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.
As of April 17, 26 death row inmates have been transferred to California Institution for Men following the closure of segregated units at San Quentin and Central California Women’s Facility
The lawsuit says California’s death penalty violates the state constitution’s equal protection guarantees because courts and prosecutors apply it in a racially biased way
More than 70 current and former prison officials, including chaplains, wardens and COs, had written a letter asking the governor to grant Brian Dorsey clemency
Lawyers filed a motion to set an execution date for Tommy Arthur, one day after SCOTUS turned down his latest appeal
At issue is whether a contested sedative is powerful enough to put inmates into a deep state of unconsciousness before two drugs paralyze them and stop their hearts
Executions have been on hold since 2014 after Joseph Rudolph Wood, who was given 15 doses of midazolam and a painkiller, took nearly two hours to die
The last inmate executed coughed for the first 13 minutes of the procedure and appeared to move after a consciousness check
The appeals court agreed with the state that a law that protects the identity of the state’s execution team applies to those who supply the execution drug
A Senate version of the bill has not been scheduled for a hearing, so it appears the measure will suffer the same fate as death penalty repeal efforts in previous years
Roof says prosecutors didn’t have jurisdiction to bring their case against him
Capital punishment was abolished by the state Supreme Court in 2015
Bills to abolish the state’s death penalty have failed in every legislative session since 1999
The prisons agency tried to obtain the active ingredient in the drug, pentobarbital, in hopes of having a compounded version made
Lawmakers are advancing a proposal to add firing squad, electrocution and gas chamber as execution methods in case a court blocks the use of lethal injection drugs
The judge refused to lift his order delaying Ohio’s executions after declaring the state’s new lethal injection process unconstitutional
Proposal sponsor Rep. Paul Ray said human trafficking is a big problem in Utah, so he wants to hold the leaders of human trafficking rings accountable
Steven Dean Gordon has been sentenced to death for abducting and murdering four women over a six-month span
Lawmakers are considering a plan that would expand capital punishment in the state so that criminals convicted of sex trafficking that leads to death could be executed
Attorneys argued that life without parole is an appropriate alternative for death row inmate Gary Otte, who has matured and made efforts to better himself in prison
The court allowed the execution reprieve for a man who killed a store worker in a robbery that garnered $1.25
The cause of death is pending an autopsy
Mark Christeson’s attorneys have asked SCOTUS to halt the execution, arguing that his trial lawyers were unqualified
Mark Christeson has asked state and federal courts to spare his life
The attorneys said in a court filing that their observations could have an impact on a continuing lawsuit over Ohio’s new three-drug lethal injection process
“Windows On Death Row” offers a look at artistic commentary about capital punishment over the past 50 years
Terry Edwards’ execution is the second this year in Texas and the third nationally
A judge said the first drug couldn’t pass a constitutional bar of causing “substantial risk of serious harm”
Attorneys for Terry Edwards say he didn’t do the 2002 shootings and that he had poor legal help at his trial and in earlier appeals
The process of inserting an IV into Ricky Gray — which neither the public nor Gray’s attorneys witnessed — took more than 30 minutes, which is longer than usual
Ricky Gray, convicted of brutally killing a couple and their young daughters in 2006, is scheduled to be executed Wednesday evening
At issue is whether Ohio has enough drugs for a handful of executions or a supply that could greenlight more than two dozen procedures over the next four years
The governor says Ricky Gray had a “fair and impartial trial” and that he has found no reason to intervene in the matter
More than 11 years later, some hope the execution of Ricky Gray will close a painful chapter of the community’s history
