Cert Petition Challenges ‘Breakdown’ of PD System, Says Defendant Tossed to Lions

A Georgia death-row inmate whose appointed capital defense lawyers were tossed off the case due to funding problems cites a “systemic breakdown of the public defender system” in a petition for certiorari. The petition filed on behalf of Jamie Weis, accused of killing an elderly neighbor, asks the U.S. Supreme…

May 25, 2010 10:30 AM CDT

Supreme Court to Hear Case of Death Row Inmate Seeking DNA Test

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether a Texas death row inmate has the right to DNA tests that his lawyer rejected because he feared they would be incriminating. The Supreme Court agreed today to hear the appeal by inmate Hank Skinner, convicted of murdering his girlfriend and…

May 24, 2010 2:48 PM CDT

Defense Lawyer Holds Possible Record for Most Clients Sentenced to Death

A Texas criminal defense lawyer has had 20 of his clients sentenced to death, a possible record. The New York Times profiles the lawyer, Jerry Guerinot, talks to his critics, and looks at one of his recent cases involving a British woman who recently lost a bid for U.S. Supreme…

May 18, 2010 3:43 PM CDT

Stevens Explains Death Penalty Stance, Bow Ties

Justice John Paul Stevens is shedding light on a couple of mysteries: why he changed his views on the death penalty, and why he favors bow ties. Stevens in the courtyard of the Supreme Court. Photo by Janet Fries Stevens revealed his change of heart on the death penalty in…

May 6, 2010 12:05 PM CDT

Casey Anthony Loses a Lawyer, But Has Plenty Left on Murder Trial Team

Casey Anthony is losing a lawyer from her trial team, after he was placed on involuntary inactive status by the California State Bar because of his alleged mishandling of client trust account money. But even though Todd Macaluso won’t be able to represent Anthony in her upcoming Florida trial over…

Apr 28, 2010 5:09 PM CDT

Ohio Mulls Potential Twitter Tweets About Completed Executions

The state of Ohio is considering using the social media site Twitter to provide almost instantaneous news of completed executions. However, a spokeswoman says there is some concern that sending tweets about an executed inmate’s time of death might be considered in poor taste, reports the Associated Press. When convicted…

Apr 23, 2010 11:11 PM CDT

Gardner to Face Firing Squad for Murdering Lawyer During Botched Utah Courthouse Escape

After nearly 25 years of appeals, a Utah prison inmate is now scheduled to face a firing squad in June for murdering an attorney during a botched 1985 escape from a Salt Lake City courthouse, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. Ronnie Lee Gardner, who is now 49, was found…

Apr 23, 2010 9:16 PM CDT

Judge Linked to ‘Lawmiss’ Web Comments Removed from Case

Updated: An Ohio judge who has refused to step down from a serial murder case after a local newspaper reported that she may have posted anonymous Internet comments about the defendant and his lawyer told the state’s top court that she did nothing wrong and should not be forced to…

Apr 22, 2010 9:32 PM CDT

Judge Resigns, Avoiding Ethics Probe re Alleged Relationship with Prosecutor

A South Florida judge accused of failing to disclose a close relationship with a prosecutor who was trying a first-degree murder case in her courtroom has resigned her seat on the bench, thus avoiding the need to answer an ethics complaint brought against her by the state Judicial Qualifications Commission.…

Apr 22, 2010 9:05 PM CDT

Judge Warns Defendant that Satan Awaits, Bemoans Lack of Death Penalty Option

A Maryland judge lamented that the death penalty was not an option after hearing a murder defendant’s jailhouse threats caught on tape. In the recorded conversations, defendant Jose Vasquez recalled smiling at the victim’s family members—people he described as punks—during the trial, mocked jurors for taking too long to convict…

Apr 21, 2010 2:26 PM CDT

Soldier Gets Death Sentence in Military Court after Civil Acquittal

A military jury has sentenced a soldier to die for a triple murder more than 20 years after a civilian court acquitted him of the same charges. Military jurors convicted Master Sgt. Timothy Hennis last week after deliberating less than three hours. The death sentence was imposed Thursday after another…

Apr 16, 2010 4:13 PM CDT

Pending Death Penalty Cases Weigh Against Maricopa County

Apr 1, 2010 9:40 AM CDT

‘Lawmiss’ Comment on Accused Serial Killer Is Linked to Judge Overseeing His Case

One of the anonymous individuals who has posted on an Ohio newspaper’s affiliated website about an accused serial killer may be the judge overseeing his case, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The newspaper says that the “Lawmiss” who posted on its cleveland.com site about capital murder defendant Anthony Sowell…

Mar 26, 2010 9:46 PM CDT

Up in Smoke? Scalia Disputes Law Prof’s Pollution Analogy in Capital Appeal

The co-director of Stanford Law School’s Supreme Court litigation clinic used a smoke analogy to make a point Wednesday about a death row inmate’s right to appeal after a second sentencing, but the issue was more cloudy for Justice Antonin Scalia. Stanford’s Jeffrey Fisher argued that a death penalty appeal…

Mar 25, 2010 4:52 PM CDT

Supreme Court Stays Execution of Inmate Seeking DNA Tests Shunned by His Trial Lawyer

The U.S. Supreme Court stayed the execution of Texas death row inmate Hank Skinner on Wednesday evening, just one hour before he was scheduled to be executed. The stay remains in effect until the U.S. Supreme Court decides whether to grant certiorari in Skinner’s case, according to the Houston Chronicle,…

Mar 25, 2010 11:39 AM CDT