Death Penalty

Witness accounts of federal executions are at odds with government reports on tranquil deaths

Executioners who put 13 federal inmates to death during the Trump administration described tranquil last moments in which inmates appeared to be sleeping.

Feb 19, 2021 12:20 PM CST

House panel considers reforms to deal with Supreme Court’s shadow docket

Lawmakers expressed concerns about the U.S. Supreme Court’s shadow docket of emergency opinions during a hearing Thursday by a House judiciary subcommittee.

Feb 19, 2021 9:38 AM CST

Afternoon Briefs: 11 ex-capital inmates added to innocence list; lawyer finds historic photo in attic

11 former death-row inmates are added to group’s innocence list The Death Penalty Information Center has added 11 former inmates to its list of people who were exonerated after an initial capital conviction. The center found the cases while researching the outcome of every death sentence since 1973, a total…

Feb 18, 2021 4:36 PM CST

What can Texas tell us about the rise and fall of the death penalty?

In Let The Lord Sort Them: The Rise and Fall of the Death Penalty, Maurice Chammah shares how Texas became the country’s capital punishment capital.

Feb 17, 2021 9:34 AM CST

SCOTUS bars Alabama from executing inmate without pastor; Barrett joins with liberal justices in concurrence

The U.S. Supreme Court late Thursday refused to allow Alabama to execute an Alabama inmate if he is not allowed to have a pastor with him in the execution chamber.

Feb 12, 2021 11:22 AM CST

Afternoon Briefs: Lawyers knock ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome;’ attorney flashes medical pot card

Trump lawyers seek dismissal of impeachment case Lawyers for former President Donald Trump on Monday asked the Senate to dismiss the impeachment case against him. Their brief argues that the Senate has no jurisdiction under the Constitution to conduct an impeachment trial of a former president, and Trump’s comments before…

Feb 8, 2021 4:33 PM CST

Afternoon Briefs: Biden addresses environmental justice; scammers impersonate law firm

Biden climate orders address environmental justice President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed executive orders to address climate change. Biden paused oil and gas leases on federal land and created a White House office of domestic climate policy. Biden addressed environmental justice with a directive for federal agencies to invest in…

Jan 27, 2021 4:31 PM CST

‘This is not justice’: Sotomayor slams final federal executions before Biden’s inauguration

Dustin John Higgs was executed early Saturday, the 13th inmate to be put to death since the federal government resumed executions after a 17-year hiatus.

Jan 19, 2021 9:38 AM CST

Afternoon Briefs: Execution carried out despite COVID-19 claim; 9 charged in Flint water crisis

COVID-19 claim doesn’t stop execution of drug trafficker Drug trafficker Cory Johnson was executed Thursday for his role in the slayings of seven people after the U.S. Supreme Court refused a delay request. Johnson’s lawyers had contended that he was intellectually disabled, and he was barred from execution. They also…

Jan 15, 2021 4:31 PM CST

ABA plea doesn’t stop the execution of the only woman on federal death row

Lisa Montgomery, the only woman on federal death row, was executed early Wednesday after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to stand in the way.

Jan 13, 2021 12:16 PM CST

Afternoon Briefs: 3 federal executions delayed; BigLaw partner resigns after sex harassment claim

Courts delay 3 federal executions scheduled for this week Federal courts have delayed three federal executions scheduled for this week. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan of the District of Columbia halted the executions of Cory Johnson and Dustin Higgs until at least March 16 to allow the men…

Jan 12, 2021 4:52 PM CST

There will be blood: COVID-19, coup d’etat and capital punishment

As America is left reeling from the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, the infamous last days of Donald J. Trump’s presidency will be remembered for lawlessness, incitement and a bloody coup attempt by a right-wing mob. Photo of Liane Jackson by Callie Lipkin/ABA Journal. As Congress attempts a second…

Jan 5, 2021 2:26 PM CST

Federal appeals court reinstates execution date for only woman on death row

The execution date for the only woman on federal death row has been reinstated by a three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The panel held that the court erred when it vacated the date for Lisa Montgomery.

Jan 4, 2021 12:19 PM CST

Afternoon Briefs: 2 death-row inmates test positive for COVID-19; US attorney in Missouri will resign

2 federal inmates test positive for COVID-19 ahead of January executions Cory Johnson and Dustin John Higgs, two federal prisoners who are scheduled to be executed on Jan. 14 and Jan. 15, respectively, have tested positive for COVID-19. In their announcement Friday, Johnson’s lawyers asked federal authorities to strike their…

Dec 18, 2020 4:10 PM CST

For first time in history, federal government carried out more civilian executions than all 50 states

Ten federal inmates were executed this year as a result of a push by the Department of Justice, putting the total number of federal executions above that of all 50 states combined.

Dec 17, 2020 3:07 PM CST