Gender Bias in Capital Cases: Punishing Traumatized Women with Death

(Source) Introduction Women make up the minority of the death row population in the United States and globally.  In the United States, women account for only fifty of the over 2,600 individuals living on death rows around the nation.[1] The unique problems female capital defendants experience both before and after their capital sentences are overlooked

Denying Indigenous Sovereignty: The Execution of Lezmond Mitchell

(Source) On August 26th, 2020, the United States government executed Lezmond Mitchell, the only Native American on federal death row, continuing the Trump administration’s aggressive reinstatement of federal executions after a seventeen-year delay. Mr. Mitchell was pronounced dead at 6:29 PM. Mr. Mitchell’s execution was the 1523rd execution in the United States since the death

The Machinery of Death: The Federal Death Penalty’s Reinstatement is Arbitrary, Capricious, Illegal, and Cruel

(Source)   Introduction In the early hours of July 14th, 2020, while most people were asleep or just starting their days, the Federal Government executed Daniel Lee Lewis, jumpstarting the return of federal executions. The federal government executed Mr. Lee despite myriad procedural and legal deficiencies. Mr. Lee was executed without a new warrant allowing

Forcing Treatment to Force Execution

In 1986, the Supreme Court officially barred carrying out a death sentence on an inmate who had gone insane on death row—a rule that has long been part of the common law. Modern treatments are effective at eliminating many symptoms of insanity. So should we allow states to forcibly medicate inmates in order to execute them?

Resistance and Recantation: Ruminations on the Execution of Troy Davis

Professor Blume argues that that the resistance of those involved in the initial prosecution of defendants to admitting mistakes can be made and the suspicion of recanted testimony ultimately led to the execution of Troy Davis, even though substantial doubt was raised as to his guilt.

How Our Law Executed Troy Davis

You’re on death row. Seven of nine original eyewitnesses have recanted. How do you avoid execution? Suzy Marinkovich digs deep into the legal doctrines that led to Troy Davis’s execution.