Inmates Are ‘Architects of Their Own Doom,’ Says Judge Who Nixed Mont. Lethal Injection Process

A Montana judge has struck down Montana’s lethal injection procedure in an opinion that begins somewhat apologetically. Judge Jeffrey Sherlock found three deficiencies in the state’s lethal injection procedure, report Reuters and a blog post by the American Civil Liberties Union of Montana. They are: The three-drug cocktail used differs…

Sep 10, 2012 12:48 PM CDT

Army Judge Orders Forced Shave for Ft. Hood Massacre Suspect; Appeal Likely to Delay Military Trial

Setting the stage for further appellate review of whether the defendant accused in the Ft. Hood shooting massacre can continue to wear at a military trial, in violation of Army regulations, the beard he claims to have grown for religious reasons, a military judge Thursday ordered that Major Nidal Hasan…

Sep 7, 2012 5:17 PM CDT

U of Colo Retains 4 Law Firms to Represent 6 Employees in Aftermath of Movie Theater Shooting Spree

The University of Colorado has retained four defense law firms to advise six employees, in the aftermath of an Aurora movie theater shooting spree in which former graduate student James Holmes is charged. A dozen were killed and another 58 were injured in the attack last month. But a university…

Aug 23, 2012 11:03 PM CDT

For 2nd Time, Convicted Triple Slayer Gets US Supreme Court Reprieve One Hour Before Execution

For the second time in two years, a convicted Texas triple murderer has been given a last-minute reprieve by the U.S. Supreme Court on the day he was scheduled to be executed. Both times, the stay of execution was granted within an hour of when John Balentine, 43, was to…

Aug 23, 2012 4:32 PM CDT

Appeals Court Affirms Vacation of Virginia Man’s Conviction, Death Sentence in Murder-For-Hire Case

A federal appeals court has affirmed a lower court ruling vacating the conviction and death sentence of a Virginia man in a 2001 murder-for-hire scheme. The lower court found that prosecutors had suppressed evidence and knowingly used false testimony against Justin Wolfe, who has spent 11 years on Virginia’s death…

Aug 16, 2012 8:11 PM CDT

Denied Parole After Fame from True-Crime Book, ‘Onion Field’ Killer of Police Officer Dies in Prison

Despite having committed a chilling crime, Gregory Ulas Powell might well have been granted parole were it not for a former Los Angeles police officer who became a best-selling author. Instead Powell died, at age 79, in a California prison hospice on Sunday, the Associated Press reported. Joseph Wambaugh’s true-crime…

Aug 13, 2012 7:28 PM CDT

Last Words of Death Row Inmates Recorded in ‘Gallows Poetry’

Last week, when Texas executed 54-year-old Marvin Wilson for murdering a police drug informant, he uttered the following: “Ya’ll do understand that I came here a sinner and leaving a saint. Take me home Jesus, take me home Lord, take me home Lord. I ain’t left yet, must be a…

Aug 13, 2012 11:55 AM CDT

Man With Low IQ Is Executed in Texas; Appeals Court’s ‘Of Mice and Men’ Reference Irks Author’s Son

Clarified: A 54-year-old man with a low IQ who reportedly couldn’t handle money and sucked his thumb was put to death Tuesday in Texas for the 1992 murder of a police informant. Although Marvin Wilson had an IQ of 61, and was considered mildly mentally retarded, the U.S. Supreme Court…

Aug 9, 2012 3:00 PM CDT

Possible Plea by Suspect in Slaying of Chief Ariz. District Judge to Be Mulled in Tuesday Hearing

A plea bargain has reportedly been reached concerning the suspect in the 2011 murder of Arizona’s chief federal district court judge and five others in a shopping-mall shooting spree that also severely injured a member of Congress and led to her eventual resignation. But there are still a number of…

Aug 7, 2012 12:23 PM CDT

Judge Says Inmate Who Wants to Be Executed Can Override Governor’s Death Penalty Veto

An inmate in Oregon who was sentenced to death after his second murder conviction and wants to be executed has just won a round in an unusual court battle. Although sympathetic to the views of Gov. John Kitzhaber, a retired Washington County judge hearing the civil Marion County Circuit Court…

Aug 6, 2012 1:19 PM CDT

Unrestrained at Counsel’s Request, Murder Defendant Punches His Lawyer in Competency Hearing Ruckus

A visibly agitated Virginia man facing a capital triple homicide case was unrestrained Wednesday at a competency hearing, as defense counsel requested. That resulted in a ruckus in the historic Madison County Courthouse as Rashad Riddick, 25, repeatedly punched his court-appointed lawyer, Joseph Flood, in the face before security tackled…

Aug 2, 2012 10:18 AM CDT

Lady of the Last Chance: Lawyer Makes Her Mark Getting Convicts off Death Row

Aug 1, 2012 9:39 AM CDT

Cataloging Wrongful Convictions: New Registry Looks Beyond DNA

Aug 1, 2012 8:10 AM CDT

Denied Religious Exemption, Defendant in Fort Hood Shootings Must Shave Beard Before Court-Martial

An impasse between the Army psychiatrist facing capital charges in a fatal 2009 shooting spree at Fort Hood, Texas, and the military judge who will preside over his court-martial has so far resulted in Maj. Nidal Hasan’s watching pretrial proceedings from closed-circuit television in a trailer outside the courtroom there.…

Jul 26, 2012 4:21 PM CDT

Georgia Supremes Grant Last-Minute Execution Stay, But Not Because of Inmate’s IQ

A Georgia death-row inmate whose case attracted national attention because of his mental disability claim has gotten a last-minute execution reprieve on a different ground. The Georgia Supreme Court granted the stay less than two hours before Warren Hill was scheduled for execution, report the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Wall…

Jul 24, 2012 2:16 PM CDT