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.
Only three inmates in the U.S. have been executed by firing squad since 1976 — all were in Utah, with the last one taking place in 2010
Michael Nance argued that his medical conditions make lethal injection inhumane, but a federal judge ruled the method does not create unconstitutional suffering
The couple’s toddler, strapped in a car seat, witnessed the attack and survived 18 hours alone before workers found the crime scene
Gov. Jerry Brown indicated he was considering ordering new DNA testing of evidence in four 1983 murders at the request of Kevin Cooper
The drugs include a powerful synthetic opioid that has been blamed for overdoses nationwide
A court on dismissed a judge’s lawsuit challenging his disqualification from execution-related cases over his participation in an anti-death penalty demonstration
Attorneys for Robert Van Hook are criticizing Gov. John Kasich’s decision to deny clemency ahead of the inmate’s execution
Danny Paul Bible, whose lawyers suggested he die by firing squad or gas, was executed
The inmates are asking Texas to name its lethal injection supplier, in hopes of convincing their own state to switch to a drug they say could be less painful
Dillon Gage Compton is charged in the 2016 slaying of Officer Marianne Johnson
Attorneys for 66-year-old Danny Paul Bible say his health problems make him unsuitable for lethal injection
The court rejected an appeal from Rodney Reed, who was convicted in the 1996 murder of Stacey Stites
The board again rejected a request for mercy from Raymond Tibbetts, despite an ex-juror’s revelation that he now regrets his vote in favor of a death sentence
Scott Raymond Dozier, who’s been on death row since 2007, is scheduled to die July 11
Nebraska officials are forging ahead with plans to execute the state’s longest-serving death-row inmate
The inmate says jurors were biased against him because of his sexual orientation
Investigators never determined a motive for the shooting
Kansas’ highest court postponed a decision on whether the state can execute a man because of questions about whether he is developmentally disabled
Ricky Dubose and Donnie Rowe are facing the death penalty in the murder of two COs as they escaped a prison bus
At issue is the case of death row inmate Raymond Tibbetts, who is set to die in October for killing Fred Hicks at Hicks’ Cincinnati home in 1997
Attorneys for a former doctor convicted of killing four people connected to an Omaha medical school began the effort Wednesday to spare him from death
The judge was charged with breaking ethics rules for participating in an anti-death penalty demonstration the same day he blocked the state from using an execution drug
Michael Furman, who was initially sentenced to death for raping and killing 85-year-old Ann Presler in 1990, has been re-sentenced to 48 years in prison
The judge’s move could result in his suspension or removal from office
Alabama won’t reveal its lethal injection protocol until a higher court reviews that decision
A court said it won’t consider whether a death row inmate who removed his only eye and ate it in an outburst several years ago is too mentally ill to be executed
A Texas court ruled that a death row inmate is mentally capable enough to execute, despite a SCOTUS ruling that his intellectual capacity had been improperly assessed
The ACLU is challenging some of the state’s new execution rules, including procedures for determining whether a condemned inmate is sane enough to be executed
Marcellus Williams was hours away from being put to death in August when Gov. Eric Greitens halted the execution
Condemned inmates say that the executions of four men in Arkansas last year exposed problems that should render the state’s lethal injection procedure unconstitutional
Andre Thomas was sent to death row in 2005, after he killed his ex-wife Lauren Boren Thomas, their 4-year-old son and Lauren’s 13-month-old baby
A judge ruled last week that two death penalty opponents who filed the lawsuit lacked standing to do so
Jeffrey Lynn Borden was convicted of killing his estranged wife, who he shot in front of their children, and her father