90 Million Strong

#NEWS: Governor Fallin Issues 37 Day Stay of Execution for Richard Glossip

Minutes before he was scheduled to be executed, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin granted Richard Glossip a last minute 37 day stay of execution due to new questions regarding Oklahoma’s lethal injection drugs. BuzzFeed reports: “Fallin said the stay was to address legal questions raised today about Oklahoma’s

24Sep

#NEWS: Pope Francis Calls on the U.S. Congress to Abolish the Death Penalty

Earlier today, Pope Franics gave a historic speech to the United States Congress covering a wide range of social justice issues. As part of his address, he specifically called on the U.S. Congress and the world to abolish the death penalty, stating: Let us remember the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you

17Sep

#NEWS: Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals Grants Two Week Stay of Execution to Richard Glossip

Yesterday, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals granted an emergency two week stay of execution to Richard Glossip in order to consider new evidence submitted by his attorneys that may prove that Glossip is, in fact, innocent. Thousands of supporters including Sister Helen Prejean, actress Susan Sarandon (both

21Aug

OP-ED: Talking About the Death Penalty, Court to Court

On Thursday, August 13, 2015, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty violates the state constitution. Connecticut repealed the death penalty in 2012, but the repeal was prospective, meaning that the state could still kill the 11 people on death row at the time. The state Supreme Court’s

16Jul

The Missing Piece in Criminal Justice Reform

President Obama did not mention the death penalty once in a speech he gave advocating for criminal justice reform to the NAACP on July 14, but all of the arguments he presented in favor of shortening sentences for non-violent drug offenders could also be applied to abolishing the death penalty.

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29Jun

#BREAKING: U.S. Supreme Court Rules that Midazolam Can be Used in Executions

The Supreme Court ruled today in Glossip v. Gross that the use of midazolam as part of lethal injection protocols is constitutional. Midazolam is a sedative that—according to the petitioners—“cannot reliably ensure the ‘deep, comalike unconsciousness’ required where a State intends to cause death with painful

15Jun

Flawed Forensics

By Allison Morrow Recently, the FBI formally admitted its forensics examiners have given flawed testimony in cases over the course of more than two decades. In what has become the country’s largest post-conviction review of questionable forensic techniques, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

29May

How America’s Death Penalty Ends

Crossposted on the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty Austin Sarat, associate dean of the faculty and William Nelson Cromwell professor of jurisprudence and political science at Amherst College and the author Gruesome Spectacles: Botched Executions and America’s Death Penalty, has written a great

27May

#NEWS: Nebraska Abolishes the Death Penalty

Crossposted from the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty By a vote of 30-19, legislators in Nebraska have successfully ended the death penalty in the state. The vote on LB 268 was held today in order to override Governor Pete Ricketts’ veto and officially pass the bill. Legislators agreed that

20May

#NEWS: Nebraska Lawmakers Vote to Abolish the Death Penalty

Crossposted from the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty By a vote of 32-15, Nebraska lawmakers gave final approval to LB 268, the bill that would abolish the death penalty in the state. The 32 votes are currently enough to override a potential veto from Republican Governor Pete Ricketts if necessary.