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.
Lethal injection remains the most common method in the U.S., but states are increasingly exploring alternatives due to drug shortages and legal challenges
In late 2024, Aaron Gunches asked the Arizona Supreme Court to schedule his execution as soon as possible, saying his death sentence was “long overdue”
The state had not carried out an execution in 15 years due to legal challenges and difficulties obtaining lethal injection drugs
Any new job can be stressful, but that stress is multiplied when your first day is working as a CO on death row
The fallen CO’s widow said her husband experienced “cruel and unusual punishment” but the inmate’s death was “peaceful”
Rodney Berget, 56, will be put to death for the 2011 slaying of a CO
The court’s decision converted the sentences for the state’s eight death row inmates to life in prison without release
Execution plans remain on hold while the court decides whether the inmate had adequate representation
Following the ruling, a Tenn. death row inmate has chosen to be electrocuted, the inmate’s lawyer said
32 death row inmates are asking the state’s high court to declare Tennessee’s lethal injection method unconstitutional
Supreme Court
The Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday in the case of an inmate sentenced to death for killing an officer in 1985 but who can no longer remember the murder
Daniel Acker was executed Thursday night for fatally running over his girlfriend in 2000
This will be the first time in six years that Texas has put to death two prisoners in two nights
“There is no closure for the family and there never will be. They have agreed to do the plea deal and we as a family do not agree with it”
Hundreds of drug companies had previously refused to supply the state with execution drugs
Officials say their search for a replacement remains on hold until an execution secrecy law is expanded
Anthony Kirkland, 49, was convicted of killing two teenagers in 2010
U.S. District Court won’t hear trial challenging state’s use of execution drug until April 2019
No inmate in the U.S. has been put to death with nitrogen gas before
A federal judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit by news organizations seeking to let media and public witnesses view more of the process of executions
The state used a never-before-tried combination of drugs, which included fentanyl
The state will use a never-before-tried combination of drugs including fentanyl
A federal judge on Friday refused to block the execution despite a pharmaceutical company’s lawsuit that claims the state illicitly obtained its drugs
The inmate was scheduled to die next week for fatally stabbing a 63-year-old woman
Executions have been on hold in Oklahoma since 2015, following several mishaps
Fifty-nine-year-old inmate Billy Ray Irick was convicted in the death of a Knoxville girl he was babysitting
The federal lawsuit filed late Tuesday could delay the Aug. 14 execution of Carey Dean Moore, who was sentenced to death for killing two Omaha cab drivers in 1979
CO Ronald “R.J.” Johnson was killed in a failed prison escape attempt in April 2011
Court documents argue that drug company Alvogen’s effort to block the use of its sedative midazolam is part of a “guerrilla war against the death penalty”
Marcellus Williams’ guilt in the stabbing death of a former newspaper reporter has been called into question by DNA evidence
Billy Ray Irick would be the first inmate Tennessee has executed since 2009
The execution comes with significant risks for prison officials, who haven’t carried out a death sentence since using the electric chair in 1997
Pope Francis’ decree that the death penalty is “inadmissible” in all cases could pose a dilemma for Roman Catholic politicians and judges in the United States
