Dallas County DA Reveals His Great-Grandfather Was Executed in 1932

A Texas district attorney who has focused on wrongful convictions revealed in a press conference last week that his own great-grandfather was executed by the state. Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins made the startling revelation while commenting on exoneration proceedings, according to the Dallas Morning News and CBSDFW.com. “People…

Feb 28, 2012 5:37 PM CST

Soldier Bradley Manning Charged with Aiding Enemy in WikiLeaks Case, May Get Life If Convicted

Charges were formally brought today in a court-martial against a U.S. Army soldier accused of responsibility for the largest leak of American intelligence documents in history. Pfc. Bradley Manning, 24, is accused of providing hundreds of thousands of documents to WikiLeaks. He is charged with aiding the enemy, among other…

Feb 24, 2012 12:48 AM CST

Hearing to Determine If Defense Counsel and Judge Had ‘Secret Deal’ re Capital Murder Defendant

A mitigation specialist testified yesterday in an unusual court hearing that defense lawyers for a man convicted in a Texas capital murder case pressured him to plead guilty and didn’t explore and effectively present evidence that could have helped him avoid Death Row. At one point, court-appointed attorneys William H.…

Feb 23, 2012 7:07 PM CST

Grandma, Stepmom Face Murder Case in Death of Girl, 9, Who Ran for Hours as Punishment, Sheriff Says

Much like a marathon runner, who can face a life-threatening situation if dehydrated, a 9-year-old Alabama girl died Monday. Savannah Hardin suffered a seizure Friday after running outside her home near Mountainboro for three hours as punishment for lying about eating candy, authorities said. Her death was ruled a homicide,…

Feb 23, 2012 6:53 PM CST

Ohio Justice Who Helped Write Death Penalty Law Now Opposes It

An Ohio Supreme Court justice who helped write the state’s death penalty law as a state legislator in 1981 is now speaking out against it. In December, Justice Paul Pfeifer testified in favor of a bill to abolish capital punishment, the Associated Press reports. “I have concluded that the death…

Feb 15, 2012 2:27 PM CST

Utah Officials OK Execution by Firing Squad

A death row inmate who wants to be executed by firing squad will get his wish, Utah officials say. Michael Archuleta, who is scheduled to be executed April 5 for the 1988 murder of a 28-year-old college student, has chosen a firing squad over lethal injection, KSL TV reports. And…

Feb 10, 2012 9:08 PM CST

Supreme Court Declines to Lift Execution Stay Obtained by Ohio Inmate

A stay of execution remains in place for a convicted killer in Ohio after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene. Death row inmate Charles Lorraine had been scheduled to die last month, but a federal judge granted a stay because of concerns that the state has failed to follow…

Feb 9, 2012 8:11 PM CST

NAACP Legal Defense Fund’s Christina Swarns Talks Race and Gender in Capital Defense Work

Fresh from her most high-profile victory to date—the case that pulled Mumia Abu-Jamal off death row—Christina Swarns sat down with the Washington Post to discuss her life’s work and being one of the few black women doing capital-defense cases. Swarns, who is director of the criminal justice unit at the…

Feb 2, 2012 4:25 PM CST

Former Death Row Inmate Charged with Threatening Judge Who Once Prosecuted Him

A man who spent 21 years on Ohio’s death row before his conviction was overturned in 2008 has been charged with leaving a threatening telephone message for the judge who prosecuted the death penalty case against him. Ken Richey, 47, is accused of calling the Putnam County, Ohio, courthouse on…

Jan 26, 2012 10:13 PM CST

Death Row Inmate Taunts Community in Letter to Hometown Newspaper

A death row inmate in North Carolina has written a taunting letter to his hometown newspaper in which he gloats about his life in prison and dares the state to carry out his scheduled execution. “Kill me if you can, suckers, Ha! Ha! Ha!” Danny Robbie Hembree Jr., wrote in…

Jan 26, 2012 7:40 PM CST

Supreme Court Rules for Death-Row Inmate Whose BigLaw Lawyers Missed the Appeal Deadline

Alabama death-row inmate Cory Maples isn’t barred from appealing his conviction because of a blown appeals deadline caused by the departure of his BigLaw pro bono lawyers. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled 7-2 for Maples, finding there is cause to excuse the procedural default. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote…

Jan 18, 2012 4:05 PM CST

Journalism & Justice: Did Innocence Project Student Reporters Get Too Close to Lawyers?

Jan 1, 2012 11:10 AM CST

Another Feared Victim of Serial Killer John Gacy Is Found Alive and Well Decades Later

For at least the second time in less than two months, a family who thought a young man might have been murdered by a notorious serial killer decades ago got good news this holiday season. Carpenter Ted Szal, 59, was found living in a suburb of Portland, Ore., by Chicago…

Dec 21, 2011 10:16 PM CST

Judge Issues Tentative Decision Tossing California Lethal Injection Procedure

A California judge issued a tentative decision on Thursday finding prison officials failed to follow the law when adopting new state procedures for lethal injection. If the judge’s decision is upheld, the Associated Press reports, it will “throw California’s stalled capital punishment system into further doubt.” Judge Faye D’Opal of…

Dec 16, 2011 1:57 PM CST

Fewer than 100 Death Sentences Imposed in 2011; Is ‘Growing Discomfort’ the Reason?

The number of U.S. death sentences imposed this year fell below 100—the lowest number in 35 years. Seventy-eight new inmates were sentenced to death this year, compared to 112 last year and 224 in 2000. The Death Penalty Information Center released the latest statistics in its year-end report (PDF), USA…

Dec 15, 2011 2:05 PM CST