrelevant individually in the application of capital punishment, such is is not the case when one weighs in the race of the victim of a crime, in which the killing of a white person by a black person nearly doubles the likelihood of the defendant receiving the death penalty, "primarily because they are substantially more likely to be charged by the state's attorney with a capital offense."
posted by XQUZYPHYR on Jan 7, 2003 - 33 comments

In some places, they have firing squads or electric chairs. In Prague, they have defenestration. Defenestration, or the tossing of people from windows, is a tradition there, popularized first by the defenestration of 1419 and later by the defenestrations of 1618 and 1948. William Safire name-checked it in in his column a few weeks back, and another mention of it can found in the Houston Chronicle.
posted by charlesv on Dec 14, 2002 - 19 comments

Three Supreme Court Justices publicy oppose executing teenage criminals. In a rare move, Justices Ginsburg, Breyer, and Stevens made a public statement in a delay request to state their opposition to executing someone who committed murder before the age of 18. With the Court already banning the execution of the mentally retarded this year, is this another sign of a soon-to-be next step in the abolishment of the death penalty? Or does the average American still believe that regardless of what time, when you do the crime you walk the line?
posted by XQUZYPHYR on Aug 30, 2002 - 49 comments

Nigerian court upholds death-by-stoning sentence on adulterous mother. The ruling will stay as it was; the now 30-year-old woman, sentenced to die for having a child out of wedlock, will be executed in January 2004, the time the court has deemed "she will no longer be necessary to breast-feed the baby." You read that right. Something tells me they didn't.
posted by XQUZYPHYR on Aug 19, 2002 - 62 comments

A U.S. District Court judge rules that the federal death penalty is unconstitutional. In related news, the Washington Post reports that everyone's favorite cabinet member, Mr. Ashcroft, has been pushing for the death penalty in federal cases and "frequently overruling his own prosecutors in the process". Here we go...
posted by gimonca on Jul 1, 2002 - 68 comments