Death Penalty

Murder Defendant Sues Ga. Judge Over Change of Counsel

A defendant in a capital murder case who was represented for more than a year by private lawyers paid for by the state of Georgia has sued his trial judge for replacing the private attorneys with public defenders. Meanwhile, the salaried public defenders selected by Pike County Superior Court Judge…

Feb 11, 2008 8:56 PM CST

Neb.‘s Top Court Bans Electric Chair, Ending Death Penalty ... For Now

In a 6-1 decision today, the Nebraska Supreme Court held that the use of the electric chair is unconstitutional under state law, effectively imposing a death penalty moratorium since this is the only execution method used there. The court ruled that the electric chair is cruel and unusual punishment prohibited…

Feb 8, 2008 10:09 PM CST

Historians Seek Grand Jury Transcripts in Rosenberg Spy Case

The sons of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are supporting a group of historians seeking release of transcripts from the grand jury investigation into the couple’s spying for the Soviet Union. The National Security Archive filed the petition (PDF) for the transcripts in an effort to uncover more information about the…

Feb 1, 2008 3:31 PM CST

Supreme Court Stops Execution After 11th Circuit Lifts a Stay

The U.S. Supreme Court stayed the execution of Alabama inmate James Harvey Callahan yesterday a little more than an hour before he was scheduled to die. The Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled Tuesday that the execution could proceed because Callahan waited too long to file his…

Feb 1, 2008 12:09 PM CST

Court Finds No 1st Amendment Right to Witness Full Execution

A federal judge in Arkansas has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a group of journalists seeking access to report all stages of the execution process. Noting that state law provides that executions are private rather than public events and that only one federal appeals court has recognized a public right…

Jan 12, 2008 12:46 AM CST

Anti-Lethal Injection Lawyers Struggle on Way to and in High Court

A public defender who helped prepare the case against lethal injections argued yesterday took “a humble road” to the U.S. Supreme Court, according to the headline in the Kentucky Herald-Leader. Public defender David Barron, who contends the state’s three-drug death cocktail is cruel and unusual punishment, “drove to Washington in…

Jan 8, 2008 11:39 AM CST

Justice Kennedy Focuses on Lethal Injection Specifics

Updated: Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, the possible swing vote in a lethal injection case before the U.S. Supreme Court, focused on the specifics of Kentucky’s procedure in oral arguments today. Kennedy questioned the lawyers about the mechanics of the procedure and the training and experience of the executioners, SCOTUSblog reports.…

Jan 7, 2008 5:38 PM CST

Justices’ Questions Could Shine Light on Lethal Injection Secrecy

Lawyers challenging lethal injection procedures have been hampered by states’ refusal to disclose details about the three-drug cocktail and the identity of executioners. But justices’ questions in oral arguments today before the U.S. Supreme Court could help bring to light the controversy over access to information, the Los Angeles Times…

Jan 7, 2008 4:03 PM CST

NYT and WaPo Oppose Ky. Lethal Injection Procedure

The New York Times and the Washington Post have published editorials opposing Kentucky’s method of lethal injections as the U.S. Supreme Court takes up the issue today. Both newspapers oppose capital punishment, but they say if it is allowed, it should be done humanely. Both say Kentucky’s three-drug cocktail does…

Jan 7, 2008 2:00 PM CST

Supreme Court to Review Death Penalty in Child Rape Case

The U.S. Supreme Court today agreed to decide whether it’s constitutional to impose a death sentence for the crime of child rape. The case of 43-year-old Patrick Kennedy was among six the high court granted for review, SCOTUSBlog reports. Kennedy, who sits on death row for raping his 8-year-old stepdaughter,…

Jan 4, 2008 8:36 PM CST

No State Wants to Be First to Change Lethal Injection Method

All 36 states that use lethal injections for capital punishment administer a three-drug cocktail, despite the availability of a single drug likely to eliminate possible pain. Experts told the New York Times that no state wants to be the first to change its lethal injection procedure to adopt the method…

Jan 3, 2008 1:05 PM CST

Tinkering with Lethal Injection

An Eighth Amendment challenge comes before the high court

Jan 1, 2008 9:33 PM CST

January 17, 1977

Gary Gilmore Executed

Jan 1, 2008 7:52 PM CST

Death-Row Inmate Who Maintained His Innocence to Be Freed in Plea Deal

A man who spent 20 years on Ohio’s death row before a federal appeals court overturned his sentence has agreed to a plea deal that will result in his release. Kenneth Richey had been convicted of a setting a fire that killed a 2-year-old girl, but the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S.…

Dec 19, 2007 7:27 PM CST

U.S. Executions at a 13-Year Low

Forty-two people were executed in the United States this year, the lowest number since 1994, when 31 people were put to death. Court challenges to the constitutionality of lethal injection procedures have slowed the pace of executions, according to a report by the Death Penalty Information Center. But executions also…

Dec 19, 2007 12:04 PM CST