Capital Punishment
Capital Punishment is a profoundly complex and controversial aspect of the criminal justice system. This section provides articles that explore the history, legal frameworks, and ethical debates surrounding Capital Punishment in various jurisdictions. Correctional professionals can gain insights into the procedures, implications, and ongoing discussions about using the death penalty. Understanding Capital Punishment is crucial for those involved in its administration and those engaged in broader criminal justice reform efforts. For further context, explore related topics on supermax prisons.
Ex-New Orleans cop Len Davis was sentenced to death after he was convicted of ordering a woman killed in 1994 after she alleged he and his partner beat a young boy
Aaron Brian Gunches, who is representing himself, said his death sentence is “long overdue” and asked the state’s highest court to skip legal formalities
North Carolina had 136 offenders on death row before Gov. Roy Cooper reduced the state’s death row population by more than 10%
Raymond Riles’ “death sentence can no longer stand” because the 70-year-old’s history of mental illness wasn’t properly considered by jurors
The governor signed legislation Wednesday making Virginia the 23rd state to abolish the death penalty
“Not a day goes by that we’re not scanning the news for hints of when or if the Biden administration will take meaningful action to implement his promises”
The justices agreed to hear an appeal filed by the Trump administration
The death penalty would be blocked for people with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder or delusional disorder
The state can’t put anyone to death now because its supply of lethal injection drugs expired and it has not been able to buy any more
Right now, inmates can choose between electrocution and the current default method of lethal injection
The legislation repealing the death penalty now heads to Gov. Ralph Northam, who has said he will sign it into law
Donnie Rowe and Ricky Dubose face the death penalty in the deaths of Sgt. Christopher Monica and Sgt. Curtis Billue
Bills will be introduced “in the near future” that would replace all capital sentences with a sentence of life in prison without parole
Executioners’ accounts are at odds with reports by media witnesses of how inmates’ stomachs rolled, shook and shuddered as the pentobarbital took effect
The organizations sent a letter to Biden, urging that he act immediately “on your promise of ensuring equality, equity and justice in our criminal legal system”
Critics want Biden to bulldoze the federal death chamber in Indiana and strike the death penalty from U.S. statutes entirely
It’s a dramatic shift for Virginia, which has put more people to death over its centuries-long history than any other state
The Democrat-controlled chamber approved the bill in a 21-17 vote that split along party lines and was seen as a key hurdle for the measure
The suit claims Gov. Gavin Newsom didn’t have the power to halt the executions of 700-plus inmates on death row
The lawsuit was brought by an inmate who objects to a policy that bars a chaplain from accompanying him into the death chamber
Pervis Payne had been scheduled to die Dec. 3, but he was granted a reprieve until April due to challenges created by the pandemic
Dustin Higgs was convicted of ordering the killings of three women in a Maryland wildlife refuge in 1996
Corey Johnson was the 12th inmate executed at the prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, since the Trump administration restarted federal executions
Lisa Montgomery was pronounced dead at 1:31 a.m. after the Supreme Court cleared the way for the execution to move forward
The order temporarily blocks the federal Bureau of Prisons from moving forward with Lisa Montgomery’s execution
Lisa Montgomery’s lawyers filed a petition in federal court in Indiana seeking to halt the execution
A judge said the federal government’s poor management of the previous 10 executions “has created a substantial risk”
Drug companies won’t supply South Carolina with lethal drugs without immunity because they fear retribution
The ruling concluded that a lower court judge erred when he vacated Lisa Montgomery’s execution date in an order last week
Virginia has executed nearly 1,400 people in more than four centuries, more than any other state
At the time of the 2009 procedure, Romell Broom was only the second inmate nationally to survive an execution after they began in modern times
The judge said the Justice Department unlawfully rescheduled the execution
The Trump admin has three more executions scheduled ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden
