Lethal Injection's Visibility Problem
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LETHAL INJECTION: the Medical Technology of Execution
LETHAL INJECTION: The medical technology of execution Introduction From hanging to electric chair to lethal injection: how much prettier can you make it? Yet the prettier it becomes, the uglier it is.1 In 1997, China became the first country outside the USA to carry out a judicial execution by lethal injection. Three other countriesGuatemala, Philippines and Taiwancurrently provide for execution by lethal injection but have not yet executed anyone by that method2. The introduction of lethal injection in the USA in 1977 provoked a debate in the medical profession and strong opposition to a medical role in such executions. To 30 September 1997, 268 individuals have been executed by lethal injection in the USA since the first such execution in December 1982 (see appendix 2). Reports of lethal injection executions in China, where the method was introduced in 1997, are sketchy but early indications are that there is a potential for massive use of this form of execution. In 1996, Amnesty International recorded more than 4,300 executions by shooting in China. At least 24 lethal injection executions were reported in the Chinese press in 1997 and this can be presumed to be a minimum (and growing) figure since executions are not automatically reported in the Chinese media. Lethal injection executions depend on medical drugs and procedures and the potential of this kind of execution to involve medical professionals in unethical behaviour, including direct involvement in killing, is clear. Because of this, there has been a long-standing campaign by some individual health professionals and some professional bodies to prohibit medical participation in lethal injection executions. -
Death Row U.S.A
DEATH ROW U.S.A. Summer 2017 A quarterly report by the Criminal Justice Project of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. Deborah Fins, Esq. Consultant to the Criminal Justice Project NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. Death Row U.S.A. Summer 2017 (As of July 1, 2017) TOTAL NUMBER OF DEATH ROW INMATES KNOWN TO LDF: 2,817 Race of Defendant: White 1,196 (42.46%) Black 1,168 (41.46%) Latino/Latina 373 (13.24%) Native American 26 (0.92%) Asian 53 (1.88%) Unknown at this issue 1 (0.04%) Gender: Male 2,764 (98.12%) Female 53 (1.88%) JURISDICTIONS WITH CURRENT DEATH PENALTY STATUTES: 33 Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wyoming, U.S. Government, U.S. Military. JURISDICTIONS WITHOUT DEATH PENALTY STATUTES: 20 Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico [see note below], New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin. [NOTE: New Mexico repealed the death penalty prospectively. The men already sentenced remain under sentence of death.] Death Row U.S.A. Page 1 In the United States Supreme Court Update to Spring 2017 Issue of Significant Criminal, Habeas, & Other Pending Cases for Cases to Be Decided in October Term 2016 or 2017 1. CASES RAISING CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTIONS First Amendment Packingham v. North Carolina, No. 15-1194 (Use of websites by sex offender) (decision below 777 S.E.2d 738 (N.C. -
Opinion 06-70026
United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit FILED REVISED JUNE 26, 2006 June 20, 2006 IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS Charles R. Fulbruge III FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT Clerk No. 06-70026 LAMONT REESE, Plaintiff-Appellant, versus BRAD LIVINGSTON; NATHANIEL QUARTERMAN, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division; CHARLES O’REILLY, Senior Warden, Huntsville Unit, Huntsville, Texas; UNKNOWN EXECUTIONERS, Defendants-Appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court For the Northern District of Texas Before HIGGINBOTHAM, DAVIS, and PRADO, Circuit Judges. PATRICK E. HIGGINBOTHAM, Circuit Judge: Proceeding under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, Lamont Reese seeks a stay of his execution scheduled for June 20, 2006. He attacks the method of execution by injection as administered in Texas as cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment. The suit does not challenge the conviction or sentence of death. I On December 8, 2000, following his conviction for capital murder in the 371st Judicial District Court of Tarrant County, Texas, Reese was sentenced to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed his judgment and sentence. Reese v. State, No. 23,989 (Tex. Crim. App. Nov. 6, 2002), cert. denied, Reese v. State, 123 S. Ct. 2581 (2003). Reese filed a state petition for habeas corpus on July 16, 2002, and a supplemental application on January 31, 2003. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied the petition. Ex Parte Reese, Nos. 55,443-01 and 55,443-02 (Tex. Crim. App. Apr. 30, 2003). Turning to the federal courts, Reese’s application for COA was denied by this Court on May 4, 2004. -
The Death Penalty: History, Exonerations, and Moratoria
