Lawmakers in Nebraska — Nebraska! — Vote to End the Death Penalty
The mostly Republican Legislature of the mostly Republican state of Nebraska voted Wednesday to ban capital punishment by a margin that’s likely to withstand the governor’s veto.
Report: FBI Overstated Forensic Evidence In More Than 200 Trials
According to a new report by The Washington Post, the FBI has admitted its examiners gave misleading testimony about forensic hair matches for over two decades, overstating evidence to aid prosecutors in at least 257 criminal trials.
Alabama Man Freed After 28 Years on Death Row
After being sentenced to death nearly three decades ago, Anthony Ray Hinton has been exonerated and was released on Friday. The Jefferson County district attorney's office moved to drop the case on Wednesday, after years of appeals that ultimately reached the United States Supreme Court.
The American Pharmacists Association has put in place an official ban on members participating in lethal injections or other executions, saying "such activities are fundamentally contrary to the role of pharmacists as healthcare providers."
Utah Just Brought Back the Firing Squad
Governor Gary Herbert of Utah just signed a bill into law that allows the state to use firing squads—which he referred to as "a little bit gruesome"—as an alternative method of executing inmates when lethal injection drugs are unavailable, The Associated Press reports.
The state of Texas is scheduled to use its last dose of the lethal injection drug pentobarbital on Wednesday, leaving its ability to carry out several upcoming scheduled executions in question. The drug shortage comes too late for some people.
A Letter From Richard Glossip, Who Was Almost Executed Last Month
We periodically run letters from death row inmates. Today's is from Oklahoma inmate Richard Glossip, who came within one day of being executed last month before being (temporarily) spared by the Supreme Court.
A Letter From Arnold Prieto, Who Was Executed in Texas on January 21
We periodically run letters from death row inmates. Our latest letter comes from an inmate who is now deceased. Arnold Prieto, Jr. wrote us this letter on January 14, one week before he was executed by the state of Texas.
A Letter From Robert Ladd, Who Was Executed Last Week
Last week, the state of Texas executed death row inmate Robert Ladd for a 1996 murder. Robert Ladd sent us the following letter shortly before his execution.
Unable to Score Lethal Injection Drugs, Ohio Postpones All Executions
After a botched execution left a condemned man writhing and gasping for air, Ohio announced this month that it would be returning to an earlier, sodium thiopental-based lethal injection formula. Now the state says it's delaying all executions until 2016 as it struggles to secure a supply of the drug.
There's Always Someone Who Wants to Bring Back Firing Squads
The death penalty is slowly losing prominence in America. Botched executions and problems with the supply of drugs has made lethal injection harder to carry out. Still, states are determined to balance out this trend with sheer bloodlust.
Letters From Death Row: Donnie Johnson, Tennessee Inmate 109031
We periodically run letters from death row inmates. Today we bring you a letter from Donnie Edward Johnson, a death row inmate in Tennessee, who was sentenced to die for the 1984 murder of his wife, Connie Johnson.
Letters From Death Row: Jeffrey Wogenstahl, Ohio Inmate A269-357
From time to time we publish letters from death row inmates. Today, we bring you a letter from Jeffrey Wogenstahl, who is scheduled to be executed by the state of Ohio in January of 2016.
The state of Ohio says it is getting rid of its two-drug lethal injection formula, which led to a botched execution last year. Now they'll use one drug that just kills you.
Outgoing Maryland governor Martin O'Malley has commuted the death sentences of the state's last four death row inmates. One more crack in the wall.
The Death Penalty Is Slowly Dying
The persistence of capital punishment in some American states is cause for disgust. There is some good news, though: the death penalty is on the decline. These year end numbers prove it.
Two Intellectually Disabled Men Were Executed Last Night
Last night, two men with intellectual disabilities were put to death.
Robert Wayne Holsey, an intellectually disabled man who was represented at trial by an active alcoholic, is scheduled to be executed at 7 p.m. by the state of Georgia unless the U.S. Supreme Court steps in. His final petition for his life can be seen here.
American Mom Stabbed to Death in Abu Dhabi Mall Restroom
According to reports, an American mother of twins was stabbed to death Monday after getting into an argument with another woman in an Abu Dhabi shopping mall bathroom.
The Ohio state legislature is seeking to pass a bill that would completely shield state employees, doctors, and companies involved in executions from public records law. Because more secrecy is just what our flawless capital punishment system needs.
