death row
-
Tennessee Supreme Court Puts Execution of Abu-Ali Abdur’Rahman on Hold Amid Concerns of Racial Bias
For the first time since resuming capital punishment last year, the Tennessee Supreme Court has pumped the brakes on an execution scheduled for April 16. The reason? Racism. From the Tennessean: The high court delayed Abu-Ali Abdur’Rahman’s April 16 execution to allow a lower court time to consider if racial bias surrounding his trial should…
-
#FreeMumia: Former Journalist and Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal Gets Another Chance to Appeal in Cop Murder
Mumia Abu-Jamal, the former Philadelphia radio journalist convicted and imprisoned almost 40 years for the 1981 murder of a police officer, has the chance to appeal anew for a new trial now that the city district attorney has dropped his objections to it. Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner on Wednesday dropped his objections to a…
-
Man on Death Row for 33 Years Will Get New Hearing After 'Damning Revelations' of Police Misconduct
Following years of appeals, a Utah man sentenced to death for a 1985 murder is set to get a new hearing after the main witnesses in the case—who vanished into thin air after his conviction—resurfaced after 25 years to allege that investigators threatened them with deportation and paid them to lie in their testimony. In…
-
Supreme Court Declines to Hear Case of Man Sentenced to Death by a Racist Juror
The Supreme Court agreed that at least one of the jurors who convicted a Georgia man of murder was a virulent racist. They previously came to the conclusion that racism may have affected a juror’s decision. But in a unanimous no-decision, the Supreme Court declined to take up the prisoner’s death penalty appeal, effectively sending…
-
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…
-
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…
-
Former Texas Prosecutor Withheld Email That Could Have Prevented Innocent Man From Landing on Death Row: Report
In an announcement late Friday, Harris County, Texas, District Attorney Kim Ogg revealed that a former prosecutor withheld a key email that could have prevented Alfred Dewayne Brown from receiving the death penalty. As the Houston Chronicle reports, the email helped establish “a clear alibi” for Brown, who was convicted in a high-profile murder case…
-
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…
-
These Are the 8 Men the State of Ark. Is Rushing to Kill
The state of Arkansas is on a mission to complete eight executions over a period of 10 days during the month of April in order to beat the clock on the expiration date for one of the three drugs involved in its lethal-injection protocol. The rushed executions have been decried for a number of reasons,…
-
Texas Mother Raises Enough Money to Visit Son Before His Execution
A Texas mother whose son is on death row will be able to visit him a final time before his execution thanks to generous donors on a YouCaring campaign. “I can’t thank everyone enough for the donations. It has helped me to be there for my son when he needs his mother,” Marilyn Shankle-Grant wrote…