THEMES & DEBATES The Death Penalty: History, Exonerations, and Moratoria Martin Donohoe, MD Today’s topic is the death penalty. I will discuss is released to suffocate the prisoner, was introduced multiple areas related to the death penalty, including in 1924. its history; major Supreme Court decisions; contem- In 2001, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that porary status; racial differences; errors and exonera- electrocution violates the Constitution’s prohibition tions; public opinion; moratoria; and ethics and mo- against cruel and unusual punishment, stating that it rality. I will also refute common myths, including causes “excruciating pain…cooked brains and blis- those that posit that the death penalty is humane; tered bodies.” In 2008, Nebraska became the last equally applied across the states; used largely by remaining state to agree. “Western” countries; color-blind; infallible; a deter- In the 1970s and 1980s, anesthesiologist Stanley rent to crime; and moral. Deutsch and pathologist Jay Chapman developed From ancient times through the 18th Century, techniques of lethal injection, along with a death methods of execution included crucifixion, crushing cocktail consisting of 3 drugs designed to “humane- by elephant, keelhauling, the guillotine, and, non- ly” kill inmates: an anesthetic, a paralyzing agent, metaphorically, death by a thousand cuts. and potassium chloride (which stops the heart beat- Between 1608 and 1972, there were an estimated ing). Lethal injection was first used in Texas in 1982 15,000 state-sanctioned executions in the colonies, and is now the predominant mode of execution in and later the United States. this country. Executions in the 19th and much of the 20th Cen- Death by lethal injection cannot be considered tury were carried out by hanging, known as lynching humane. -
Lethal Injection and the Right of Access: the Intersection of the Eighth and First Amendments
San Jose State University SJSU ScholarWorks Faculty Publications, School of Management School of Management 1-1-2014 Lethal Injection and the Right of Access: The Intersection of the Eighth and First Amendments Timothy F. Brown [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/org_mgmt_pub Part of the Constitutional Law Commons, Criminal Law Commons, Criminal Procedure Commons, First Amendment Commons, and the Law Enforcement and Corrections Commons Recommended Citation Timothy F. Brown. "Lethal Injection and the Right of Access: The Intersection of the Eighth and First Amendments" ExpressO (2014). This Unpublished Paper is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Management at SJSU ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications, School of Management by an authorized administrator of SJSU ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Lethal Injection and the Right of Access: The Intersection of the Eighth and First Amendments By: Timothy F. Brown Introduction The Spring and Summer of 2014 have witnessed renewed debate on the constitutionality of the death penalty after a series of high profile legal battles concerning access to lethal injection protocols and subsequent questionable executions. Due to shortages in the drugs traditionally used for the lethal injection, States have changed their lethal injection protocols to shield information from both the prisoners and the public. Citing public safety concerns, the States refuse to release information concerning the procurement of the drugs to the public. Such obstruction hinders the public’s ability to determine the cruelty of the punishment imposed and creates the potential for unconstitutional execution. -
Read Our Full Report, Death in Florida, Now
USA DEATH IN FLORIDA GOVERNOR REMOVES PROSECUTOR FOR NOT SEEKING DEATH SENTENCES; FIRST EXECUTION IN 18 MONTHS LOOMS Amnesty International Publications First published on 21 August 2017 by Amnesty International Publications International Secretariat Peter Benenson House 1 Easton Street London WC1X 0DW United Kingdom www.amnesty.org Copyright Amnesty International Publications 2017 Index: AMR 51/6736/2017 Original Language: English Printed by Amnesty International, International Secretariat, United Kingdom All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publishers. Amnesty International is a global movement of 3 million people in more than 150 countries and territories, who campaign on human rights. Our vision is for every person to enjoy all the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments. We research, campaign, advocate and mobilize to end abuses of human rights. Amnesty International is independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion. Our work is largely financed by contributions from our membership and donations Table of Contents Summary ..................................................................................................................... 1 ‘Bold, positive change’ not allowed ................................................................................ -
Omnes Vulnerant, Postuma Necat; All the Hours Wound, the Last One Kills: the Lengthy Stay on Death Row in America
