death penalty
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Texas Shouldn't Execute Chris Young for Murder Even Though He Is Guilty of the Crime [Updated]
Updated: Monday, July 17, 2018; 3:53 EDT: When I wrote this piece, I was not aware that, according to court records, Chris Young sexually assaulted a woman in front of her three children at gun point the morning before the murder. Gunpoint. Three children. I have no words. That act is evil; the man who did…
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Why Is Bobby Moore Still on Death Row, Despite a Recent Supreme Court Decision in His Favor?
More than a year ago, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals violated the Constitution in rejecting the claim by an inmate, Bobby Moore, that he is intellectually disabled and thus ineligible for the death penalty. And yet today Moore, now 60, remains on death row, facing…
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Watch: The Role of Teenage-Brain Science in Juvenile-Justice Reform
In 2005 the United States became the last country to end the death penalty for offenders under 18 years old. Adolescent neuroscience research played a huge part in changing this policy. However, there are still approximately 2,500 prison inmates in the United States serving life sentences without the possibility of parole for crimes they committed…
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Donald Trump Wants to Kill Major Drug Dealers: Report
If President Donald Trump had his way, he would “love to have a law” that sentences major drug dealers to death. According to Axios, the president is fascinated by countries like Singapore and the Philippines that don’t seem to have a rapid drug problem because of the death penalty for major offenders. “He says that…
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Washington State Takes Crucial Step Toward Abolishing the Death Penalty
The Washington state Senate passed a bill Wednesday that would ban the death penalty, leading the state one step closer to ending the practice for good. As the Seattle Times reports, the bill passed the Democratic-led Senate with bipartisan support. The measure would strike the death penalty from being considered as a sentencing option for…
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Supreme Court Grants Stay of Execution of Alabama Inmate Who Suffers From Dementia
The U.S. Supreme Court granted a stay of execution for an Alabama death row inmate whose dementia, his lawyers argue, renders him unable to remember the murder of which he was convicted. According to CNN, Vernon Madison, 67, was scheduled to be executed Thursday night. However, less than half an hour before the execution was…
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Georgia Was Going to Execute Keith Tharpe Until the Supreme Court Basically Said, ‘Hold Up; This Is Too Racist’
Keith Tharpe should have been dead. He was scheduled to die by lethal injection on Sept. 26, 2017. The state of Georgia had already made up its mind to execute Tharpe despite the fact that his attorneys say that his IQ is below the legal threshold for a person to understand the charges or their…
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Ga. Is Going to Execute a Black Man Convicted by a Racist Juror
On Tuesday, Sept. 26, if the U.S. Supreme Court does not intercede, the state of Georgia will execute Keith Tharpe. Keith Tharpe is probably guilty. In Georgia, an impartial jury must unanimously vote for capital punishment in order for a person to receive the death penalty. In 1991, when Tharpe was convicted, every juror voted…
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White Fla. Inmate to Be Executed for Killing Black Man
At no point in modern history has Florida executed a white man for killing a black victim. But that may change Thursday as the state prepares to execute 53-year-old Mark Asay, and with a drug that has never been used before in any U.S. execution. According to CBS, with contribution from the Associated Press, barring…
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Mo. Governor Stays Execution of Convicted Inmate Amid New DNA Evidence That May Prove His Innocence
Updated: Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2017; 3:30 p.m. EDT: Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens has issued a stay of execution in the case of Marcellus Williams, who was scheduled to to die Tuesday, possibly saving the life of an innocent man, for now. According to CNN, Greitens also appointed a board to further consider Williams’ case. Williams…