Death Penalty

Coverage Roundup: Prosecutors Drove Cost of Ga. Death Penalty Case

A retired Georgia judge who stepped down from the 2005 Atlanta courthouse killings case told an ABA panel today that prosecutors are partially to blame for high costs and delays associated with the ongoing capital trial. Retired Superior Court Judge Hilton Fuller said that prosecutors could have scaled down their…

Aug 9, 2008 5:52 PM CDT

Idaho Killer’s Standby Counsel Ordered to Stay

Lawyers who have been serving as standby counsel for the man who killed an Idaho family so he could kidnap and sexually abuse two children are being compelled by a judge to stick with the case. The lawyers had asked to withdraw, saying they can’t ethically continue because Joseph Edward…

Aug 7, 2008 2:27 PM CDT

Supreme Court Permits Execution of Killer in International Law Dispute

A convicted killer whose appeal over treaty obligations sparked several international law rulings has been put to death. Jose Medellin was executed after the U.S. Supreme Court said in a 5-4 opinion that it would not impose a stay, the Houston Chronicle reports. He had been convicted in the strangulation…

Aug 6, 2008 10:57 AM CDT

Texas Court Refuses to Stay Execution Despite World Court Ruling

A Texas court has refused to stop the impending execution of a man whose case has spurred two rulings by the International Court of Justice requiring further review of his case. The defendant, Jose Medellin, was convicted in the rape and strangulation deaths of two girls, ages 14 and 16,…

Aug 4, 2008 11:53 AM CDT

President OKs 1st Military Execution Since 1961

President George W. Bush has approved an Army request to put a private to death, giving the go-ahead to what would be the first execution by the U.S. military in nearly 50 years. However, further appeals are expected. The defendant, Ronald Gray, was convicted by a military court in 1988…

Jul 29, 2008 8:11 PM CDT

Md. Cops Spied on Groups Supporting Peace, Opposing Capital Punishment

Documents released by American Civil Liberties Union show undercover officers with the Maryland State Police spied on peace activists and groups opposing the death penalty. In some cases the activists’ names were entered in a database of people believed to be terrorists or drug dealers, the Baltimore Sun reports. The…

Jul 18, 2008 5:14 PM CDT

World Court Orders U.S. to Halt Five Texas Executions

The International Court of Justice has ordered the United States to halt the executions of five Mexicans on death row in Texas. But will Texas comply? The tribunal also known as the World Court said the executions should be stopped until the defendants’ cases can be reviewed, the Washington Post…

Jul 17, 2008 11:21 AM CDT

Judge Nixes Execution Date for Longest-Serving Texas Inmate

A state court judge has withdrawn the scheduled July 22 execution date for Lester Bower, Texas’ longest-serving death row inmate, in order to address Bower’s long-standing request for DNA testing of cigarette butts and hair strands found at the scene of the multiple murder of which he was convicted in…

Jul 3, 2008 5:35 PM CDT

Justice Department Admits Snafu in Death Penalty Case

The U.S. Justice Department has admitted it erred when it failed to inform the U.S. Supreme Court that a law adopted in 2006 authorized the death penalty for child rape in military cases. The solicitor general’s office did not file a brief in the case, Kennedy v. Louisiana, the New…

Jul 3, 2008 12:25 PM CDT

Blogger Points Out Substantial Error in Supreme Court Decision

A blogger has pointed out an important fact missed by Justice Anthony M. Kennedy and the authors of 10 Supreme Court briefs: The military has a law authorizing the death penalty for child rape. Kennedy wrote the majority opinion last week in Kennedy v. Louisiana, a 5-4 decision barring the…

Jul 2, 2008 11:34 AM CDT

Calif. Panel: Death Penalty System is ‘Dysfunctional,’ ‘Close to Collapse’

Unless the state of California spends significantly more money or changes sentencing laws, its 670-inmate death row—the biggest in the country—will continue to grow and be plagued with lengthy delays, a state commission says. The time from sentencing to execution in California ranges from 20 to 25 years, compared to…

Jun 30, 2008 5:44 PM CDT

5-4 Ruling Bars Death Penalty for Child Rape

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled 5-4 that the death penalty for child rape is unconstitutional in cases that do not result in death, SCOTUSblog reports. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote the majority opinion (PDF posted by SCOTUSblog) for the divided court. “Based both on consensus and our own independent…

Jun 25, 2008 2:16 PM CDT

Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Death-Row Inmate’s Case for Third Time

The U.S. Supreme Court has twice ruled against Tennessee death-row inmate Gary Cone. Now the justices will decide whether federal courts may consider his claim that the prosecution withheld exculpatory evidence. Cone had claimed he was suffering from an amphetamine psychosis when he killed a Memphis couple following a two-day…

Jun 24, 2008 1:03 PM CDT

Delaware Executions Botched, Lawyers for Inmates Say

Although the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that lethal injections are a permissible method of carrying out the death penalty, if properly administered, that doesn’t resolve the situation in Delaware. Lawyers for death row inmates say the state’s poorly trained execution teams all-too-frequently don’t follow proper procedures and repeatedly failed…

Jun 23, 2008 10:06 PM CDT

Mexico Asks World Court to Halt Five U.S. Executions

Mexico asked the World Court today to issue a stay to halt the executions of five of its citizens in the United States. Mexico contends the five prisoners were not allowed to consult with consular officials in violation of their rights under an international treaty, the Vienna Convention. The United…

Jun 19, 2008 1:53 PM CDT