Missouri Law Review Volume 80 Issue 3 Summer 2015 Article 13 Summer 2015 Omnes Vulnerant, Postuma Necat; All the Hours Wound, the Last One Kills: The Lengthy Stay on Death Row in America Mary Elizabeth Tongue Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.missouri.edu/mlr Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Mary Elizabeth Tongue, Omnes Vulnerant, Postuma Necat; All the Hours Wound, the Last One Kills: The Lengthy Stay on Death Row in America, 80 MO. L. REV. (2015) Available at: https://scholarship.law.missouri.edu/mlr/vol80/iss3/13 This Note is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at University of Missouri School of Law Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Missouri Law Review by an authorized editor of University of Missouri School of Law Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Tongue: Omnes Vulnerant, Postuma Necat; LAW SUMMARY Omnes Vulnerant, Postuma Necat; All the Hours Wound, the Last One Kills: The Lengthy Stay on Death Row in America MEGAN ELIZABETH TONGUE* I. INTRODUCTION The Bureau of Justice Statistics has compiled statistical analyses show- ing that the average amount of time an inmate spends on death row has stead- ily increased over the past thirty years.1 In fact, the shortest average amount of time an inmate spent on death row during that time period was seventy-one months in 1985, or roughly six years, with the longest amount of time being 198 months, or sixteen and one half years, in 2012.2 This means that -
JACKIE BLACK: LAST MEAL August 7, 2020–January 31, 2021
JACKIE BLACK: LAST MEAL August 7, 2020–January 31, 2021 All works: Jackie Black (American, born 1958) Last Meal (series), 2001–2003 Archival pigment on paper 12 x 12 inches Parrish Art Museum, Water Mill, N.Y., Museum purchase with funds provided by the Bessemer Trust, 2016.33(a-x) 1. Thomas Andy Barefoot Executed: October 30, 1984 Education: Not listed Occupation: Oil field roughneck Last Statement: ”I hope that one day we can look back on the evil that we’re doing right now like the witches we burned at the stake. I want everybody to know that I hold nothing against them. I forgive them all. I hope everybody I’ve done anything to will forgive me. I’ve been praying all day for (the victim’s) wife to drive the bitterness from her heart because that bitterness that’s in her heart will send her to Hell just as surely as any other sin. I’m sorry for everything I’ve ever done to anybody. I hope they’ll forgive me. .” 2. Charles Frances Rumbaugh Executed: September 11, 1985 No background information given Last Statement: “. About all I can say is goodbye, and for all the rest of you, although you don’t forgive me for my transgressions, I forgive yours against me. I am ready to begin my journey. .” 3. Charles William Bass Executed: March 12, 1986 No background information given Last Statement: “I deserve this. Tell everyone I said goodbye.” 4. Jeffrey Allen Barney Executed: April 16, 1986 No background information given Last Statement: “. .I am sorry for what I’ve done. -
Petitioner, V
No. 17-___ IN THE Supreme Court of the United States ———— WILLIAM HAROLD KELLEY, Petitioner, v. STATE OF FLORIDA, Respondent. ———— On Petition for a Writ of Certiorari to the Florida Supreme Court ———— PETITION FOR A WRIT OF CERTIORARI ———— LAURENCE H. TRIBE SYLVIA H. WALBOLT Of Counsel Counsel of Record CARL M. LOEB UNIVERSITY CHRIS S. COUTROULIS PROFESSOR AND PROFESSOR E. KELLY BITTICK, JR. OF CONSTITUTIONAL LAW JOSEPH H. LANG, JR. HARVARD LAW SCHOOL* CARLTON FIELDS Hauser 420 JORDEN BURT, P.A. 1575 Massachusetts Avenue Corporate Center Three at Cambridge, MA 02138 International Plaza (617) 495-1767 4221 W. Boy Scout Blvd. Tampa, FL 33607 * University affiliation (813) 223-7000 noted for identification [email protected] purposes only Counsel for Petitioner May 25, 2018 WILSON-EPES PRINTING CO., INC. – (202) 789-0096 – WASHINGTON, D. C. 20002 CAPITAL CASE QUESTION PRESENTED In Hurst v. Florida, 136 S. Ct. 616 (2016) (“Hurst I”), this Court held that Florida’s capital sentencing scheme violated the Sixth Amendment because a jury did not make the findings necessary for a death sentence. In Hurst v. State, 202 So. 3d 40 (Fla. 2016) (“Hurst II”), the Florida Supreme Court further held that under the Eighth Amendment the jury’s findings must be unanimous. Although the Florida Supreme Court held that the Hurst decisions applied retroactively, it created over sharp dissents a novel and unprecedented rule of partial retroactivity, limiting their application only to inmates whose death sentences became final after Ring v. Arizona, 536 U.S. 584 (2002). Ring, however, addressed Arizona’s capital sentencing scheme and was grounded solely on the Sixth Amendment, not the Eighth Amendment. -
Missouri's Death Penalty in 2017: the Year in Review
Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty 6320 Brookside Plaza, Suite 185; Kansas City, MO 64113 816-931-4177 www.madpmo.org Missouri’s Death Penalty in 2017: The Year in Review A year-end compilation of death penalty data for the state of Missouri. Table of Contents I. Executive Summary 2 II. Missouri Death Sentences in 2017 3 New Death Sentences 3 Unconstitutionality of Judicial Override 3 Non-Death Outcomes: Jury Rejections 4 Non-Death Outcomes: Pleas for Life Without Parole 5 III. Missouri Executions 7 Executions in Missouri and Nationally 7 Missouri’s Executed in 2017 - Mark Christeson 8 Missouri Executions by County - a Death Belt 9 Regional Similarity of Executions and Past Lynching Behaviors 10 Stays of Execution and Dates Withdrawn 12 IV. Current Death Row 13 Current Death Row by County and Demographics 13 On Death Row But Unfit for Execution 15 Granted Stay of Execution 15 Removed from Death Row - Not By Execution 16 V. Missouri’s Death Penalty in 2018 17 Pending Missouri Executions and Malpractice Concerns 17 Recent Botched Executions in Other States 17 Pending Capital Cases 18 VI. Table 1 - Missouri’s Current Death Row, 2017 19 VII. Table 2 - Missouri’s Executed 21 VIII. MADP Representatives 25 1 I. Executive Summary Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (MADP) - a statewide organization based in Kansas City, Missouri - publishes this annual report to inform fellow citizens and elected officials about developments and related issues associated with the state’s death penalty in 2017 and recent years. This report includes information about the following death penalty developments in the state of Missouri: ● Nationally, executions and death sentences remained near historically low levels in 2017, the second fewest since 1991. -
UNWILLING EXECUTIONERS? Where and Why Do Some Doctors Still Help Carry out the Death Penalty? Sophie Arie Reports
DEATH PENALTY UNWILLING EXECUTIONERS? Where and why do some doctors still help carry out the death penalty? Sophie Arie reports ethal injection is now the main method of In 2009, death penalty opponent Sister Helen nection to their local prisons. In a rare report, in execution in China and the United States, Prejean, known for her book Dead Man W alking, 2006, Dr Atul Gawande, American surgeon and the two countries that execute the highest began campaigning for medical boards to dis- writer, gathered testimonies from some partici- numbers of people. But the widespread cipline doctors who participate in executions, pating doctors. Dr Carlo Musso, an emergency use of lethal injection—seen as a medical believing this could ultimately make lethal injec- doctor, confirmed that his practice had taken up L and therefore more humane method of execution tion no longer a feasible option for states. But an $18 000 contract (£11 000, €13 000) to pro- than hanging, shooting, or electro cution—has when medical bodies have attempted to strike off vide a medical presence at executions in Georgia. meant that doctors have become more actively or discipline physicians who have participated in He provided cardiac monitoring and determina- involved in carrying out the death penalty than executions, they have been over-ruled by courts tion of death. Other colleagues helped with intra- they were in the past. in the states concerned. venous access. “As I see it this is an end of life The medicalisation of executions has put Some states, such as Georgia and North issue, just as with any other terminal disease. -
Execution Ritual : Media Representations of Execution and the Social Construction of Public Opinion Regarding the Death Penalty
University of Louisville ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository Electronic Theses and Dissertations 5-2011 Execution ritual : media representations of execution and the social construction of public opinion regarding the death penalty. Emilie Dyer 1987- University of Louisville Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.library.louisville.edu/etd Recommended Citation Dyer, Emilie 1987-, "Execution ritual : media representations of execution and the social construction of public opinion regarding the death penalty." (2011). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 388. https://doi.org/10.18297/etd/388 This Master's Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository. This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has retained all other copyrights. For more information, please contact [email protected]. EXECUTION RITUAL: MEDIA REPRESENTATIONS OF EXECUTION AND THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF PUBLIC OPINION REGARDING THE DEATH PENALTY By Emilie Dyer B.A., University of Louisville, 2009 A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of the University of Louisville in Partial Fullfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Department of Sociology University of Louisville Louisville, Kentucky May, 2011 -------------------------------------------------------------- EXECUTION RITUAL : MEDIA REPRESENTATIONS OF EXECUTION AND THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF PUBLIC OPINION REGARDING THE DEATH PENALTY By Emilie Brook Dyer B.A., University of Louisville, 2009 A Thesis Approved on April 11, 2011 by the following Thesis Committee: Thesis Director (Dr.