California leads the nation with 23 women on Death Row, but the condemned women are largely invisible and forgotten behind bars, and their stories rarely see the light of day. California has more than three times the number of condemned women in Texas (six on condemn) and in Alabama (five on condemn), according a Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) report. The women on California’s Death Row are housed in Central California Women’s Facility (CCWF) in Chowchilla. Until 1933, they were housed in San Quentin in the Women’s Ward. They … [Read more...] about CA leads nation in women on Death Row
Death Penalty
Arkansas judge faces sanction for blocking lethal injection
An Arkansas judge faces judicial sanction for blocking the state’s use of a lethal injection drug on the same day he pro- tested the death penalty out- side the governor’s mansion, reported The Associated Press. The Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission charged Judge Wendell Griffen, a Pulaski County Circuit Judge, with violating ethics rules in June. The three- member panel cited the judge’s online and social media comments against the death penalty as evidence of an ethical violation. Griffen asked a judicial ethics … [Read more...] about Arkansas judge faces sanction for blocking lethal injection
CCWP advocates mount a fight to end LWOP
Advocates are mounting a fight to end the other death penalty—life without the possibility of parole. These “hidden death sentences” mean prisoners must live the rest of their lives in “prisons with extraordinarily high suicide rates, with substandard medical, dental, and mental health care and with scant rehabilitative programs. Prisons rife with gang violence, racism, and despair,” said Kenneth Hartman in a Truthout article. Hartman was recently released from a life without possibility of parole sentence by the California Parole Board, … [Read more...] about CCWP advocates mount a fight to end LWOP
Dear Kid CAT by Joseph Montes
I’m sending this letter to you today to inquire about the curriculum. I know generally speaking, your program is available for lifers, and not Death Row inmates. There are many of us who were sentenced to death as youths. Myself included. I just turned 20 when I received my sentence. My question is this: Could we begin now to start taking classes that your program offers to youth offenders? We already have a group of individuals who would start taking classes now if you were to make that available to us. The only thing we would need is a … [Read more...] about Dear Kid CAT by Joseph Montes
Texas court updates death penalty protocols
A Texas court implemented updated protocols for Death Row prisoners with intellectual disabilities. The revised standards came after the U.S. Supreme Court had set aside Texas prisoner Bobby Moore’s execution, Reuters reports. The new protocols allowed the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to reinstate Moore’s death sentence. Moore, 58, was convicted of murder in 1980. He was sentenced to execution, but the execution was set aside by the U.S. Supreme Court because of its 2002 ruling that the execution of inmates with intellectual … [Read more...] about Texas court updates death penalty protocols
States struggle to carry out executions
Lethal injections, legal battles and difficulty obtaining drugs have forced a number of states to find alternative ways to carry out the death penalty, reports the New York Times. Alabama, Oklahoma and Mississippi have authorized the use of inhaling the inert gas nitrogen for executions. “An oxygen-deficient atmosphere” can knock a person unconscious after just one or two breaths and “the exposed person has no warning and cannot sense that the oxygen level is too low,” according to a report from the United States Chemical Safety and … [Read more...] about States struggle to carry out executions
Pope Francis condemns the death penalty
Pope Francis declared executions are an attack on human dignity and the church would work with “determination” to abolish capital punishment worldwide. The Pope also made official changes to the Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church, according the New York Times. The Catechism is the book of doctrine for 1.2 billion Catholics and is studied by adults and taught to children. Ending the death penalty is among the Pope’s main goals, along with protecting the environment and caring for refugees and immigrants. Most countries, including … [Read more...] about Pope Francis condemns the death penalty
Nebraska executes inmate using Fentanyl
Despite being sued by a pharmaceutical company for alleged unauthorized use, the state of Nebraska was successful in executing a prisoner on death row using the addictive drug fentanyl, according to NPR News. Robert Dunham, head of the Death Penalty Information Center, believed the use of fentanyl—the first execution in the country using the chemical—was unusual. “It’s somewhat ironic that at the same time the Justice Department and states are talking about how dangerous fentanyl is and how it’s created a national public health emergency … [Read more...] about Nebraska executes inmate using Fentanyl
Prosecutors accepting guilty pleas: no executions
It’s now been four years since a Georgia jury handed down a death sentence. In the majority of the capital punishment cases, prosecutors are allowing the alleged suspect to enter a guilty plea in exchange for a life-without-parole sentence, reported Bill Rankin in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Many of Georgia’s district attorneys still strongly support capital punishment. According to state records, last year prosecutors announced they were seeking the death penalty in 26 cases. But, this year they have filed notices to seek death in … [Read more...] about Prosecutors accepting guilty pleas: no executions
India adopts capital punishment for child rape under twelve
In April, India passed a law permitting the death penalty for rape of a child under 12, reigniting an international debate over capital punishment. In India, only four people have been executed in the past 13 years. Three of those executed were convicted of terrorism and one for rape of a minor, Chaitanya Mallapur reported for the Business Standard News. Sentence Of the 109 prisoners sentenced to death in 2017, 43 people (39 percent) were sentenced to death for murder involving sexual violence. Now, India is the 14th country to … [Read more...] about India adopts capital punishment for child rape under twelve