Death Penalty

Inmate Apologizes for Murder, Is Executed in First 1-Drug Injection

After apologizing for murdering a 22-year-old woman in 1991, a death row inmate was executed in Ohio today in a historic one-drug lethal injection that the director of state prisons described as problem-free. Kenneth Biros, who was in his early 50s, died in about 10 minutes once thiopental sodium began…

Dec 8, 2009 6:56 PM CST

Thomas Hits Stevens for ‘Novel’ View on Cruelty of Execution Delays

Is a 29-year delay in execution “unacceptably cruel” and a constitutional violation? Justices Clarence Thomas and John Paul Stevens sparred over the question in dueling opinions issued Tuesday on the Supreme Court’s refusal to review the case of convicted murderer Cecil Johnson. The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times covered…

Dec 3, 2009 1:41 PM CST

A Second Late Appeal Puts Death-Penalty Lawyer on the Hot Seat

The chief judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals faced mounting criticism and ethics charges over her refusal to accept a late emergency death-penalty appeal two years ago. Now the lawyer who wanted to keep the courthouse open to file the documents is facing scrutiny for a second late…

Dec 2, 2009 6:01 PM CST

Discarded Verdict Form in High-Profile Death Penalty Case May Be Focus of Appeal

Jurors in a high-profile death penalty case in Illinois announced Nov. 10 that they’d reached a verdict in the case against Brian Dugan. But a few minutes later, they resumed deliberations. Their ultimate verdict was death. But the judge handling the case has informed defense attorneys that the original discarded…

Dec 2, 2009 5:51 PM CST

Lawyer Erred by Ignoring Murder Victim’s Child Porn Habit, Mo. Top Court Says

A death row inmate deserves a new sentencing hearing because his trial lawyer ignored the victim’s apparent penchant for child pornography, according to the Missouri Supreme Court. The court ruled on behalf of murder defendant Mark Gill, accused of kidnapping, robbing and murdering the man who lived in a trailer…

Dec 2, 2009 3:12 PM CST

Jurors Should Have Heard of Veteran’s Stress Disorder, Supreme Court Rules

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a Korean War veteran on death row deserves a new sentencing hearing because his lawyer did not introduce evidence of post-traumatic stress disorder. The Washington Post calls the unsigned opinion “strikingly sympathetic” to veteran George Porter, while the New York Times said it…

Dec 1, 2009 5:00 PM CST

Candid Comments from Casey Anthony’s Lawyer: ‘Do That Barack Obama Thing’

A death-penalty lawyer on Casey Anthony’s defense team had some candid comments about death penalty closing arguments in an Orlando appearance last year. Lawyer Andrea Lyon talked about pro death-penalty “killer” jurors, and how lawyers can appeal to those who are willing to spare their client by using emotional words…

Nov 25, 2009 5:28 PM CST

As Bar Joke Becomes Habeas Claim, Lawyer Is Target of Hearing

A bar joke more than 20 years ago by a then-deputy attorney general in San Francisco isn’t so funny now. Made to a bartender at Eureka’s Waterfront Cafe, where a waitress happened to be a juror in a capital case, it resulted in an evidentiary hearing earlier this year after…

Nov 23, 2009 9:19 PM CST

Supreme Court to Decide Whether Death Penalty Appeal Was Filed Too Late

A convicted murderer who argues Alabama law didn’t allow his death sentence will get a U.S. Supreme Court hearing on whether his appeal was filed too late. Inmate Billy Joe Magwood was convicted of killing a sheriff 30 years ago in front of the Coffee County jail, but there were…

Nov 17, 2009 12:27 PM CST

Supreme Court Overturns 9th Circuit a Third Time in Bludgeon Murder Case

For the third time, the U.S. Supreme Court has overturned the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and restored the death penalty for a man convicted of the bludgeon murder of a 19-year-old woman in 1981. The Supreme Court’s per curiam opinion (PDF) said it is “fanciful” to…

Nov 16, 2009 5:16 PM CST

Lawyer Says D.C. Sniper Trusted Him the Most; Details Will Be in the Book

Baltimore lawyer J. Wyndal Gordon says he had a special bond with convicted sniper John Allen Muhammad, and he plans to write a book about his onetime client. Gordon was a stand-by counsel for Muhammad in a trial for six of the sniper killings, and he attended Muhammad’s execution for…

Nov 16, 2009 3:44 PM CST

Judge Bans TV Reporter for Texting Just Before High-Profile Murder Verdict

A jury in an Arkansas capital case today found defendant Curtis Lavelle Vance guilty in the 2008 rape-murder of a well-known television personality, anchorwoman Anne Pressly of KATV. But one reporter covering the high-profile trial apparently wasn’t there for the verdict, having been banned earlier in the day by Pulaski…

Nov 11, 2009 10:03 PM CST

Alito Concurrence ‘Rejects ABA’s Nonsense,’ Commentator Says

A concurring opinion by Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. on the ABA’s capital representation standards and the association’s membership has one conservative commentator doing the blog equivalent of a victory dance. On Monday Alito wrote separately—and “curiously,” in the words of the National Law Journal—to emphasize that the 2003 standards…

Nov 11, 2009 4:50 PM CST

Supreme Court Denies Execution Stay for Convicted Sniper

The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to delay a Tuesday evening execution for convicted sniper John Allen Muhammad. The court refused to grant a stay and also refused to hear an appeal filed by lawyers for Muhammad, SCOTUSblog reports. Muhammad’s cert petition had asserted that the appeal of his Virginia…

Nov 9, 2009 6:49 PM CST

Supreme Court Says ABA Counsel Guidelines Can’t Help Ohio Death Row Inmate

In a summary disposition, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled a federal appeals court should not have judged a murder defendant’s representation based on ABA standards enacted 18 years after his trial. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the case of Robert Van Hook, convicted of finding his murder victim…

Nov 9, 2009 5:23 PM CST